REALITNÍ a stavební PROFIT 4 / 2 0 0 0

Living for V.l.P

More information about her real estate agency we obtained from its owner, Mrs Mária Mihinová. Real estate agency was settled by a chance. Mária Mihinová has worked as flight attendant, after 1998 decided to stay at land. She has been using her language knowledge in a travel agency, which was offering exclusive services for individual clients who do not travel to Prague because of its monuments. She met an American-Slovak who had a special request. He was not interested in historical monuments, hut In houses to live there and to settle his firm. The contract has been signed and American-Slovak offer s a provision common in such a business abroad.

„That was my first premium and motive for following work. I had to learn to write contracts and to notice interesting places and houses, to find out their owners as well as potential customers. Beginnings without telephone, not only without a mobile, has not been simple at all. During last nine years a lot of things changed. I write contracts in computer, I do not move without mobile and when I visit the houses I usually do not drive to answer a numerous questions of clients.‘ Mária Mihinová can speak several languages, but German is most frequent, so most of the clients are from german-speaking countries. She obtained the contacts from german embassy she co-operates with for nine years.

For three years she co-operates with Dutch company Tel Source. Long-term contacts are a big success, beacuase they mean new cklients. Their number is now lower than in past, because foreign companies has trained czech employees and they already have their living, or do not require such the luxury living.

‘Today most of my clients are French. They move to Prague 5, wherethe French lycée has been built. They want to live as close as possible so that their children do not have to travel a long way, but not in the centre, beacuse they want to live there for two or three years.

Principle of a success is quality

There are several real estate agencies with the same aim, but there is no rivalry among them. Their owners contact each other and change their experience. The same approach has five women – owners of real estate agencies. They are convicned that common project can be more succesful in comparing with individual work. ,, We are in a state of discussions, but I believe it is a near future, I consider co-operation the following step in our work“.

Unless M. Mihinová spent long hours with her clients showing them residential houses, she is looking for new clients as well as deals with the owners of potential new houses for rent. Except intermediation of the houses she must be diplomat, to feel the needs of clients. She insists on responsibility, so the company has good reputation based on the results of her work, confirmed by the clients – owners of the houses as well as tenants who returns repeatedly to V.I.P. Homes.

The most demanding are film companies, which require accommodation for their stars. Their demands to the accomodations is sometimes impossible to fulfill, so far there are no such the houses in Prague or they are long-term rented – eg request of Tom Hanks for numerous bedrooms was not satisfied, but they met requirements of the managers from foreign companies like Coca Cola, Philip Morris, Rolls Roys, Peugeot, Credit Lyonnais and another. They offer houses and flats for rent in most required areas like Old Town, Vinohrady, Hanspaulka a Ořechovka or Hřebenka.

M. Mihinová knows from her previous experience in airport traffic that customers appreciate high quality services. She knows very well that quality is the condition of success and she has to conform her private life, so she has no free time after hours of every-day work. Sometimes she hardly can find two hours a week for yoga, which helps her to make hectic life-style calm down.