Villa Management

[Bruce Wallis]

Just out of curiosity, I figured about 4 hours per day 5 days per week on that salary, is that accurate?

Yeah......I thought that was a bit steep.
We employ our maid year round and pay her NI, but we dont pay anything like 400 a month!!

[pato]

Just out of curiosity, I figured about 4 hours per day 5 days per week on that salary, is that accurate?

Yeah......I thought that was a bit steep.

We employ our maid year round and pay her NI, but we dont pay anything like 400 a month!!

Bruce, you may pay all year round but does she work all year round and do the agents pay them all year round, I've heard from my friend who lives on the VDM that cleaners are a rare sight in winter unless they're bringing their washing and ironing to your villa. We'd save money if we paid them nore for the holiday months and then a token payment for winter rates, surely they don't come every day in the close season? Luckily apart from one crooked gentleman who will remain nameless. I've been very lucky and for years used the excellent husband and wife team of Sheila and Jo Gomez on the ADM, they eventually sold out the business and moved on.

[Bruce Wallis]

Yes she does work all year round.....we dont expect her to work her hours rigidly....but she takes home curtains and washes them, repairs cushion covers etc. does "The deep cleaning".
We have no complaints and trust her....as she said when she refused payment for babysitting last week...."Ohh no....we are family"

A good maid is a god send

[shanagarry]

That is the Portuguese attitude we all know and love

[Alison]

When we bought our place on QdP 7 years ago we spoke to a variety of people offering management services, some Portuguese, others British. Having taken up references etc (the 'due diligence' that everyone keeps on about) we ended up going with Kevin Owenson from Algarvillas as we felt that we were on the same 'wavelength' in terms of standards of service (both to us and to our guests) and we 'got on with him' - a subjective term I know. Over the past 7 years he has overseen the building of a pool, replacement roof terrace, outside repainting, etc - all the maintenance jobs required with speed (not usually something associated with Portugal - unless you're talking about their driving!) and efficiency, saving us several trips out which we would otherwise have had to make. He recently organised some roof work with one week's notice (when a guest had to cancel and left us with a spare slot to get some work done). I would have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone wanting their house looked after in a trustworthy and professional manner. If you would like any further info please feel free to get in touch.

Kevin Owenson Property Management Services on 282 357 256 (office number with an answerphone)

[e-richard]

.... we felt that we were on the same 'wavelength' ... and we 'got on with him'

Subjective, yes, but I think these are incredibly important criteria in addition to the aforementioned mechanical processes.
When we changed managers some years ago, I spent at least 1 hour "personally interviewing" 3 possible candidates - all of whom had already passed the due diligence process.

... and we did not go with the cheapest !

[Michael Crane]

Alison, did you do a UK search on him? Marion Day passed all Portuguese checks, but left the UK with at least four County Court judgements against her for unpaid debts! Unfortunately such a check wasn't considered at the time so by those she later robbed and she slipped through the net. For the sake of a few quid invested in a thorough UK and Portuguese search, thousands could be saved.

I am not suggesting that Kevin has anything to hide, but pointing out that a Portuguese check/reference isn't always sufficient.

[Alison]

It would have to have been a Scottish one and no we didn't. I think 7 years of excellent service speaks for itself.

[pato]

I use Anna-Rose in Silves and she's been fine over the years, no problems at all.

[sam]

I can vouch for Kevin, who was our agent prior to Marion Day. His aunt previously ran this service and then Kevin took over. I went with them on personal recommendation from someone we knew and happily used them for 15 years. We parted company very amicably in 2008, and have remained friends. At the time our property was being lived in by my son and a friend. We do not let, so all we needed after this was a weekly check and sweeping the terraces, paying the pool cleaner, water rates and occasionlly some other work. We asked for recommendations on this forum, and after 'due diligence' engaged Marion Day. As I have said before, I think I'll rely on personal recommendation from someone I can trust in future, such as Kevin and friends locally. However, not everyone starting out with an agent has this advantage, so the forum should be a reliable source for recommendations, unfortunately this has proved not to be so in some cases.

[pickwick]

KEVIN OWENSON - ALGAR VILLAS

Dear All

I have known Kevin and his Aunt and Uncle before him for some 20+ years as a client. I relocated to the Algarve 3 years ago and although I have only ever been a client of Algar Villas Kevin was a source of great knowledge and assistance during the purchase process and subsequent renovation. We rented a house from him for the 12 months it took to find, purchase and renovate our property and he freely offered his guidance and help without charge during the whole process. This extended to site visits, organising garden clearance etc etc etc.

My whole extended family has booked with Algar Villas as have many friends and all have been very well looked after when on holiday by Kevin and team. All I can say to owners who rent out (we do not or we would use Kevin) is that he is a great ambassador for you and your properties.

Pickwick

[alf1956]

hello richard,did my pm come through ?? dont know if it went through as been havibg problems with my pm's
alf

[Bruce Wallis]

I use Anna-Rose in Silves and she's been fine over the years, no problems at all.

What you said she charges you, I dont doubt you get good service!!

[Gambrinus]

off topic removed.

[Edit] Specifically, Mazza is not up for discussion and the debates resulting from contributions aimed at inflaming said debate will result in deletions/sanctions.

[richard-lawson]

Thank you to everyone who posted suggestions for suitable villa managers. We spent last week interviewing potential candidates and have now found what we were looking for. Thanks once again,

Richard