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Most posts on our blog tell stories of single transactions: buying an apartment, renovation, rental, property management. Each one is a complete, self-contained story. This post is different. It is the story of what happens when one person goes through several different services at our company ‑ and how that relationship evolves over time.
The client we are writing about has gone through three consecutive stages with us over the last two years: one year as our tenant, then as a client of our buyer’s agency service, and now as a property owner who has handed us his apartment for rental management. Three different services, one person, one continuous relationship. Along the way ‑ concrete numbers: a 35,000 PLN discount off the asking price, the apartment rented within two weeks of being handed to us for management, and rent at a level he himself once paid as a tenant. This is a story about how good collaboration between a client and a property management company does not end with the first contract ‑ it can evolve over years, in different directions.
In 2024, a young person contacted us looking for an apartment to rent in Lodz. We had under management at the time a flat in the Gorнiak district ‑ 45 sqm in a block built a decade or two ago, rent 1,600 PLN plus utilities. The apartment matched expectations: location, size, technical condition and price all fit the budget. We signed the tenancy agreement, the client moved in, and a routine collaboration began.
The year passed smoothly. Rent paid on time, the apartment kept in good order, communication with the tenant problem‑free. During the year there was one technical failure ‑ a minor issue that we handled through our standard maintenance process. The client did not have to find a contractor: we organised it, we supervised it, we settled it. These are the moments when professional management shows its value to tenants too ‑ because good management protects not only the owner, but also the person living in the apartment.
Towards the end of the one‑year contract the client decided not to renew it. The reason was simple: he wanted to buy his own apartment ‑ renting had been a transitional solution between two stages of life, and the moment to move into ownership had arrived. When letting us know about his decision, he unexpectedly asked whether we could help him search for a property to buy on a mortgage. We have been offering a buyer’s agency service for a long time ‑ both for people buying homes to live in and for investors ‑ but never before had one of our own tenants asked us for that service. We said yes. That is how the second act of this story began.
The first stage of a buyer’s agency is always getting to know the client’s preferences. It is not just about budget and square footage, but about lifestyle, plans for the coming years, willingness to renovate, acceptable locations, and deal‑breakers that rule a property out entirely. We sent the client a first round of several listings and asked for feedback. From the first round he wanted to view one apartment. From the second round ‑ another one, better than the first, but still not quite right. The third apartment he viewed turned out to be the one he ultimately bought. He had initially dismissed it without even seeing it.
The apartment was located on Murarska Street in the Balut district of Lodz. 43 sqm, a four‑storey prefab panel block, habitable condition but not freshly renovated. The first listing we found (via a traditional estate agent) had it priced at 360,000 PLN. That was slightly above our client’s mortgage capacity and therefore above his budget. The client dismissed the listing without viewing the apartment, reasoning that there was no point getting emotionally involved in a property he would not be able to afford.
That was a very sensible approach ‑ and at the same time a mistake he was not aware of. Because the Lodz market at that moment was what is professionally called a buyer’s market: supply of apartments exceeded demand, properties sat on the market for weeks and months, and sellers were willing to negotiate meaningfully. Asking prices and transaction prices could differ by ten or more percent. The client imagined negotiations were a symbolic gesture ‑ a few thousand zlotys off. In reality, the gap could be much larger.
Shortly afterwards we found the same apartment listed directly by the owner, at 355,000 PLN. Still above the client’s budget, but closer to the upper limit of his capacity. We told him plainly: the market allows aggressive negotiation. If the apartment impresses in person, we have a real chance of getting the price down to within his mortgage budget. We decided to view the property.
The apartment made a positive impression in person. Quiet location, well‑kept surroundings, practical layout, and furnishings that met the client’s expectations. After the visit we suggested to the client: let’s view a few more options for comparison, but if none of them turns out to be significantly better, we go in with aggressive negotiation on this one. We viewed a couple more. None was as good. We went back to Murarska Street.
We submitted a purchase offer at a figure we considered low ‑ specifically to gauge the seller’s reaction. The reaction was cautious, but negotiations began. After several rounds of counter‑offers, the final transaction price was 325,000 PLN ‑ that is 35,000 below the first asking price via the agent and 30,000 below the direct asking price. The amount fit within the client’s mortgage budget with room to cover transaction costs.
| Stage | Price |
|---|---|
| Asking price via estate agent | 360,000 PLN |
| Asking price direct from owner | 355,000 PLN |
| Final transaction price after negotiation | 325,000 PLN |
| Discount vs. agent asking price | 35,000 PLN |
| Discount vs. direct asking price | 30,000 PLN |
| Percentage discount (vs. agent asking price) | ~9.7% |
That discount was what made it possible for the client to buy the apartment at all. Without negotiation the offer was financially out of reach. With negotiation ‑ it became achievable.
A mortgage transaction is by definition a longer process than a cash purchase. In this case an additional factor was a change in the legal status of the apartment. At the start of the procedure, the property had the status of a cooperative ownership right to premises ‑ a form of ownership specific to Polish housing cooperatives, in which the cooperative remains the formal owner of the land and the member holds a right to a specific unit.
During the transaction the seller decided to convert that right into full separate freehold ownership. This required establishing a land and mortgage register entry for the unit ‑ a procedure that in the case of cooperatives can take several weeks to several months. The client’s bank, in turn, needed the register entry to establish the mortgage. The sequence therefore had to be precise: a preliminary agreement with specific conditions, a wait for the register to be established, and only then the final deed of transfer.
About two months passed between the preliminary agreement and the deed of transfer. On our side this meant additional work: ongoing monitoring of the status at the cooperative and at the land registry court, communication with the bank, handling documentation formalities, and keeping the client prepared for each stage. The client did not have to deal with any of this himself. He received progress reports from us and a list of documents to sign at each step.
The transaction ultimately completed. The client collected the keys, moved in, and began repaying the mortgage. The second act of our collaboration seemed to have ended ‑ or so we thought at the time.
Less than a year later the client got back in touch. This time with a surprising request: he wanted to hand the apartment ‑ the one he had bought with our help ‑ over to us for rental management. Things had changed in his life, the apartment was no longer needed as his home, but he did not want to sell it. The purchase was recent, the mortgage had barely started, and in the long term he viewed the property as an asset rather than a burden.
The question about management had come up once before ‑ during the purchase process the client had asked exactly what the service involved. He knew we offered it, but wanted to understand the details. It sounded like a hypothetical conversation about the future, “maybe in a few years.” Life wrote a different scenario. Less than twelve months later the client was ready to become an investor rather than an owner‑occupier.
The apartment looked very similar to what we remembered from the purchase transaction, with one notable difference: the living room had been visually refreshed by the client during the year he lived there. Fresh paint, a new arrangement of the main room, a few details that raised the overall impression. From our perspective as rental managers this was an excellent decision. The living room is the space where future tenants spend the most time ‑ and the first one they notice during viewings.
We took photographs, prepared the listing, and published it in our standard marketing package. The target tenant was similar in profile to our client two years earlier: a young person looking for their first independent apartment in Lodz, willing to pay a market‑rate rent for a well‑maintained property in an acceptable location.
The apartment found a tenant in approximately two weeks from the listing going live. Rent: 1,700 PLN plus utilities per month. There is an interesting coincidence here ‑ the client is now renting out his apartment for 100 PLN more than he himself paid two years earlier for a similar‑standard flat in the Gorniak district. Different size, different neighbourhood, different spec ‑ but the order of magnitude shows where the market was then and where it is now.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Purchase price of apartment | 325,000 PLN |
| Monthly gross rent | 1,700 PLN + utilities |
| Annual gross rent | 20,400 PLN |
| Gross return on capital | ~6.3% |
| Time to let from listing | ~2 weeks |
A note on these figures: 6.3% is a gross value, before tax on rental income, management fees, mortgage servicing and minor repairs. The client is financing the purchase with a mortgage, so his investment calculation looks different from that of a cash investor. Part of the rent covers the mortgage instalments, part covers running costs, and part is a surplus. In the long term, once the mortgage is repaid, the apartment will remain an asset generating rent entirely for the owner ‑ and that is the point of this investment. In the short term, the rent mainly serves to control the cost of owning a property the client would have regardless of the mortgage.
If you are considering buying your first apartment, changing how you use a property you already own, or simply thinking about long‑term cooperation with a property management company ‑ here are five takeaways from this story:
A 35,000 PLN discount off the original asking price is not exceptional in a buyer’s market. The Lodz residential market in 2024 and 2025 regularly allowed negotiations of 5‑10% off asking prices. A client who approaches negotiations with a “just a few thousand off” mindset often rules himself out of apartments he could realistically afford.
The Murarska Street apartment was initially rejected by our client as “too expensive.” Had he stuck to that decision, he would not have bought it. The same applies to listings that seem “slightly out of reach” ‑ the gap between asking and transaction price may mean the property is actually achievable.
Cooperative ownership right to premises is still a common form of ownership in Poland, particularly in older blocks. Converting it to full freehold requires establishing a land and mortgage register entry, which can extend a transaction by several weeks or months. The bank financing the purchase typically requires the register entry to establish the mortgage. Being aware of this sequence from the outset of the process avoids surprises.
Life can change plans faster than we expect. An apartment bought “to live in for years” can turn out to be an asset worth renting out as early as twelve months later. That is why even when buying for personal use it is worth thinking about a property’s rental potential: location, size, technical condition, market appeal. An apartment that rents well is a better investment decision ‑ even if you plan to live in it.
The client in this story started as a tenant, became a buyer, and is now an owner‑investor. Each of those roles requires a different scope of our services, but the relationship of trust remains the same. A company that served you well in the first service is the natural choice for the next ones.
The client in this story used three of our services in sequence: apartment rental (Act I), buyer’s agency (Act II) and rental management (Act III). That last element is our core business ‑ we offer it in three packages (Silver, Gold, Platinum), tailored to different owner needs.
The Murarska Street client uses the Gold package ‑ extended tenant screening (BIK, KRD, BIG InfoMonitor, Erif), payment monitoring, premium marketing, official lawyer’s letters in case of delays, and legal support up to 3,000 PLN per year included in the package. The standard that makes sense for every first investment property. For owners with a larger portfolio, Platinum works best ‑ with a rent guarantee through Rendin and full legal support in eviction proceedings.
For some clients one service is enough ‑ such as rental or management. For others two or three services fit, spread across time. Each subsequent service builds on the knowledge we have already built about the client: we know his preferences, he knows our way of working. That reduces time and increases the chance of matching exactly what the client needs.
Every client’s story is different. Some stay with us only as tenants. Others come straight to us as cash investors. Others still ‑ like the client in this story ‑ move through several phases over a few years. There is no single “correct path” of cooperation ‑ there is only the range of services that suits what the client needs at any given moment.
If you are considering your first property purchase, handing a property you already own into rental management, or simply want to talk through your situation ‑ book a free consultation.
One client’s story is an example ‑ not a promise. Every collaboration develops at its own pace. What remains constant is the quality of our work in each of the services we offer.
Author: Adrian Pajor
Legal disclaimer
The above description is a case study of a specific collaboration and does not constitute investment advice, legal advice or tax advice. Negotiation opportunities in the real estate market change over time and depend on current supply and demand conditions ‑ the discounts quoted in the text correspond to a specific moment and a specific property and do not constitute a guarantee of repeatability. The procedure for converting a cooperative ownership right to premises into full freehold ownership requires individual analysis of the legal status of the specific property and may involve different timescales and costs depending on the specific cooperative and land registry court. The returns quoted in the text are gross values, before deduction of tax on rental income, management fees, mortgage servicing and minor repairs. Always precede any investment decision with consultation with a lawyer, mortgage adviser and tax adviser appropriate to your situation. Full details of our management offer are available in the packages section, and a free consultation can be booked via the contact form.
