What do I need to look after regularly when I buy a rented property?

We answer these and many other questions in our video blog episodes.

Here is the transcript of episode 36 to read through:

Since you usually work with a professional property management company, provided you do it sensibly from my point of view, you don't have to worry about anything. However, there are still one or two very small specific things you should bear in mind. Specifically, as a property owner, you will be sent a council tax assessment by the city every two to three years. The council tax is the amount that the local authority will debit from your account on a quarterly basis. They are responsible for street cleaning and things like that, you see.

And this property tax on a rented property is paid for you by the tenant. Naturally, they will only do that if you remember that when the local authority sends out a bill like this every two or three years, you simply forward it on to the property management. Because if you send it to the property management, they will pass this property tax on to the tenant for you, and the tenant pays the property tax for you.

So if I may single out one mistake you can make after buying a property, it's that you don't pass the property tax assessment on to the property management and therefore stupidly pay €15, €25, €35 every quarter yourself, even though they should actually be paid by the tenant. A very professional management will also notice that it isn't getting the property tax assessment and will then ask about it.

However, I've experienced that this can sometimes be forgotten for a year or two, and therefore it would be good if you always remember it. Main task: When a tax assessment notice arrives, pass it on to the administration, you're doing everything right there and then it works.

Keywords:

Property tax, Rented properties, Administration, Tenants, Tax assessment notice, Street cleaning, Quarter