Rented-Out Beach House

Problems Identified by Owners

This young professional man from Germany wanted Mr. Barrantes to simply check up on his beachfront chalet in Jaco Beach from time to time. Mainly, he was concerned that his local "property manager" was not doing a good enough job maintaining the property, collecting the rents, etc.; he also wondered if the woman might not be pocketing some of the rental proceeds as the house was only rented out periodically (weekly or monthly tourist rentals). He had even heard through the grapevine that she might have been letting her own friends stay in the house for free.

Services Selected by Owners

He signed up for House Calls service, to be performed on a monthly basis, except during those times of the year when he is able to be in Costa Rica, during which his service is suspended.

His House Calls package included the following: a once a month visit to check up on the property, make sure it is in good condition, personally ascertain who is staying in his house and how much they are being charged, take photographs of any anomalies or changes, interview the "manager," and, finally, collect the rent proceeds from her for the preceding month and deposit them in a local bank.

Results To Date

The representative implemented a standard short rental contract to be signed by each of the tenants and an employee began unscheduled monthly visits as instructed. In addition, a checklist was implemented for maintenance and cleaning in between rentals. According to the owner, rental proceeds went up approximately 40 percent on average, and the "manager" became much more responsive and on-the-ball in the months following the arrival of the representative. No outright fraud or cheating was discovered, but at least the owner now knew that such problems were more tightly controlled. Note: Mr. Barrantes also wound up supervising the painting of the roof of the house (the metal type roof typical on so many of the Costa Rican houses) at the owner's request when it was unoccupied for a week.

Costs

Costs: $150.00 per monthly visit, plus a total of $275 to paint the roof.