Lukas Slavik is a 33 years old Project Manager originally from the Czech Republic. He has been living in Germany for four years, and besides being a landlord on Flatio, Lukas also works on Digitization in automotive production. In our first post of this interview series, Lukas will talk about his experience hosting tenants on Flatio and his predictions for the rental market's future.
Flatio: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview with us Lukas, can you please tell us when you started to be a landlord and what has brought you to it?
Lukas: I’m glad and flattered you chose me for this interview. Well, soon after entering adult life, I made the big decision to buy an apartment. Two years later, I made an extensive reconstruction. I completely remodeled an old flat that hasn't changed much since its construction in the 70s into the modern, comfortable home I have always dreamed of. Even before the sweat on my forehead dried off and my hands healed, I received a job offer and started to plan my relocation to Germany. I decided not to sell my new home, but I could not afford to pay rent and mortgage, so I have opted to rent it out.
Flatio: What do you think about the current shift the market has seen from short-term rentals to midterm rentals being very popular due to the pandemic? Do you think it benefits landlords like you?
Lukas: So far, I did not notice the trend. My Apartment is in Prague. The city was hit hard, especially by the pandemic's second wave. Unfortunately, I have to compete in the low-demand high-supply market. Flatio, however, did a stunning job, and I did not need to look elsewhere. 2020 was my most successful year due to one long-term rental (a returning tenant).
Flatio: What were the main challenges you faced when trying to find the right platform to advertise your accommodation?
Lukas: I do not even remember there was any challenge. I was lucky that I heard about Flatio at the right time, and the very first rental worked out so well that I haven't had many needs to try out other platforms.
Flatio: Why did you choose Flatio?
Lukas: My idea was to try out a few platforms and advertise my flat on the best 2-3 of them. Flatio was, however, incredibly fast. Within a couple of hours, everything was ready, a professional 3D virtual tour looked great, and before I even started contacting other platforms for comparison, my first tenant was about to arrive. With the perfect service in the past years, the need to find other platforms has such a low priority that I haven't started looking for alternatives.
Flatio: What are the main benefits for landlords renting through Flatio, in your opinion?
Lukas: Easy and fully digital modern process, start-up & growth mentality, engagement, and excellent customer care.
Flatio: How was the experience with tenants you received from Flatio so far?
Lukas: I prefer tenancies for at least 2-3 months and have had around 15 tenants so far. One tenant came back twice and may probably return. Like most tenants, I was super happy. Many others were great. I only had one problem and one tenant with mixed results. Flatio responded well in both cases.
Flatio: What do you expect from the rental market in the next coming months as the world gets ready to start recovering from the pandemic?
Lukas: I believe that Prague will again be a lively city full of great vibes, and the demand will be back. I may consider buying a second flat if the prices get more lucrative.
Flatio’s biggest mission is to allow people to live borderless in a sustainable way while also offering the possibility to landlords to earn some extra money and meet interesting people from all over the world. We are actively adding more inventory to the main European cities and Capitals. If you have accommodation that you would like to rent out to working professionals, Digital nomads, and remote workers, please use this link to join our platform now.
