A medical doctor serving at the VA Medical Centre in the United States, the 63-year-old Amanuel Tekle has been away from his native land for so long. Growing up in Addis Abeba's Seba Dereja neighbourhood, the search for a better life and opportunities caused him to move in 1983. It was a time of political turmoil and profound uncertainty at home that compelled thousands of his generation to flee far away.

Close to 30 years passed before Amanuel returned to have a presence in the land of his origin. He leased a 1,000Sqm plot where he built a villa in Ayat Tafo, Yeka District. He also owns a house in the United States, the place of his permanent residence. Little was he prepared, however, for the extreme difficulty of managing his villa in Addis Abeba from afar.

Thus, he decided to outsource the management of his house to a property management company and chose Apollo Real Estate & Property Management for the service. He signed an agreement with the company back in 2016.

Established in 2012 with the aim of administering the diaspora community's property in Ethiopia, Apollo is in charge of administering Amanuel's house, such as renting the house and collecting rent payments.

The company also provides services like advertising rental properties, interviewing and selecting the right tenants, collecting rent and administering properties on behalf of the diaspora.

Companies like that of Apollo handles all the day-to-day activities of the property, including seeking out tenants to rent the space, collecting monthly rental payments, maintaining the properties and maintaining the grounds.

Such companies also oversee residential, commercial and industrial properties, which include apartments, detached houses, condominium units and shopping centres. The property manager acts on behalf of the owner to preserve the value of the property while generating income.

Apollo is based in Washington, DC, but has a branch office in Addis Abeba on the third floor of National Tower. At the beginning of this month, the office of Apollo was crowded with customers looking for its services.

Some of the visitors wanted to consult the property manager on how to keep their house safe when they are away, while the others were there to sign agreements for property administration services.

Amanuel was among the crowd paying a visit to the company in a bid to renew his agreement, which operates with 13 employees and has 60 customers.

''The company saves me time, which I could spend managing the house,'' Amanuel told Fortune.

Though the trend seems quite new, the service has been emerging in the capital over the past couple of years.

Baladera Property Management & Investment Consultant is another company engaged in the property management business. For the past five years, Baladera has managed buildings and residential houses.

Residing on the ninth floor of Selam City Mall located on Cameron Street, the company also consults on the finishing processes of buildings under construction. Currently, the company is an agent to 1,500 tenants.

Renting buildings and shopping malls, Baladera collects rent from tenants on behalf of the property owners.

Nega Asfaha, managing director of Baladera Property Management, says that many people do not have experience in outsourcing the management and administration of properties to property managers.

''Investors must develop the habit of outsourcing the management of their property,'' Nega said.

Investors who rent their office buildings sometimes find it hard to manage their property effectively. For this reason, they transfer the administration of their property, including the rent management, to professionals, which makes life easy for them, according to Nega.

The company currently works with 25 properties and buildings, while it has signed seven contracts for new projects. Century Mall, Zefmesh Grand Mall, Snap Plaza and Centrum Apartment are among Baladera's clients.

It also supplies raw materials for cleaning and maintenance services and has a capital of half a million Birr.

The service also helps tenants who wish to rent spots at different buildings. Endanluel Trading Plc, an establishment that has been in business for the past decade, is one of them.

Endanluel retails ready-made menswear that is imported from Italy. The company started the business in a rented space inside Lafto Mall. Its store sits on the ground floor of the building and has been selling clothes under the name Real Fashion.