If you are thinking about buying property abroad or have recently completed a renovation and are looking at ways of renting it out, you would do well to consider the services of a property management company.

Article written by The Overseas Guides Company

You might wonder why you would want to enlist the services of another when you could potentially manage things yourself. Well, imagine being sat at home in your house in the UK and having to deal with any problems that arise over the phone. Sometimes this approach just won’t be practical: who will clean the property between lets? Who will take responsibility for securing the property and making sure that breakages are replaced?

What will a property management company do?

A good property management company will take care of the following:

• Advertising your property for you – thus tapping in to their bank of clients and ensuring that your property is rented out for the maximum time possible.
• Fielding all enquiries and taking bookings – removing all the hassle for you of retrieving enquiries and dealing with paper work.
• Handling all day-to-day problems – whether it’s a blocked sink or a broken window, having someone on the ground means that they can deal with the things that you can do nothing about from your base hundreds of miles away.
• Maintain accurate records of bookings, handling deposits and income.
• Cleaning of property in between lets, during if necessary and replacing any faulty or broken items.
• Organising additional services for your tenants which will encourage repeat visits.

In exchange for these vital services, you should expect to pay the property management company a commission of anywhere between 20-50 per cent. Make sure that you shop around and ask fellow property owners for recommendations before you sign on the dotted line. You want to make sure that you are choosing a company who you can entrust with your property.

If you have a second home abroad sitting vacant or have just bought a property with the intention of renting it out, advertising it on-line as well as through management companies like Holiday Lettings can help increase bookings.

When beginning the process of renting out your property, you need to consider how you will manage your international currency transfers. As you will be receiving and making a number of international payments, you need to ensure that you are getting the best rates possible to maximise your profits. For more information, download Smart Currency Exchange’s free report here, or call them on 0808 163 0102 (free-phone) for a chat about how they could help you.