Hayles

Several years ago I bought an apartment in Budapest. It is a rental property and whilst demand seems ok the rental income is reducing which I have put down to the slowing economy in Hungary. It seems to be difficult to make any money out of the rental of the apartment

I never seem to recover all the commen costs, the managing agent seems to want me to pay for any repairs instead of the tenant, people leave without having paid rent and the agent wants to hang on to the deposit.

Does anyone have experience of property rental in Budapest? And can anyone recommend a reliable managing agent for rentals and repairs?

Rural Hungary

Hi Hayles and welcome to the Hungarian section.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any agents in Budapest but there are a couple of forum users from Budapest who might be able to help advice you.

Hayles

Hi RH

Thanks for your reply, I have read many of your posts with interest. Unfortunately I have had no other responses to my post. Maybe someone will read it soon and be able to give me some help.

Regards

Hayles

Rural Hungary

Thanks Hayles

I do have a friend in Budapest who used to work there as an estate agent, not sure if she dealt with rentals but if you want to PM me details of your agents commission, contractual details with regards to repairs etc, I can ask for her opinion on it.
She now works for one of the directors at Budapest airport so any opinion she offers will be unbiased

rammy100

Hi

I have just joined this forum - on an entirely different issue - but I may be able to help. I have a rental property in BP that is managed by a small company and it works fine. If you are still looking, get in touch with me.

Dave

fidobsa

I think one of the problems is that there are quite a lot of badly built buildings in Hungary so they need frequent repairs. If you happen to have invested in such a building you could well struggle to make much income. I too have considered looking for a buy-to-let flat in Budapest but am well aware that it is a high risk investment, especially during a recession when tenants may be struggling to make ends meet.

rammy100

We bought a place in Budapest a few years back but were fortunate with the location and have managed to secure tenants who make it viable. We have a small team of guys who take care of it for us who we have developed a good relationship with. We decided on an old building mainly because they are never likely to build anything like this again, whilst new builds are everywhere.

A (serious) question Fidobsa......how does retirement suit you as a 52 y/o man in Hungary? I am in a situation where I am looking to leave the UK and semi-retire and Hungary (Budapest) is a possibility. I am very familiar with the city but I'm not sure living there full-time would suit.

Dave

fidobsa

My life in a village 200Km from Budapest probably bears little resemblance to your possible retirement to the city. I love being in the countryside, with trees and birds and fresh air. The people are friendly and respectable, this is the first property I've owned where I've not had bother from juvenile delinquents of one sort or another. It is like I imagine life was in UK in the mid '50s. lots of people don't have cars so they use pushbikes in the village or buses when going further afield. The downside is that I'm finding it very hard to learn the language as I seem to forget new words after only a few days. If I do give up and go back to Scotland it will because the language has defeated me.
As for retirement, I've not really got to that bit yet as I seem to have bought a collection of those badly built buildings I mentioned and it is a full time job getting them up to scratch!

rammy100

Ah, I see the problem about the properties. Tricky one I guess. I understand entirely about the language difficulties although in Budapest it is less of a problem. I have managed nothing more than a few words and I know that whatever I do, I will never pick up enough to converse in Magyar.

I can see that living in the countryside would be good although it's not for me. Whilst I appreciate everything you have described, after a few days I start to need the bright lights again. I have always found the people - by and large - to be decent and certainly more respectful others than almost everyone in the UK.

Dave

Hayles

Hi Rammy

Thanks for your post. Have sent you a PM.