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Most sale offers worth buying do not wait. Good investment studios in renovated Lodz tenements disappear from property portals within days – sometimes hours. Some never reach the portals at all: the seller posts an announcement in a Facebook group, the phone rings, and the first interested buyer gets the apartment. For an investor from outside the city, this means one thing: either you have someone in Lodz who reacts immediately on your behalf – or you will not buy the best properties.
This post is about exactly that situation. A client from Warsaw wanted to invest 300 thousand zloty in a studio in Lodz – move-in ready, with a good yield, in a beautiful building. He had neither the time nor the desire to personally inspect properties and run the search. The entire transaction – from initial market scanning, through negotiations and the notarial deed, to finding the first tenant – was carried out remotely on the basis of a notarial power of attorney. The result: a 21-square-meter studio in a beautifully restored tenement on Nawrot Street, bought for 269 thousand zloty, rented out in three days for 1700 zloty plus utilities per month. Gross yield on capital: around 7.6 percent. The client never traveled to Lodz once.
In 2024 a client from Warsaw approached us wanting to invest in the Lodz rental market. Lodz was an obvious choice for him – relatively low purchase prices, stable rental demand, good long-term prospects. Warsaw at a 300 thousand zloty budget buys at most a small studio outside the city center in a weak location. In Lodz, the same money buys a premium apartment in one of the best neighborhoods.
The requirements were precise. Budget: 300 thousand zloty. Condition: no renovation needed, an investment-ready unit for immediate rental. Good yield, justifying the investment in property rather than bonds. And one additional condition about the building: it had to be beautiful and present well. The client was not a fan of prefab concrete blocks – he wanted a renovated tenement or an apartment in a tasteful new development.
The client said it directly: “I do not have time to travel to Lodz for viewings. I do not know the city. I would like you to handle everything for me – from finding the apartment, through the purchase, to renting it out.” We proposed a model we use regularly in such cases: a notarial power of attorney on the basis of which we conduct the entire transaction in his name, plus weekly contact with progress reports and video presentations of every apartment considered. The client went to a notary in Warsaw, signed the power of attorney, and sent us the documents. We started working.
The first weeks of searching were disappointing. On the classic portals (Otodom, OLX, Domiporta, Nieruchomosci-online) there was nothing meeting all criteria at once. Studios in good tenements were either over budget, or required renovation, or the building looked worse than the listing photos – tenements unrenovated for thirty years, staircases in terrible condition, installations needing replacement. Investment-ready units in our price range were mainly in less attractive districts or in concrete blocks the client did not want.
We showed him weekly updates. An apartment in a 1975 block for 280 thousand – the client declined. A studio in a tenement needing renovation for 250 thousand – declined. This was the right approach on his part: having set his conditions, he stuck to them consistently. Our role was not to convince him to compromise but to find an apartment that genuinely met his requirements. After two months it was clear the apartment we were looking for would not appear on a classic portal in the condition and price the client expected. We had to search more broadly.
Professional scanning of the Lodz investment rental market does not stop at Otodom and OLX. The best opportunities also appear in non-obvious places: in Facebook groups for residents of specific districts, on local forums, in communities of former tenement owners, sometimes through fellow agents who notify us about offers before they reach public distribution. We monitor these channels continuously, because for our clients this is often the difference between buying a good apartment and missing it.
The Nawrot apartment appeared in a Facebook group for people investing in Lodz. The seller posted in the evening – professional photos, a concrete description: 21 square meters in a restored tenement, first floor, apartment finished with attention to detail, ready to rent. Price 269 thousand. We responded within tens of minutes – we arranged a viewing for the next day.
The apartment met all the client criteria. The tenement had been fully restored – the staircase with exposed brick texture and original black-and-white mosaic floor, original wrought iron railings, a landscaped courtyard. The apartment interior – design refined in every detail: classic herringbone parquet, ceiling stucco with a rosette, a corduroy sofa, a kitchen with coral cabinets and textured tiles, a bathroom with walk-in shower and patterned floor. An apartment finished by someone who knew what they were doing.
The price of 269 thousand zloty for 21 square meters works out to 12,810 zloty per square meter – higher than the Lodz market median, which sits around 8,000-10,000 zloty per square meter for studios. But that number alone says nothing about the soundness of the investment. Three things justify it. First, a small studio in a renovated tenement is a different segment than the market median – small units in good locations always carry a higher per-meter rate, because the entry budget is low and rental demand is high. Second, the apartment required zero outlay – the client paid 269 thousand and could generate income from day one, whereas cheaper offers need 50-80 thousand in adaptation plus months without rent. Third, renting it out in three days confirmed the apartment market position – rent over the year defends the purchase price better than any theory.
Everything that happened from finding the offer to signing the notarial deed took place without the client physically present. We conducted the viewing with the client on video – connecting with him during the visit, showing all rooms, installations, small details, the staircase, the courtyard, the area. The client asked questions in real time, we answered and checked specific spots. After the viewing we prepared a report: technical condition, legal status disclosed by the seller, maintenance costs, our valuation, and a recommendation on the offer price.
We negotiated the price with the seller on the client behalf – the price came down from the starting level to 269 thousand zloty. We verified the legal status of the property (land and mortgage register, confirmation of no encumbrances, certificates of no overdue charges). We prepared the preliminary agreement with a lawyer and signed it under the power of attorney – the client received it for review before signing. We signed the notarial deed in his name as well. The client received full transaction documentation the next day. Handover of the apartment: handover protocol, verification of meter readings, key handover, photographic documentation of the condition on the day of takeover.
The client saw the apartment in person for the first time several months later, when he visited Lodz privately. Until then he knew it exclusively from photos and video presentations.
After the handover we did our own photo session (the apartment deserved professional photography) and prepared listings in the premium marketing package. The target was a young professional working at one of the corporate firms in central Lodz – the ideal tenant profile for an apartment of this class in this location. We posted the listing on Monday evening. The first viewing bookings came in within hours. On Wednesday we signed the rental agreement with the chosen tenant.
Rent: 1700 zloty plus utilities per month. The tenant paid a deposit, signed a rental agreement, and moved in a week later.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | 269,000 PLN |
| Price per square meter | 12,810 PLN/m² |
| Monthly gross rent | 1,700 PLN + utilities |
| Annual gross rent | 20,400 PLN |
| Gross yield on capital | ~7.6% |
| Time to rent from listing | 3 days |
A note on these numbers: 7.6 percent is gross, before rental tax (the client uses the 8.5 percent flat-rate scheme on private rental income), management costs, and minor repairs. The real net yield for this case is around 5.5-6 percent.
This yield deserves a wider comment. On our blog we have written about investments with double-digit yields – a commercial unit on Pradzynskiego with 26 percent, or a divided apartment on Rozyckiego with 10.2 percent. Compared with those, 7.6 percent may look modest, but the comparison needs care: these are different strategies with different levels of work and risk. High-yield investments require sourcing specific properties, administrative procedures, technical know-how, an architectural project, and months of work before the first rent payment – the investor commits time and bears real risk of a failed renovation or unexpected costs. “Premium move-in-ready studio” investments require finding the right opportunity, buying it, and renting it – no renovation, no design work, no procedures. The lower yield is the price for lower risk and zero engagement.
7.6 percent gross per year for a premium apartment, move-in ready, in a beautiful tenement in a good location, rented in three days – this is a very good result. For comparison: bank deposits in 2024 paid 4-5 percent gross, long-term treasury bonds the same. A property gives a higher yield, is a physical asset, and carries additional capital growth potential. It is a different investment profile than the 26 percent units – and it is meant to be.
If you live in a different city from the one where you want to invest in property – or simply do not have the time to run the whole process personally – here are five takeaways from this case study:
1. A notarial power of attorney is the key to remote investing. Without it, every stage of the transaction requires your physical presence: viewing, negotiation, preliminary agreement, notarial deed, handover. With a power of attorney the whole process can be run by a professional manager you supervise through reporting. The document itself costs a few hundred zloty at a notary and is a one-off investment that opens access to markets outside your home city.
2. The best opportunities rarely sit on the first page of portals. Otodom and OLX show market medians, not the best offers. Professional scanning also covers Facebook groups, local forums, a network of agent contacts, and sometimes direct referrals. The Nawrot apartment appeared in a FB group and probably never reached a classic portal. This is not a rule (“just watch Facebook”) – it is an example that professional deal sourcing requires presence in several channels at once.
3. Price per square meter is a fragment of the calculation, not the whole. 12,810 zloty per square meter for a studio in Lodz sounds expensive against the market median (~8,000-10,000 zloty/m²). But for a small studio in a restored tenement, no renovation needed, in a good location – this is the market price. After adding renovation costs to cheaper offers, the gap often disappears. What counts is the total cost of getting a rent-ready apartment, not the listing price.
4. Yield must always be viewed in the context of strategy. 7.6 percent gross per year for a premium move-in-ready unit is a good result. 26 percent gross per year for a heavy-renovation project is also a good result. These are two different strategies with different work, risk, and return profiles. A lower yield in a comfortable strategy is often a more rational choice than a higher yield in a strategy the investor is not ready to handle.
5. Renting in three days is not luck. An apartment rents quickly when the location is right, the finish is on point, the asking rent matches the market, marketing is professional, and tenant screening is effective. The absence of any one of these elements extends vacancy and lowers yield. Three days from listing to contract is a systemic outcome, not luck.
Remote investing – the situation where the owner does not live in the city of the property – is a model where management quality is decisive. The Warsaw client will not drive over to the apartment himself when the tenant stops answering the phone. He will not check installations, sign invoices, or arrange an emergency repair. All of that has to be done by the manager.
The Nawrot client uses our Gold package – extended tenant verification (BIK, KRD, BIG InfoMonitor, Erif) before signing, payment monitoring, formal lawyer notices in case of delays, premium marketing at every rotation, legal support up to 3,000 zloty per year included in the package. The standard that makes sense for any remote investment in a single apartment. For investors with a portfolio of several apartments in Lodz, Platinum works best – with rent guarantee, coverage of unpaid utilities, and full legal support in eviction cases.
Every remote investment has its specifics. Nawrot worked because location, building, apartment, and price aligned – and we had the structure to find them and to run the transaction on the client behalf. In a different city, a different budget, a different investor profile – the parameters may be completely different.
If you live in a different city from the one where you want to invest, or simply do not have time to run searches and transactions in person – book a free consultation. We will discuss budget, criteria, locations, realistic yields. We will show how the notarial power of attorney model works and exactly what our remote service covers. No embellishment, no selling dreams – just a concrete analysis of what is achievable in your situation.
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The Nawrot apartment is one of hundreds of examples. Every property in our care has its own story – and its own owner we work for.
Author: Konrad Kopczyński
The description above is a case study of a specific property and does not constitute investment advice or legal or tax counsel. Remote investing in property under a notarial power of attorney requires careful verification of the scope of the power of attorney, choice of a trusted attorney-in-fact, and full documentation of each stage of the transaction. Every case requires individual analysis of legal, tax, and investment circumstances. The yields shown in the text are gross values, before deduction of rental tax, management costs, minor repairs, and any vacancies. The actual net result will be correspondingly lower. Property values and rental rates change over time and do not guarantee a similar outcome being repeated. Any investment decision and choice of rental taxation form should always be preceded by consultation with a lawyer and tax advisor relevant to your situation.
