Budapest management agent anyone?
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UrbanLegend
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previous owner
Hi,
I had an apt bfore and yes encountered issues alright (that agency are closed down now). There is an agency Tower Property whom have an office in Dublin as well which seems helpfull but youd have to check there credibility yourself...?? Cant really add to that, Rgds
Hi,
I had an apt bfore and yes encountered issues alright (that agency are closed down now). There is an agency Tower Property whom have an office in Dublin as well which seems helpfull but youd have to check there credibility yourself...?? Cant really add to that, Rgds
Hi Contact23,
I have been a long time reader of AAM and over the years and I have regularly benefited from the postings.
I would like to share my experience of property management in Budapest.
I have two apartments in district 6, which have been rented since 2006. I am very happy with my agent; the apartments have been rented continuously, except for very short gaps between tenants. All payments such as electricity, communal charge, district tax etc were all paid and all receipts kept on file. I have received all rent payments and all of the documents required for my annual return.
What makes my agent, the BrightHome agency so good? well all of the team there are competent, hard working and a pleasure to do business with.
I’m saddened that you have had such a bad experience in Budapest, but there are good property management agencies, such as Bright home agency that will professionally manage your property.
I have been a long time reader of AAM and over the years and I have regularly benefited from the postings.
I would like to share my experience of property management in Budapest.
I have two apartments in district 6, which have been rented since 2006. I am very happy with my agent; the apartments have been rented continuously, except for very short gaps between tenants. All payments such as electricity, communal charge, district tax etc were all paid and all receipts kept on file. I have received all rent payments and all of the documents required for my annual return.
What makes my agent, the BrightHome agency so good? well all of the team there are competent, hard working and a pleasure to do business with.
I’m saddened that you have had such a bad experience in Budapest, but there are good property management agencies, such as Bright home agency that will professionally manage your property.
N
noni
Guest
Hi, I have used Tower in Budapest and found them to be good. Always had tenants and easy enough to communicate with. The fact that they now have an office in Dublin would be a major help, IMO.
I think renting a property out in any other country will always be a pain (wish I had realised this before I bought) but Tower have been pretty good.
I think renting a property out in any other country will always be a pain (wish I had realised this before I bought) but Tower have been pretty good.
Hi guys. 8 years ago I bought a house in Hungary but in a town outside of Budapest and I couldnt get any cbd agents to take it on to let/manage or finally sell it and it was a nightmare as hardly anyone spoke English in the town and I did most of the purchase with a phrase book solo (yes, total madness)
I bought as a limited company and had to produce account every year and liaise with govt depts without an agent to help etc etc
To get to the point - after quite a struggle I ended up finding this fantastic company called helpers.hu who simply helped me get in contact with the right people, vet various people for me and translate, deliver, courier and finally they actually sold the property for me and got their accountant to finalise the paperwork.
Stumbling across this thread now brings me back to the immense gratitude I felt in their service after much to-ing and fro-ing and considerable stress too. I can highly and unreservedly recommend them and their CEO Barbara who was excellent and trustworthy
I bought as a limited company and had to produce account every year and liaise with govt depts without an agent to help etc etc
To get to the point - after quite a struggle I ended up finding this fantastic company called helpers.hu who simply helped me get in contact with the right people, vet various people for me and translate, deliver, courier and finally they actually sold the property for me and got their accountant to finalise the paperwork.
Stumbling across this thread now brings me back to the immense gratitude I felt in their service after much to-ing and fro-ing and considerable stress too. I can highly and unreservedly recommend them and their CEO Barbara who was excellent and trustworthy
I posted a while back about www.helpers.hu who were very good at sorting out all my affairs in Hungary including finding me a decent agent and negotiating a better deal - maybe give them a ring and get them to find someone for you? They were very polished and reasonable
I think the only thing to do with Budapest property is to sell as they are not to be trusted, the last company INVESPA stole the rent and replaced the furniture with cheap junk when i fired them, and they had it up for short term rent when the flat was empty over the summer, I found out as they had the nerve to advertise it on their website ,and of course didnt inform me.
dreadful experience , thats what I get for buying in forign country I suppose. I have it with tower now so fingers crossed , but its up for sale , will post progress.
dreadful experience , thats what I get for buying in forign country I suppose. I have it with tower now so fingers crossed , but its up for sale , will post progress.
Capricorn 1
Registered User
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I have a property in Budapest, District 5 since 2004. I have used the same agent /property manger since then. He is an excellent manager and has kept the apartment let on a constant basis. I have found him to be very honest. He provides a quarterly spreadsheet detailing all transactions. He speaks very good english and replies promptly to all correspondence. My owning and renting of this property has run very smoothly and has been hassle free due to his good work. If anyone wants his contact details, please pm me and I will provide them.
Brendan Burgess
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We are being spammed by new users recommending companies.
Any new users recommending managing companies or asking about them will be treated as spammers and banned.
Any new users recommending managing companies or asking about them will be treated as spammers and banned.
Whitecastle1
Registered User
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Budapest Apartment in District 11
I recently sold my apartment in Budapest, it was a nice apartment but the management company were a nightmare and left me feeling i had no choice but to sell out and do so at a huge loss. They found every way possible to take as much money as they could; eg they take a monthly fee of 12% yet everything they do they charge you for, such as sending your money, thats steep bank costs PLUS €20 a go plus VAT ie they charge you for transfering your money, since 1 jan the govt take 0.22% of all money being transferred out of hungary; , doing your accounts costs €250 + 25%, any repairs, they charge 10% of the cost of the work and call it "supervision fee" and then you pay VAT on their supervision fee. Each year they the tenants moved out so every year i had to pay 1 months rent plus 25% VAT. Not only did they charge me the 1months fee plus VAT but on top of that they added their monthly fee of 12% + VAT so the first month and a half was gone and then i had to pay tax at 25% on each months rent so you could say 2 months were automatically gone each year. Very very little left after they have finished, if there is a charge they can make they will and even do more. In 5 years i had to have a new water meter, it costs nearly 250 + Vat + supervision fee + VAT! Repairs to the toilet, 200 + VAT + Supervision fee, sink in kitchen, ditto. I was waiting for them to tell me there was a hole in the wall so they could charge me for that!!!!! short of that, it would appear that very little wasnt "repaired" and billed to me, none of which i could prove or do anything about. Not impressed with these people - just relieved to be rid of the worry. Then there was a new door as they rented my apartment someone dodgey, new window, tenant broke the window = more deductions, i only owned the apartment a few years. Even going as far as taking over your account and spending your money without even consultation, carrying out works in the apartment routinely that they should not and charging you, i even had my title deeds checked, without my permission!!!! and then i got charged a legal fee even though i asked them to remove the cost they refused, course there was 25% VAT on top of that. Each year, the got alot more money than i did and i still had to pay the mortgage, such a relief to have sold it, i dont think that it would be easy to find a management company in Hungary, i believe that they think the irish are fair game to exploit, their tax office is impossible to deal with, you have to employ someone on your behalf, its endless the red tape, nothing is straightforward. Irish people dont appear to have much consumer rights in Hungary, id say you are out on a limb with management companies there, theres no one to stop them doing whatever they want. I asked about having my money sent by cheque and they went "what? we dont do cheques - maybe because if they did they couldnt take whatevery they want as "fee charges" or what ever else they wanted to and send you what was left - no accountability was my experience.
I recently sold my apartment in Budapest, it was a nice apartment but the management company were a nightmare and left me feeling i had no choice but to sell out and do so at a huge loss. They found every way possible to take as much money as they could; eg they take a monthly fee of 12% yet everything they do they charge you for, such as sending your money, thats steep bank costs PLUS €20 a go plus VAT ie they charge you for transfering your money, since 1 jan the govt take 0.22% of all money being transferred out of hungary; , doing your accounts costs €250 + 25%, any repairs, they charge 10% of the cost of the work and call it "supervision fee" and then you pay VAT on their supervision fee. Each year they the tenants moved out so every year i had to pay 1 months rent plus 25% VAT. Not only did they charge me the 1months fee plus VAT but on top of that they added their monthly fee of 12% + VAT so the first month and a half was gone and then i had to pay tax at 25% on each months rent so you could say 2 months were automatically gone each year. Very very little left after they have finished, if there is a charge they can make they will and even do more. In 5 years i had to have a new water meter, it costs nearly 250 + Vat + supervision fee + VAT! Repairs to the toilet, 200 + VAT + Supervision fee, sink in kitchen, ditto. I was waiting for them to tell me there was a hole in the wall so they could charge me for that!!!!! short of that, it would appear that very little wasnt "repaired" and billed to me, none of which i could prove or do anything about. Not impressed with these people - just relieved to be rid of the worry. Then there was a new door as they rented my apartment someone dodgey, new window, tenant broke the window = more deductions, i only owned the apartment a few years. Even going as far as taking over your account and spending your money without even consultation, carrying out works in the apartment routinely that they should not and charging you, i even had my title deeds checked, without my permission!!!! and then i got charged a legal fee even though i asked them to remove the cost they refused, course there was 25% VAT on top of that. Each year, the got alot more money than i did and i still had to pay the mortgage, such a relief to have sold it, i dont think that it would be easy to find a management company in Hungary, i believe that they think the irish are fair game to exploit, their tax office is impossible to deal with, you have to employ someone on your behalf, its endless the red tape, nothing is straightforward. Irish people dont appear to have much consumer rights in Hungary, id say you are out on a limb with management companies there, theres no one to stop them doing whatever they want. I asked about having my money sent by cheque and they went "what? we dont do cheques - maybe because if they did they couldnt take whatevery they want as "fee charges" or what ever else they wanted to and send you what was left - no accountability was my experience.
A very familiar story , investing in a foreign country is fraught with pitfalls ,and not for the faint of heart, even then you need to be a professional property manager to be up to the scams they pull in budapest, better off out of there my friend, hope your cash finds a more rewarding home.
Whitecastle1,
I think you'll find that cheques are not used in pretty much 99% of the world - and will probably be gone here very soon too.
Yes, there are a lot of unscrupulous management companies in Budapest, but a lot of what you describe honestly does not appear to be so unreasonable to me. It sounds like you dealt with Tower, which charges a higher than average management fee but then makes its money on expenses, e.g. accountancy, which is much higher than average. A management fee of 12% is not unreasonable though considering rent might be 300 Euro per month. 10% + VAT for supervision of repairs does not sound unreasonable either, if the work is done correctly. Of course, there is no way of knowing this from your post.
I don't believe that the Hungarian tax authority differentiates Irish people in any way. It treats everyone extremely badly - including Hungarians. Hungary is obviously an ex-communist country and because of this, there is little concept of customer service and there are lots of leftover concepts relating to what used to be government organisations. The Hungarian tax authority is awful and is a huge barrier to economic advancement in Hungary. Hungary is not an easy country to invest in and Irish people are lucky in many ways to be able to live in a society where the tax authority is transparent and where high quality customer service is the norm.
Unfortunately many Irish investors purchased apartments in Hungary (often not even visiting Budapest), expecting everything to be effortless. Many have realised that property management from abroad is not straight-forward and that capital appreciation is not inevitable. However, there are also some investors who continue to do well here. Yields can be high and if you know what you're doing, you can do very well in Budapest.
I think you'll find that cheques are not used in pretty much 99% of the world - and will probably be gone here very soon too.
Yes, there are a lot of unscrupulous management companies in Budapest, but a lot of what you describe honestly does not appear to be so unreasonable to me. It sounds like you dealt with Tower, which charges a higher than average management fee but then makes its money on expenses, e.g. accountancy, which is much higher than average. A management fee of 12% is not unreasonable though considering rent might be 300 Euro per month. 10% + VAT for supervision of repairs does not sound unreasonable either, if the work is done correctly. Of course, there is no way of knowing this from your post.
I don't believe that the Hungarian tax authority differentiates Irish people in any way. It treats everyone extremely badly - including Hungarians. Hungary is obviously an ex-communist country and because of this, there is little concept of customer service and there are lots of leftover concepts relating to what used to be government organisations. The Hungarian tax authority is awful and is a huge barrier to economic advancement in Hungary. Hungary is not an easy country to invest in and Irish people are lucky in many ways to be able to live in a society where the tax authority is transparent and where high quality customer service is the norm.
Unfortunately many Irish investors purchased apartments in Hungary (often not even visiting Budapest), expecting everything to be effortless. Many have realised that property management from abroad is not straight-forward and that capital appreciation is not inevitable. However, there are also some investors who continue to do well here. Yields can be high and if you know what you're doing, you can do very well in Budapest.
It sounds like Flatmanagement.hu not Tower to me that seem to swallow up alot of rental income on alot of small things. I recognise the pattern similar to my own. Anyone know of the new law that allows depreciation of the property in Budapest to be offset against tax paid in Hungary. Paying about 20% tax on rental income in Hungary on top of management fee plus vat plus insurance and all the small charges eats up well over 50% of all income received from rent.
We used Tower, they had a lot of hidden expenses, and despite them being responsible for everything when we sold they let the tenant leave without paying the common cost which came to about €800 and even though we sold through them they insisted that we were liable. After many emails back and forth we got it settled when we arrived at there seminar in Galway. The fact that they have an office here is an advantage and the matter was resolved satisfactorily which might not have been the case otherwise.
greatpjain
Registered User
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Hi,
I am renting an apartment from tower property.. and as per my experience they are the worst agency i have ever experienced. So better to look for some better agency.
I used Tower once and had a bad experience. They promised the world. They had my Apartment for 3 months and did nothing with it. I eventually went back to Home Management, they were great at getting me a Tenant but getting information from them was very vague and frustrating
We bought 3 apartments in 05/6 and used the same agent to manage the properties (initials BE). Things were ok for a year or 2 and then we found one rented when it was supposed to be vacant - twice! Subsequently, more and more expenses were incurred - some without permission until the returns became non- existent.