Reputable property management companies in Budapest

BBBrad4321 wrote:

Is there any reputable people out there that can simply provide a good honest service.

How much are you willing to pay for it? In my humble opinion, the expats who have the most problems in Hungary are the ones trying to minimize their costs, thus end up with less than reputable service providers.

And what is in your current or past contracts with the management company? For example, what do they pay in penalty if they fail to provide XYZ, in time frame T, as stipulated under contract. Don't have that in your contract? Why not? You should. Especially for an absentee land owner.

They were all wellknow mgt companies and I paid the going rate of 10% plus VAT.
Of course I was looking to keep the costs as low as possible, as this is the purpose of owning apartments, to make returns in your investment.
Do you know or can recommend a company?

Cheers

Are you renting it short term or long term?

Long

Hi Bernard,

I tried to reply  over the weekend but my reply hasn't been posted. I wrote to the site manager
and she asked if I was trying to pass on details. I've just replied, saying, yes, I was, as that was
the query!

Hopefully she will okay my reply because I do own property in Budapest but live in the UK and
have used a very good company the last 3 years. I have recommended them to a friend and they
are now using them and very happy with the service too.

Watch this space, hope my reply gets posted!

Klara

BBBrad4321 wrote:

They were all wellknow mgt companies and I paid the going rate of 10% plus VAT.

You get what you pay for. And in Hungary, the "going rate" often means below average service compared to abroad. Being well know means nothing. They may be popular because they are cheap. And other clients may have different (i.e. lower) standards than you have. And International criminals are also "well known". It means nothing. You should do more research on the company itself, and have good contracts. Simple references from others may or may not be valuable (again, others my have lower standards than you have, or are not aware of the issues going on with their properties during their absence).

If you want quality, honesty, etc you have to pay more. Else they may well try to make up the difference by doing what you observed.

BBBrad4321 wrote:

Of course I was looking to keep the costs as low as possible, as this is the purpose of owning apartments, to make returns in your investment.

That is the goal. But any investment has risks. So one may not simply be able to pay "the going rate" and expect ideal results or a desired return (but that depends on what return one desires of course). 

BBBrad4321 wrote:

Do you know or can recommend a company?

Not at the "going rate". My standards are high. As are the prices I must be willing to pay to get my standards here -- something I had to learn here from experience over the years.

Klara14 wrote:

Hopefully she will okay my reply because I do own property in Budapest but live in the UK and
have used a very good company the last 3 years.

It is against forum rules to directly name or promote a business in the forums. If you did this, your post would be removed.

Solution: Simply send the OP an private message with the company name.

So what rates do you pay. As all the companies I have spoken to and used all charge 10% plus VAT.
You have spent a lot of time righting your response to my post thanks

Every contract is different. As it should be. Some places are harder to manage than others and a proper agent will bill accordingly (and provide a full accounting of costs/time justifying the billings).

By using a standard charge, as just an example, if your property is "difficult" to rent, the agent ends up spending less time on it then you may expect, since it is also in their interests to make money and the extra time needed on your property may be a total fiscal loss for them, so they won't.

I am renting out couple of apartments in BP. For that rate even I would do it Obviously the first question is whehter the price expectation was too high, or your service provider used the appartment for its own business (short term renting) during the peak season.

Yes I think this was the case.
You rent apartments for landlords? Are u independent?

Independent.

I am a bit confused, it is mentioned that you had three brokers over a 10 year period (do you already live in Hungary and are you looking for something else??). What is mentioned by Kisallee is completely true, what you pay for is what you get. (I do not know how it works with renting, but with buying the seller pays). Having said that a good real estate broker is essential (renting and buying alike I would think). I do not know the background, but in my view if it is for a job, you can shift responsibility to the employer (he wants to have you I assume).
If you already live in Hungary for 10 years, advice of expats should not be needed (I only live here for 4 years). (Hence my confusion with 10 years and 3 brokers).

I personally do not like big cities but outside I have had a few good experiences (when buying (not renting)). Clear for me is living somewhere (Hungary or not) is an important decision and help is absolutely required, I assume that when moving to Hungary you either have an employer who can help you or you know somebody (who in my view should be able to help). Admittedly we went to Hungary without advice of a good real estate broker, but we got reliable addresses for lawyers, accountant and builders.  Also meeting previous tenants or owners is useful. Moving into any property without any prior tenants/owners is quite a gamble in my view. (Not only about sleeping bags, but also neighbour, infrastructure,...)