The Secret To Success With A Rental Property Overseas

Every year since moving to Panama, Kathleen and I have met with our Paris rental property manager Linda during our annual summer visit to the city. Sometimes we have to rent another apartment for our summer stay because ours is occupied. This year the timing worked out for us to stay in our own place. The most recent tenant moved out last week.

As Linda went through the apartment with us this morning pointing out everything that she’d fixed or replaced as well as a few things that she recommends we take care of before a new tenant moves in, I simply nodded in agreement. Linda has been managing this apartment for us for eight years and treats it as her own. When Linda says we need to spend money, I’ve learned to just go along. My wife wishes I’d learn to do the same when she wants to spend money.

Part of our annual meeting each summer is an update on the local market from Linda. Every year since we left Paris in July 2008, Linda’s report has been more or less the same:

“The rental market is down,” she tells us. “Times are tough.”

Yet somehow, every year, she finds renters. We’ve had less than 10% vacancy over the past eight years.

This year is no different. Linda sat in our living room this morning and again told us how hard she thinks it will be to find new renters for our apartment after our departure in August.

Our target market is foreigners on one-year job assignments. We’ve had bankers, professors, and lawyers over the years from Japan, Australia, the United States, and elsewhere.

I have confidence that Linda will have a tenant in place by the first week of September, despite her perennial concerns about the market. Maybe she gives the same doom-and-gloom report each year to keep our expectations low. Then, when she comes through with another renter in short order, we’re more impressed than we might otherwise have been.

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