Many investors and second-home owners letting out a flat overseas hire a management firm to look after the property and tenants for them. Property management is big business in Britain, especially in central London's most desirable areas, where half of the homebuyers come from overseas.
Big estate agencies Savills, Knight Frank and Hamptons International have leasing and property management arms and there are specialist property managers such as Pineflat.
Homeowners' needs vary, so property managers will offer a variety of services for them. The two basic services are leasing, where they find a tenant for the landlord, and property management, where they oversee the tenancy and keep an eye on the property, arranging to maintain and refurbish it when needed. Generally, they charge about 10 per of rental income for finding a tenant and 5 per cent for management. Owners choose to take one or both of these services.
Savills offers bespoke services to clients, so its combined 17 per cent leasing and management charge is reduced for those asking for less involvement from the firm.
Although Savills is one of the higher charging firms, it says its negotiators handle a smaller case load than its competitors, giving clients more time.
Additional management fees to watch for include charges for supervising refurbishment and redecoration.