How not to get lost in "2 pines" and find a direct path to your home in Warsaw.

The article was written by our client Natalia. Thank you very much for your positive feedback.

If you are planning to rent apartments in Warsaw, the first thing you should know is that real estate for rent in the capital of Poland can satisfy almost any taste and budget. Tenants are offered various options for modern apartments, both in a relatively affordable price segment and in the premium segment, so it is advisable to immediately clearly outline the desired range of requests. However, the second point that should be taken into account: without knowledge of the language and features of the Polish real estate market, the rapid success and successful conclusion of the transaction may require the participation of a professional. In this article, I want to share with You my personal experience of searching for housing in Warsaw remotely and in a very short time.

In connection with my new project in Warsaw, which started in two weeks, I was faced with the issue of urgent selection of suitable housing for moving to the Polish capital. Due to the specifics of my work related to project activities, by that time, I already had enough experience in selecting apartments and moving in a short time. I expected that in a couple of weeks I would be able to prepare and study the housing market in the capital of Poland and choose the most suitable options for me remotely.

My parameters for searching for housing were as follows: a comfortable and modern 1-or 2-room apartment with an area of up to 50 sq. m., fully furnished and equipped with all basic appliances. The budget had to correspond to the average price segment for the criteria I set (about 2500-3000 zlotys per month). The highest priority when considering I gave to objects on high floors with a balcony in a quiet area near the city center, with developed infrastructure, and, especially, the proximity of grocery stores. Having more or less studied the city center during my previous short-term business trips, I decided to focus on the "heart of Warsaw" - the Srodmiescie district-and the bordering areas of Wola and Mokotow.

However, almost from the very beginning of the selection of suitable objects on the Internet, it became clear that in my particular case, due to the lack of knowledge of the Polish language, and even a very short time, without attracting the services of a realtor, the task had little prospects. There were relatively few ads without intermediaries in English, which was available to me. most of the good offers in English and native Russian were submitted through real estate agencies. The situation was complicated by the fact that at the first stage, before my arrival in Warsaw, I had to search remotely.

After experimenting with independent search in this way, I very quickly came to the conclusion that if I want to achieve a result in the set time, I will have to ask for help from an intermediary. But even here it was not so prosaic. Despite the abundance of realtor services on the housing market in Warsaw, how difficult it was to find a professional in your business!

After reviewing several sites, I chose two real estate agencies in Warsaw, which offered options that best fit my ideas. I outlined the circle of my wishes, and having agreed in advance about viewing the objects that I liked from the photos, as well as booking a hotel for the first few days, I set up on arrival in Warsaw to view all the selected options on the spot for a couple of days.

With the first international company with an intricate name, which seemed at first glance very solid and promised to fulfill everything in a given time, but there was a real incident. Surprise number 1: during the viewing, it turned out that the first apartment I liked most, which was billed as free, in fact still has previous residents. Although I agreed in advance with the realtor that due to the urgency, I only consider objects that I can move into immediately! Surprise number 2: there on the spot it turned out that the owner is not ready to sign a lease for less than two years. Imagine my surprise, especially when I agreed on my preferences immediately when contacting this company, I clearly indicated that we were talking about signing a contract for a maximum of one year. In the end, although the apartments themselves were very nice, the deal, as you can imagine, did not come to the point. But I did not despair, because the next day the same Agency offered views of several more options. Surprise number 3: the next morning, one of them was surprisingly already handed over! Viewing others has been postponed countless times for various reasons. My patience ran out. As the time allotted to search for housing was running out, the panic was growing...

Fortunately, I diversified my risks, and at the same time had a dialogue with another international company in Warsaw, cooperation with which in the end turned out to be just a salvation for me. With the Okeask real estate Agency, everything turned out to be quick and easy to achieve — that is, the way it should be. The realtor of this company prepared several objects for display in one day that fully meet the criteria I set. Moreover, he did not just pick up offers in the three districts that I considered, but already fully agreed with the owners of the display schedule for the next day, so that we could look at all the options that interested me and decide within one day. I was very lucky that the first apartment offered by this company was very pleasant to me, because it fully met my expectations. I signed the lease the same day.

In addition to providing professional realtor services, Okeask Agency also provided me with all necessary legal support during the transaction, advising on all my questions and pointing out possible "pitfalls". A big plus, given that I don't speak Polish, was the lease agreement ("umowa najmu"), written in two languages, Polish and Russian. At the transaction, the representative of the firm acted not just as an intermediary, but actively helped negotiate with the tenant, in order to literally find a "common language" with him from the very beginning and agree on all the details. I was also pleased with his humanity and sincere participation in my situation, which are not often found in the modern business world.

This is the rich experience I gained when I was looking for a rented apartment in Warsaw for the first time. And what is the best way to act When searching for housing in the capital of Poland?

Of course, the need to apply to the services of a realtor is determined by Your specific situation: the specified time frame and budget, as well as the degree of complexity of the selection criteria and additional requirements (for example, as in my case, if only a high number of floors or the presence of repairs are considered).

If You are not in a hurry and have the opportunity to study the real estate market, as well as have sufficient knowledge of Polish to independently negotiate with tenants, then You have every chance to solve the problem yourself, while saving the fee that is usually charged by the Agency when concluding a transaction. The first step is to define the basic parameters, such as available budget, size of apartment, number of floors and year of construction (for example, I have only considered new buildings), principally the existence of a lift. I also recommend that you first study the geography and infrastructure of the city in order to limit your search to the most popular areas of Warsaw, and not to waste time on obviously "not your own" options.

Not the least role in achieving a quick result and negotiations with tenants is played by your knowledge of the Polish language, as well As your previous experience in the "apartment issue" and your willingness to act, to some extent, at your own "risk" without the legal support of an intermediary, which will be provided by a professional realtor. Therefore, for those who, like me, are running out of time and need a professional who can quickly study the market and choose solid offers based on Your preferences, as well as act in Your interests, it makes sense to devote time first of all to finding a suitable intermediary.

Of course, the Agency is different from the Agency. In my case, the representative of Okeask acted very professionally and really helped solve the problem in just a couple of days. Therefore, based on my successful personal experience, I can safely recommend the services of this company to support Your real estate transactions.

I wish you good luck in finding your dream property!