Start with the work you want to delegate
Finding a tenant, collecting rent each month and managing the whole operation are different needs. A one-off tenant placement proposal should not be compared with ongoing maintenance and reporting on price alone. Management of an apartment building’s shared areas is also different from managing the tenancy of your individual flat.
Write down whether the flat is vacant or tenanted, furnished or unfurnished, where you live and which decisions you want to keep. Send the same brief to each company so their proposals address the same situation.
Ask every company the same fee questions
A low monthly percentage does not describe the total cost. Ask for separate lines covering setup, tenant placement, reletting and third-party costs, including when each becomes payable. Check whether tax is included and which amount the monthly percentage is applied to.
| Topic | Question to ask | Written record to request |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | Is it based on rent due or rent actually collected? | Calculation method and deductions |
| Vacancy and arrears | What is charged if the flat is empty or rent does not arrive? | Separate treatment of both situations |
| Tenant change | Is another placement fee payable? | Reletting scope |
| Repairs | Are coordination and contractor costs separate? | Approval limit and invoice process |
| End of service | How are the file, keys and accounts handed over? | Handover checklist |
Request a sample report and clear spending limits
Ask for a monthly statement with personal information removed. You should be able to follow the collection date, the reason for each expense, its invoice, the management fee and the amount to be transferred to you. A message giving only a total may leave you unable to understand why money was spent.
Who obtains repair quotes, at what point do they ask you, and what happens in an emergency? Clarify this before signing. If a power of attorney or other authorisation is needed, discuss its scope separately with the professional handling it; this checklist does not establish legal authority.
Compare communication if you live abroad
Establish your everyday contact, the language of your reports and how time differences will be handled. Ask who covers the file when that person is away. If response times or visit frequency matter to you, look for a written commitment in the proposal.
- How are tenant requests received and recorded?
- Where are photographs from before and after a repair kept?
- Can invoices be matched to transactions in the report?
- When and how is an owner told about a late payment?
Make the decision using a sample month
Ask the team to walk you through a normal month, a month with a repair and a month without rent collection. This produces a more comparable answer than a general sales presentation. Use your own property’s figures; an illustrative calculation is not a rental income guarantee.
Plan an opening file containing the existing lease, payment records, inventory and key list. Agree how these documents will be returned when the service ends. Your decision should reflect how well you can follow the ongoing work, as well as how easy the first conversation feels.
Sources
To compare these questions with the published service scope and fees: Istanbul property management packages
Related guides
This is not legal advice. The guides are for general information; legislation and amounts change. Consult a lawyer or a tax specialist for your own situation.