With unsold completed residential properties at an all-time high in Malaysia and with landlords competing for tenants amidst a slowdown, there are one thing developers and property investors with empty homes could do — rent them out for short-term rentals instead of waiting for long-term leases.

But managing short-term rentals requires time and effort, especially if you have several properties on hand. You may find it a chore or maybe too busy to manage these properties when all you are looking for are yields to be banked into your account every month. Can you skip all the logistics and paperwork? Thanks to property management company Plush Services, it is possible.

About Plush Services

Founded in 2016 by sister and brother duo, Yap Vin Li and Yap Zer Ken are directors of the company. Zer Ken explains to EdgeProp.my that the idea came about in 2016 when his sister Vin Li tried out the Airbnb concept with one of her spare dual key apartments in Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur.

“So, we did up the place nicely, took some pictures of the place and listed it. The first night itself, we got bookings already. We were very excited because this apartment was in Kuchai Lama, and we thought — this unit is not even in a prime area like KLCC. If we can do it here, what about the KLCC area?” said Zer Ken.

It was that moment that led to the thought that they could also help other property owners to manage their short- to medium-term rental properties. After sleeping on it, they decided to set up a business to offer management services to property owners so that they do not have to go through the hassle of having to work with different parties and to constantly deal with guests checking in and out.

Through word of mouth by clients and friends of friends, property owners started to engage them.

“We were managing 15 to 20 properties in the first few months when we first started. It has been growing organically ever since. Today, we are managing close to 150 units of properties in Kuala Lumpur including Bangsar, Mont’Kiaraand Old Klang Road,” says Zer Ken.

Earlier this year (2019), they expanded their business to Penang and Ipoh where they are managing close to 40 units combined. They are also looking to expand to another country in the next six months or so, with a high chance of it being in Indonesia.

Vin Li says their main clients are mostly individual owners looking at short-term to the medium-term rental, and Plush Services makes sure that these units are occupied.

Last year, they started working with property developers who have overhang units and Plush Services helped to lease out the unsold units so that they do not remain vacant.

“For such units, the developer will have a private deal with us to see how we can help them to ‘move’ the units so that they can at least gain some yield before the property is sold eventually,” Vin Li explains.