We have a few cracking apartments for rent in Brasov & Bucharest that represent excellent value. Most are 30-40% cheaper than they were this time last year, becuase the owners want to acheive 100% occupancy.
Rest assured, if they are on our books, they are definately at the better end of what's available for any given budget. We don't deal in neglected property. It usually signifies disinterested landlords, unhappy or worse undesirable tenants & generally, all manner of striffe from missing rent to damaged contents on tenant-exit. Please email us if you don't see somethng appropriate on the site. A much as we try to stay on top of property, all available property is not on the site yet. Some for example, is in awaiting furniture, or a kitchen etc, so photos are not avaiable & hence, not listed.
Damian
3/20/09
Spare any change Gov?
I know this is not the time to be thinking of being frivolous, but this is exactly why I mention this right now. If you would like to find a reliable way to donate a euro or 2 each month, but so far haven't, let me help you spend your money!
We in the office have a small fund, from around 18 contributores as at todays date, with some connection to WMP, Brasov or Romania in some way. They have entrusted us to see that the money (around 90 euros per month) makes it to a good cuase undiluted. We currently support a few small, ill-supported organisations that care for disabled or old people. Prevous support I have been involved in is shown here http://www.onthisrock.co.uk/, so you can rely on the money getting there.
Contributing is very simple. From the UK, you simply set up a standing order or one or 2 gbp to a Citibank account I have set up. From Brasov, its even easier! Just pop into the office & hand it in, or even come with us when we distribute it, in the form of food, clothing, or even repairs.
Damian
We in the office have a small fund, from around 18 contributores as at todays date, with some connection to WMP, Brasov or Romania in some way. They have entrusted us to see that the money (around 90 euros per month) makes it to a good cuase undiluted. We currently support a few small, ill-supported organisations that care for disabled or old people. Prevous support I have been involved in is shown here http://www.onthisrock.co.uk/, so you can rely on the money getting there.
Contributing is very simple. From the UK, you simply set up a standing order or one or 2 gbp to a Citibank account I have set up. From Brasov, its even easier! Just pop into the office & hand it in, or even come with us when we distribute it, in the form of food, clothing, or even repairs.
Damian
Distressed investor? thinking of ditching or pulling out? think again...
We have been nvolved in helping a range of distressed clients/ investors in recent months, for developments in Greenfields, Rose Gardens, City Residence, Tampa Gardens, Avant Gardens, Corona/ La Residence etc.
Please feel welcome to draw on our free advice service to share our local knowledge with you. Our mission is not to charge for everything we do. Categorically not. We are here for the long term, as peroperty managers to take care of all matters from finding, buying, furnishing, renting & subsequently managing investors property. To do that, we have to provide a full service to would-be clients & by definition, some do not go through with it. We help them reach that decision, at no charge.Orientation Visits:I am keen to stress how easy, rewarding, helpful & settling it is to come out to Romania to resovle seemingly complex issues with your property pruchase, be that pulling out & taking legal action, or proceding & renting out.
Please feel welcome to draw on our free advice service to share our local knowledge with you. Our mission is not to charge for everything we do. Categorically not. We are here for the long term, as peroperty managers to take care of all matters from finding, buying, furnishing, renting & subsequently managing investors property. To do that, we have to provide a full service to would-be clients & by definition, some do not go through with it. We help them reach that decision, at no charge.Orientation Visits:I am keen to stress how easy, rewarding, helpful & settling it is to come out to Romania to resovle seemingly complex issues with your property pruchase, be that pulling out & taking legal action, or proceding & renting out.
One distressed client we just helped, at no charge by us whatsoever included the following help:
providing the client with UK clients in her same situation, to get a consensed opinion about her options
- finding the cheapest flights to romania (135 euros return, short notice)
- getting the client picked up from Bucharest & taken to Brasov (70 euros)
- finding her quality accomodation in the square, (33 euros per night)
- getting the client the best legal advice in Brasov, & in fact the free consultation was all that she needed to make her mind up on which route to take, proceed or pull out of the purchase
- introducing the client to the most preferred notary in Brosov, to raise POA's etc.
- finding the client a buyer for her now-unwanted furniture pack
- we even lent the cleint an office desk from which to operate for the week & manger her emails
- getting the client taken back to the airport.
- All in all, the client spent under 500e for the whole trip, Luton to Luton agian, had a week in Brasov, met numerous crucual contacts, resoved some awkward issues regarding the final payments/ litigation matters for an apartment purchase/ delayed completion/ lack of mirtgage & ...
- we sold on her furniture pack.
For us, we enjoyed the company, had several free meals in Bella Musica (thankyou!), made some aqcuantences and increased our knowledge of current Brasov property affairs, finance, developers situations etc. We are satisfied we did our best to assist the client & that the right outcome has been reached.
So, please, do not rule out getting your hands dirty & coming out here. It is far more accessible, friendly & productive that you might beleive.
Damian
Mortgage Finance - Romania
If there are any distressed buyers out there looking for finance to complete their romanian purchases, we have 2 good brokers we use, with low admin costs, who may well be able to help, so please call us in the office (+40 268 416522) or on +40 727 606074.
Damian
Damian
Incentives - Property Management
Readers of this blog may be pleased to know, we have decided to be a little more generous than usual. For clients using our services in their birth month, all of our fees are half price.
So, if we rent your apartment, we charge a week's rent instead of 2!
If we carry out a detailed inventory for you, its 20 euros, not 40 euros
If we manage your property, its 5% for than month & not 10% of the rent.
In addition, I should stress that the management fee is not locked at 10%. If the management is not overly complex, we often charge less than 10%, when rents are greater than 450e per month in Brasov, & 650e in Bucharest. So, its always worth beating us down!!!
To qualify for this half price offer though, you need to mention this blog.
So, if we rent your apartment, we charge a week's rent instead of 2!
If we carry out a detailed inventory for you, its 20 euros, not 40 euros
If we manage your property, its 5% for than month & not 10% of the rent.
In addition, I should stress that the management fee is not locked at 10%. If the management is not overly complex, we often charge less than 10%, when rents are greater than 450e per month in Brasov, & 650e in Bucharest. So, its always worth beating us down!!!
To qualify for this half price offer though, you need to mention this blog.
Tampa Gardens
We have been helping distressed clients in Tampa Gardens with help, ranging from local legal support (affordable I might add, not the Bucharest rates I have seen that make me want to retrain & quickly), to finding them buyers for unwanted furniture packs, right through to getting them back on track with alterntive finance offers.
If we can help you, even if just bringing you up to speed, we are happy to.
In addition, if you have furniture packs you no longer want, we can try to find you buyers for it.
Damian, +40 727 606074 anytime.
If we can help you, even if just bringing you up to speed, we are happy to.
In addition, if you have furniture packs you no longer want, we can try to find you buyers for it.
Damian, +40 727 606074 anytime.
3/19/09
Furniture Pack Quality: Designer versus IKEA
To all Land-lord investors:
I'd like to dispel a few myths etc about furniture packs.
In my last job at Aston Martin, I was fortunate to have worked for an inspiring man, Paul Kidney, RIP. As a result of his passion for factual accuracy in problem solving & product robustness, he put himself in a very early grave. His legacy lives on with many though. One thing he used to hate, was Opinion-eering! In other words, people expressing fact when it was meerly an uneducated opinion. As Paul would say, ‘a man without facts is merely expressing an opinion’
As a landlord myself, as a Mechanical Engineer of more than 24 years & as someone working in the Rental market since 1995, I can speak as an authority.
I often hear people dismissing IKEA quality as rubbish, in preference for Designer packs in Romania, & the more avantguard shops. I've heard this from nervous clients & ill-informed or opinionated property selling agents.
Let me put the record straight as someone with vast product test & developement expereince of some very demanding products (Ford, Jauguar, Aston Martin). To properly create a product, it must be engineered, & then tested in life-cycle testing to simulate real-life conditions. You cannot merely design something, guess the right material selection & hope for the best, unless it is static furniture/ & or for light duty.
Many custom packs available really do look excellent & I would be the first to admit that.
However, behind the appearance, it is often the base materials or components that matter, particularly in kitchens, wardrobes, drawer units & other moving furniture. Example, wardrobes & kitchen unites made of Pal (plastic coated chip board) should be 18mm thick, not 15, unless non-load-bearing. Poorly built furniture will sag over time & because it is not made from solid wood, it is not always possible to recover the situation. Real wood has grain, & can take many many more times the load that compressed chip board can. So, bookshelves etc if merely decorative are ok, but if laden, will sag quickly.
I have no vested interest in Ikea, & indeed , detest the 3hr drive to go buy furniture there, but credit where it is due. They do have a very strict T&D policy & furniture is tested & developed fully for a given application, unless its is merely cheap, decorative etc. They too use cheap solutions (chipboard, MDF etc) but it is engineered with re-enforcements where needed. E.g., wide-span wardrobe shelves that one can often see sagging badly on cheap furniture, could be rectified with an opposing, bladelike support beam underneath to prevent sag.
One furniture producer here in Brasov make seating for Ikea & often complain about the waste they are mandated to throw away during Ikea production, when they believe it could be salvaged & used in Production. Ikea have very high standards for raw materials.
As a final comment, Ikea is not the ultimate furniture maker. Far from it. You ideally want real wood, & not just pine & beech, but good hard woods. But for most people, such options are beyond financial viability. For those, please do not dismiss Ikea in favour of high-style, low quality designer packs. It may be fine for now, but may deteriorate more quickly & have a smaller resale value.
I'd like to dispel a few myths etc about furniture packs.
In my last job at Aston Martin, I was fortunate to have worked for an inspiring man, Paul Kidney, RIP. As a result of his passion for factual accuracy in problem solving & product robustness, he put himself in a very early grave. His legacy lives on with many though. One thing he used to hate, was Opinion-eering! In other words, people expressing fact when it was meerly an uneducated opinion. As Paul would say, ‘a man without facts is merely expressing an opinion’
As a landlord myself, as a Mechanical Engineer of more than 24 years & as someone working in the Rental market since 1995, I can speak as an authority.
I often hear people dismissing IKEA quality as rubbish, in preference for Designer packs in Romania, & the more avantguard shops. I've heard this from nervous clients & ill-informed or opinionated property selling agents.
Let me put the record straight as someone with vast product test & developement expereince of some very demanding products (Ford, Jauguar, Aston Martin). To properly create a product, it must be engineered, & then tested in life-cycle testing to simulate real-life conditions. You cannot merely design something, guess the right material selection & hope for the best, unless it is static furniture/ & or for light duty.
Many custom packs available really do look excellent & I would be the first to admit that.
However, behind the appearance, it is often the base materials or components that matter, particularly in kitchens, wardrobes, drawer units & other moving furniture. Example, wardrobes & kitchen unites made of Pal (plastic coated chip board) should be 18mm thick, not 15, unless non-load-bearing. Poorly built furniture will sag over time & because it is not made from solid wood, it is not always possible to recover the situation. Real wood has grain, & can take many many more times the load that compressed chip board can. So, bookshelves etc if merely decorative are ok, but if laden, will sag quickly.
I have no vested interest in Ikea, & indeed , detest the 3hr drive to go buy furniture there, but credit where it is due. They do have a very strict T&D policy & furniture is tested & developed fully for a given application, unless its is merely cheap, decorative etc. They too use cheap solutions (chipboard, MDF etc) but it is engineered with re-enforcements where needed. E.g., wide-span wardrobe shelves that one can often see sagging badly on cheap furniture, could be rectified with an opposing, bladelike support beam underneath to prevent sag.
One furniture producer here in Brasov make seating for Ikea & often complain about the waste they are mandated to throw away during Ikea production, when they believe it could be salvaged & used in Production. Ikea have very high standards for raw materials.
As a final comment, Ikea is not the ultimate furniture maker. Far from it. You ideally want real wood, & not just pine & beech, but good hard woods. But for most people, such options are beyond financial viability. For those, please do not dismiss Ikea in favour of high-style, low quality designer packs. It may be fine for now, but may deteriorate more quickly & have a smaller resale value.
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