Deposits
Booking Deposit
Insist on a booking deposit - normally of 20-25% of the full rental fee.
The remainder should be payable six to eight weeks prior to the date
of the holiday. If anyone backs out, this gives you time to try to secure
a replacement booking.
For bookings made less than two months before the date of occupancy, ask
for full payment immediately. If a potential client objects - treat that
as a warning bell. This is probably NOT the kind of person you want anyway.
Never confirm a booking until the deposit is in the bank….however genuine
the prospective customer seems to be. You may lose the chance of a back-up
booking. Make sure cheques have cleared before sending out the keys, exact
address etc.
You need to beware of that rare but dangerous breed of holidaymaker
who pays his deposit but not the remainder of the booking fee.
Insist on receiving the full amount before keys are handed over…after
all, people expect to pay the full amount up front when they book a
holiday through a travel agent.
Breakages Deposit
Holidaymakers expect to be charged a refundable deposit - often another
25% - to cover breakages and damage. Some property owners don’t charge
a deposit - preferring to trust their guests to report any breakages and
to pay for replacements.
This can be risky - but it goes down well with clients and avoids the
administrative problem of refunding deposits.
One owner told us: “I’ve got the oddest collection of mugs because people
have broken things and bought replacements.”
A good letting agency will ensure that anything broken is replaced
- with matching items! - between lets. If you’re using your own property
manager make sure he/she does the same.
The Black Art of Buying Property in Cyprus™ ®
The Cyprus Informer™ ® ©
http://cyprusinformer.eu
