Luxury property management in London for owners of premium homes who are not there most of the time — overseas owners, second-home owners and families whose property sits empty between visits or lets. We look after the building, the contractors and the paperwork, and report back so you know what has happened without having to chase.
This page is the core management service. If you need help mainly with household staff and pre-arrival preparation, see luxury home management; for large estates with grounds and multiple buildings, see estate management and concierge; and for a comparison of high-end managing agents, see high-end property management.
Who this service is for
- Overseas owners of a London flat or townhouse who need a reliable local representative and written reporting in their own time zone.
- Second-home owners whose property is empty for weeks at a time and needs checks, utilities and insurance conditions kept in order.
- Owners letting a prime home on a long or corporate let who want the tenancy run properly, not just collected.
- Executors and family offices holding a property while decisions are made about selling, letting or refurbishing.
What we do
Vacant and part-year property care
Empty homes fail quietly: a slow leak, a tripped boiler, post piling up behind the door. Most buildings insurance policies also set conditions for unoccupied periods, so check your policy wording. We agree a visit pattern with you, then carry out and record each visit: running taps, checking heating and alarms, looking for damp or pest signs, clearing post and checking the exterior.
Contractor coordination
We get quotes, check the contractor's insurance and relevant registrations (for example Gas Safe for gas work), give access, inspect the finished job and match the invoice to the quote. Larger or specialist works such as listed-building alterations, structural repairs or full refurbishments are run with your architect, surveyor or principal contractor. We coordinate; we don't replace them.
Access and keys
Keys are logged, and access is given only to people you have approved. We can meet contractors, deliveries or inventory clerks at the property and confirm afterwards who attended and when.
Owner reporting
You get a written report after each visit or job, with photos, plus a regular statement of what was spent and what is coming up. You choose how often: monthly suits most overseas owners. Decisions over an agreed spending limit come to you first.
Compliance and building matters
We keep the property's certificates and deadlines in one place (gas safety, electrical condition reports, EPC where the home is let, insurance renewal) and deal with the building's managing agent on service charge demands, works notices and access requests.
An illustrative inspection calendar
This is an example of the kind of schedule we agree with owners, not a fixed package. Frequency depends on the property, the season and your insurer's conditions.
- Every visit while empty: security, water, heating, alarms, post, signs of damp or pests, exterior.
- Before winter: boiler service booked, frost protection checked, gutters and roofs looked at where we can reach them safely.
- Before your arrival: heating on, utilities checked, any outstanding jobs closed off.
- Each year: certificates renewed, insurance terms checked, contractor list reviewed, and a short note of maintenance to plan for the year ahead.
Who does what
- We do: visits, reporting, contractor coordination, access, tenancy management where the home is let, budget tracking and dealing with the building's managing agent.
- Your specialists do: legal advice and possession proceedings (solicitor), insurance placement and claims advice (broker), building surveys and structural opinions (RICS surveyor or structural engineer), tax (accountant). We can introduce you to independent specialists, and we will tell you when a question needs one.
- You decide: spend over the agreed limit, choice of tenant, and any works that change the property.
How it starts
- Call or enquiry. Tell us about the property, how often it's occupied, and what's going wrong today.
- Walk-round. We visit, note the property's condition, systems and existing contractors, and check the paperwork.
- Written proposal. You get the scope, visit pattern, reporting, spending limit and fee in writing, including what is charged separately.
- Handover. We collect keys, certificates and contractor details, and set up the first report.
Fees
We quote each home individually after the walk-round, because a two-bedroom flat that is let and an empty six-bedroom townhouse need very different amounts of work. The proposal shows whether the fee is a fixed monthly retainer or a percentage of rent, and lists everything charged on top. For fee models, exclusions and the questions to ask any agent, see property management fees.
Real Estate Property Management UK is operated by Pearl Lemon Group. Book a call or use the proposal form on this page.
Define the instruction before comparing fees
A privately used townhouse, a let apartment and a home held empty need different work. For a leasehold apartment, identify the existing block or estate manager and the boundary between internal and shared repairs. An individual-home agreement does not give us control of communal lifts, plant or building budgets.
For Chelsea homes, consents, period finishes and access may shape the instruction; see the building-level questions for SW3 owners. For an apartment in a managed development, the E14 owner guide covers contractor access and block-agent liaison. These are owner circumstances, not claims of a local office or a postcode package.
What to include in your enquiry
- Your role and property type: private owner or landlord, house or apartment, one home or a portfolio.
- Whether it is let, occupied between visits or empty, and any insurer-required visit conditions.
- Existing contractors or block manager, access restrictions, unresolved repairs and your preferred reporting frequency.
- Current-agent notice terms, proposed start date and spending approvals.
The written proposal should separate management fees, VAT treatment, inspection attendance, contractor invoices, project coordination and independent professional charges. We coordinate property work; we do not provide regulated legal, tax, insurance or structural advice.
Request a property management proposal using the form on this page, or book a call to discuss the scope.