Helping hands

In-the-know locals assist expatriates out of their depth in Hungary

By Robert Smyth

Having lived the expat experience themselves, encountering their fair share of the everyday hassle of living abroad, a trio known as HELPERS have set up a business that lets foreigners get all manner of things done easily in Hungary.

“We take care of everything from arguing with builders, finding and fitting out apartments, locating a driver who speaks German… almost anything they ask,” says founder and part-owner Barbara Ürögdi, who herself has been an expat in New York and Serbia. The other partners are Ürögdi’s husband Nenad Ignjatović, who hails from Serbia and has also lived in the U.S., and Dániel Bodonyi, who studied in London.

“We know about the kind of problems that foreigners come up against. It’s about dealing with people and not just a question of language,” says Bodonyi.

To provide a diverse range of services, from guiding visitors for overworked hosts to finding Swedish-speaking IT experts, or plumbers who speak English, HELPERS calls on an extensive network of contacts, as well as a team of mostly young, English-speaking locals.

“We have many friends who have skills that are not being utilized,” says Ignjatović.

Personal Touch

HELPERS conducts its business as Yorick Bt, a firm originally set up by Ürögdi and her father to provide translation services. HELPERS was started last year.

Ürögdi feels there are sufficient numbers of foreigners in Hungary who need help with carrying out mundane but problematic tasks.

“There is a different type of foreigner here now than ten years ago,” says Ürögdi, explaining that there are less senior executives and more of a wider spread of people. “Executives get their secretaries to do everything,” she quips.

“The problem for people is not that they can’t do something, but more that they don’t have the time,” says Bodonyi. “For expats in Hungary, it can take days to see to a relatively straightforward task.”

The team’s approach differs from that of expat relocation firms, argues Ürögdi.

“We are small and personal,” she says. “We deal with numerous matters concerning everyday life, and run a wide range of errands.”

Timothy Waskett, one of the firm’s clients, testifies to how difficult a task, or even a potential nightmare, it can be to buy a home abroad.

“There is liaising with the many intermediaries – estate agents, lawyers, builders, insurance brokers, utility providers – [as well as] purchasing furniture, finding carpenters, plumbers and electricians, installing kitchens, cleaning… the list is endless,” he says.

For Waskett, HELPERS made the whole process easier.

“What almost felt impossible has actually been an enjoyable experience,” he declares.

HELPERS, however, does not advertise for real estate or accommodation – or for people.

“Whatever and whomever we find is through personal contacts,” says Bodonyi.

The HELPERS team is also pursuing a number of partnerships with companies specializing in skills or services that it cannot perform, either by itself or through its contact network.

All Yorick Bt’s profits are ploughed back into the company, which is also considering expansion into Serbia and Montenegro, utilizing Ignjatović’s large pool of local contacts. Other countries in the region are also being considered, as is the establishment of strategic partnerships.

“It has to be a country where there are a lot of foreigners and it’s awkward to get things done,” says Ignjatović. “A lot of foreigners are piling into Serbia and Montenegro, and it can be quite difficult to see to everyday tasks as a foreigner.”

Copyright Budapest Business Journal