It has been said that 95% of the work of property management is done before the tenant actually occupies the property. Rush this and you can pay (monetarily and emotionally) for months. Here are three critical tips for making the most of this crucial stage.

1. Put your property in the spotlight

Get your property out to as many venues as possible. The more interested parties, the more chance of selecting a good tenant.

Of course, nowadays the internet is one of the most effective methods of advertisements and that also goes for the Czech Republic.

A large rental market in Czech Republic is the foreigners. Do you know where the foreigners look to find rental properties? There are many websites which have forums in different languages which often have a posting section of properties for rent. Find which ones they are and keep a record of it for future requirements for rental.

Don’t overlook the local rental market.

Talk to locals and find out where they would look to find rental properties. A major local website is the real estate directory: www.sreality.cz. Post your ad in both English and get a friend to help you with the Czech side.

Locals also like to try to rent without using a real estate agency because of their standard fee of a month to month-and-a-half rent. So it is good to list your property on websites which are without commission such as: www.bezrealitky.cz.

Referrals are an excellent way to get quality tenants.

A famous Japanese proverb says: “when a character of a man is not clear, look at his friends.” Do you have good tenants who pay their rent on time, respect your property and are good to deal with? Ask them for a referral. In fact, you can even offer them a one-time bonus for helping you find a quality tenant. 500 to 1000 CZK is nothing compared to the value of getting in a good long-term tenant.

2. Screen your tenants

Ask for references! Potential tenants should be able to provide you with references to their boss at work and their last landlord at the drop of the hat. A good tenant who has good relationships will have no hesitation offering you contact for their boss and previous landlord. Any hesitation is a bad sign and stroke against the applicant. Of course, a potential renter truly may not have the contact information on them but in 95% of the cases, they would.

Check the references. Don’t be afraid to phone the references and make sure everything sounds legitimate.

Faithful in little, faithful in much. You can, to a certain extent, judge character by how they handle the few contacts that you have with them. Do they show up on time? If they are late (it happens to all of us) do they apologize or just ignore the situation? Are they respectful of you and your property? These can all be indications of how the tenant will continue to treat you in the future.

3. Get it in writing

Be sure to document everything in a relationship, right from the start. Make notes on the contracts if something unexpected occurs at the time of signing or inspection. No one has a perfect memory and it is also the case that you might promise something and not remember two months down the road. So put everything in writing.

Be sure to have professional contracts. Make sure your contracts fair for both parties but be sure that your rights as landlord are protected. In Czech Republic the laws are very strict in favour of the tenant in a direct tenant-landlord relationship. Under this relationship, it takes either a court proceeding or the tenant’s written agreement to use some of their damage deposit toward legitimate damage they have caused.

CZECH POINT 101 have developed a unique contract system which both protects the owner and has fair terms for the tenant. Read more about tenant’s legal rights in the Czech Republic on our blog here: http://www.czechpoint101.com/newsletter/?p=123.

Have the agreement in English and Czech. It is not fair to have a contract in a language not understood by the tenant. Of course, you cannot be expected to translate a contract into Swahili but having both English and Czech ensures that the tenant clearly understands the terms of the rental.

Do your work up front, or ensure that your property manager is doing this, and you can be guaranteed better return on your properties and more sleep at night!

Nathan Brown www.czechpoint101.com