What is rental property management?

Rental property management is a relatively new service on the real estate market in Poland, which is often confused with real estate brokerage or property management, and no wonder, because it combines elements of both! To put it simply, a rental manager is an agent who will find a tenant, but will also take care of the property once it is rented or when it is empty. What exactly a rental manager will do depends on the scope of responsibilities that will be specified in the contract, the type of property we are managing and the length of the rental contract.

The scope of duties included in the contract between the management company and the property owner is always a matter of individual arrangements between the parties. We recommend a comprehensive service that will cover all aspects of management, because only this will fully relieve the burden of dealing with a rental property. We describe such a service from A to Z below.

The type of property also matters. Managing an entire rental building requires something different, as we wrote about here:

Property management of residential buildings for rent

management of commercial (service premises, shop, office) and residential properties will be also bit different.

We also manage properties  depending on the length of rental contracts, and here we distinguish:

• short-term rental, i.e. rental for shorter periods of time, usually days, weeks, up to several months
• medium- and long-term rental, i.e. rental lasting 4 months or more (usually a year)

Because, in addition to managing entire buildings for rent, we also specialise in managing medium- and long-term apartment rentals, we will focus on this below.

So what does a rental manager of an apartment intended for long-term rental do?

First, a good manager should optimally prepare the property for rent, which we provide for our clients:

• advice on presentation, furniture and equipment
• organize renovation and repair works and cleaning
• do home staging and take professional photos
• determine the market price for renting an apartment
• define the target group to which we address the offer
• we develop a marketing strategy

Second is finding a tenant for the property, which includes:

• advertising
• viewings
• tenant verification/referencing
• preparation of the rental contract
• negotiating the rental contract
• signing the rental contract
• ensuring that the first rent and deposit have been paid

Third, rental management means taking care of the apartment when it is rented, but also when it is empty. Sim Property offers comprehensive services in this area, which covers:

• handing over the apartment to a new tenant along with preparation of all documentation
• collection and control of rent payments
• soft debt collection of the tenant
• timely payment of bills on behalf of the owner
• organizing repairs and emergency maintenance
• organizing the replacement of equipment and furniture
• utilities reconciliation
• storage, settlement and refund of deposits
• arranging property insurance
• organizing the tenant’s insurance
• storage of documents and keys
• cooperation with a lawyer in court debt collection and eviction
• regular inspections
• handing over of the apartment from the tenant and preparation of all documentation
• extension of the rental contract with the current tenant

Additionally, we also offer our individual clients settlement of rental income taxes:

• calculating the tax due
• tax payments to the Tax Office
• preparation and submission of an annual tax return

Rental management includes all activities performed to rent an apartment (i.e. the work of an agent), but also the management of an already rented property (i.e. the work of a property manager). This is, of course, a certain simplification, because, as you can see above, the scope of responsibilities of a rental manager is in many aspects extended compared to a typical agency and modified in terms of management.

The rental management service is specially designed for owners of apartments for rent, both individual and institutional investors, whom we invite to work with us!