A Landlord's Life

Conversations in an eastern European capital. We were on a wide pavement on the city's main thoroughfare.

The sales agent, being hospitable, was doing a walkabout with clients from Ireland. "See down that side street - that infill with the marble front? That's being done by a bloke from Leitrim. Forty-one bedrooms and 10 studios. This is a good area for letting. This city has about 80,000 students always looking for cheap accommodation. Studios or one-bedroom. Until now, there were not enough.

"Then around the corner as we go, the one jutting out, a builder from Monaghan has that one, 66 apartments, one-and-two bedrooms, selling at about €1,500 a square metre. Great letting area, being so central for businessmen in town Monday to Friday. All them is sold, those that bought them last year are seeing a profit already.

"You should have seen what was here before, like a bomb site. The whole place was rundown under Communism. He musta bought it cheap. Thing is, the locals don't have the dosh but the Paddies do - and the Israelis - and we have the know-how. And that's the size of it.

"How do they do it? I don't know. Some of them don't even know where the site is. They come out of the airport and have the address written on a piece of paper in a language they don't understand. But they must know something, because the banks are lending them the money to build all over this city.

"I'm educating my own bank on using one property as collateral on another, under the Commies they didn't know how profit works. I've had to give them, what would you call it, tutorials in funding. It's a bit of a long haul but we're getting there. It's the mindset. See over by the bridge there, see those cranes? That whole site belongs to a few blokes from Tipperary . . . it used to be a kind of factory producing God knows what . . . well, in a few months time, I'll have the brochure ready and those of you who are interested can leave your address back at the office. You'll have first call, so ye will, off plans."

The Israeli said: "Yes, yes, I know, I hear the stories too. The Irish are buying everywhere. A colleague was in a taxi with some Irish just off the plane and in the minibus from the airport they were marking out the plots they would buy. How do they do it?"

He smiled gently and sipped his coffee. "I don't know, you tell me, maybe they know something we don't."

The developer said: "Wherever there's bricks-and-mortar, there you'll find Paddy. I was in Cavan but all the best sites there are gone. I come out here on a personal recommendation. So far, I've done okay. I'm not boasting now, but I have a lovely development down by the river. Cost me about quarter what it would at home. Come down and see it sometime, an' tell me what you think. The standard of finish here is very high, great plasterers they have. They do marbling like Leonardo what's-his-name. I'd like to bring a couple of them fellas back with me, show the boys how to do it.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a card, but if you ask in the office they'll know where I am. What's your mobile number if you're interested, there's me number, give us a ring sometime. Are you out here buying yourself?"

The banker said: "Yes, yes, I understand your application. It is taking longer for a number of reasons. One is: we are getting used to the euro system. We offer money at 1 per cent above the IBAR rate, but we have not all our systems in place. Second reason is: we have conducted an examination of our lending and find the Irish are the late payers. They delay in repayments more than other nationalities. So as your passport is Irish, this application will have to go to the special comm-it-ee which meets on Monday."