Manning a single house is tiresome. How about a woman managing around 40 houses at K K Nagar? In a rare case, S Sumathi takes care of houses, including those of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
Speaking to News Today, she says, “I am into this business for the last 20 years. There is no investment; only contacts and goodwill of people keeps me going on.”
Asked about how this idea clicked, Sumathi says, “Earlier, my family was into catering. My mother-in-law used to cook food. My husband and I would deliver the food to houses. On one such occasion, a house owner was looking for a person to take care of her rented house. It struck me as to why not I do it. My journey began and through contacts, I am now taking care of houses at K K Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Ramapuram, West Mambalam and Thiruvanmiyur and I am paid on monthly basis.”
Any risk involved? She says, “One has to take risk to shine in life. So far everything is good. Once a house gets vacated, the house owner, who stays in an other area/State/foreign country informs me. My husband S Subramanian will take care of the basic alterations to be done before renting out the house. I collect all details of the tenants and inform the owner. I visit the house every month to collect the rent and send it to the owner. This also helps me to keep an eye on the house.”
“Most owners are aged and I also get enquiries from OMR and far-off places. I did not take it up it is far away from K K Nagar,” she says.
When asked that this being a novel idea, were other women into the business, Sumathi says, “Many hesitate to take it up. One of the reasons might be they have to visit all houses and attend to all their problems.” Sumathi and Subramanian reside at 997, NuTech Karpagambal Flat, 74th Street, 12th Sector.
They can be reached at 99415 24630/ 98413 40657.