This post is also available in: Spanish

Living in or owning a home in Casa de Campo is a great luxury and a real pleasure, but efficiently managing a Casa de Campo villa can be challenging, which is why most villa owners turn to a Property Manager for help. Many Casa de Campo Real Estate Agents offer Property Management services, as does the Casa de Campo Villa Owners Club. This article has been kindly contributed by Inge Demyttenaere, a Casa de Campo real estate agent and property manager herself, to help you understand the need for and value of property managers and what and how they could help you manage your home.  

Do you need a Property Manager ?

If you have been a long-time property owner or if you just purchased a property, you might feel overwhelmed by the time and patience it takes to effectively manage your home. If you rent it,  or if you live most of the time abroad, looking after your property might prove to be a major headache. A good Property Manager can help you deal with routine management and maintenance issues that surface quite frequently in this tropical climate. Some aspects of the job are operations accounting, payment of bills, supervision of staff and taking care of their payroll, garden and pool maintenance, pest control, and other issues. Time is money, and a dedicated Property Manager can prove to be invaluable. Most likely you already know how true this statement is – many home owners receive excessive repair bills just because they do not speak enough Spanish to have negotiated a fair price. Or whenever they come to  enjoy their property they might find half of their appliances not working properly and have to spend precious vacation time running around to get everything fixed. Home property management is as much a responsibility as a full time job. Therefore , it is important to have an organized professional doing it for you.

Still wondering if you should spend money on a good manager ? Here are 10 good reasons to hire a property manager :

1. Remote locations: If your property is in another country, it is simply impossible for you to oversee if your staff are doing their job, or if your home needs some maintenance. Through routine inspections, a property manager can save you a lot of money by detecting problems before they turn into expensive endeavors.

2. Time management: By having a manager who takes care of the daily routine tasks, you can dedicate more time to your career or investments.

3. Saving you money: A good property manager has existing relationships with maintenance people, contractors, and insurance companies that you don’t have. This can save you a significant amount of time and money.

4. Keeping you informed of competitive rental rates: Every year there are more properties on the market and you need to know what is going on in the market to price your properly competitively.

5. Resort regulations and Property laws: Security measures and housing laws sometimes change and you need to be kept informed of all changes. Not paying property and other taxes can lead to huge fines that can easily be avoided.

6. Marketing and advertising: Publishing your home on a good website will improve your chances of getting you a fair amount of rentals.

7. Rentals: An efficient manager can help you avoid bad tenants, takes care of the good ones, and makes sure to collect all payments due.

8. A friendly and multilingual manager cares for the well being of your tenants, and the on- location concierge services are invaluable to show your guests around and make sure they have the best vacation ever, making them happy return clients.

9. Accounting: A good manager will check your bills and make sure they are correct before payment. Any discrepancies will be easily detected. Sending a monthly general accounting gives you transparency and peace of mind.

10. Costs: Property managers typically charge a nominal fee depending on the services you request  and the size of your home. The cost is actually quite minimal when you compare all the services provided and the personal and professional time you gain.

Article contributed by: Inge Demyttenaere, a Casa de Campo real estate agent and property manager
To read more about Inge, click here or you can contact Inge on:
Tel: 809-543-2001
Email: idconsulting@codetel.net.do
www.caribbeangolfvillas.com