Hamilton May

Very disappointing experience with the agency

TL;DR:

1. Plumbing issues left unresolved for 2 months (sewage water flooding from the kitchen sink)

2. Stressful 3-hour handover “from hell” with aggressive owner and his friend

3. Unjustified deposit deduction, (2250 PLN) with 1/3 things not discussed before + information about it in a month after leaving

4. Little to no communication with the apartment manager

I’ve lived in Poland for 3 years and this was my first truly negative experience with a real estate agency. After signing the contract, the agency lost any interest in serving our needs, when we had desperate need for that.

On August 11, we reported a serious plumbing problem: the kitchen sink got flooded with sewage water whenever the dishwasher or washing machine ran, spreading a sulfur odor and making the apartment unsanitary. Despite three plumber visits (200 PLN each, paid by us), the issue wasn’t fixed by October 1, when we moved out. The agent Alicja offered no alternative and kept blaming the building plumber who was on vacation for a month.

The handover was the most stressful experience of the year. The owner insisted on being present, along with his friend (“the next tenant”, as he said, who he was planning to rent it directly without the agency). We were never informed by Alicja that this would happen, although the owner claimed the opposite. What should have taken 15–30 minutes turned into a 3-hour interrogation. Every corner was inspected as if forensically, and we faced accusations.

We signed a protocol confirming the apartment was fine, except for three small wall stains and broken shower cabin wheels. A month later, on October 30th, we suddenly received an invoice for 2,250 PLN, including repainting a second wall that was never discussed. That wall contained stains from the sofa that occurred during the normal apartment usage, and even could have been washed if we were made aware that it’s a problem.

Alicja clearly chose to delay this issue to avoid confronting the owner.

We always believed that working with agencies meant protection from unreasonable owners. Unfortunately, this agency proved otherwise, they only care about their commission, not their clients.

For context: this so-called “premium apartment” was far from new: original 1928 wooden doors that let in draught, scratched walls and floors (along with accusations that we were the reason for that), poor plumbing, and minimal furniture.

I have evidence supporting every statement and am willing to share it. If you’ve experienced similar issues with this agency, feel free to reach out.

I would never recommend working with Hamilton May.

A very big thanks to Magda Grzybowska and Bartosz for their very efficient work to find tenants for our house and for their support in the deal.

A specific thanks to Magda who was very active to finalise the contract despite the fact that she was on holidays.

Very professional and nice to work with, I recommend.

We are very satisfied with Hamilton May. We just moved into a beautiful apartment in a perfect location in Krakow. Iwona Majka Kaminska assisted us for two long years during our search. We were coming often to Krakow from London and she was always available for every step of the way.

She helped us with the purchase and taxes. We are very grateful and we highly recommend Hamilton May and Iwona .

Najwyższy profesjonalizm i super obsługa klienta. Sprzedaż naszego mieszkania odbyła sie zupełnie bezproblemowo dzięki wspaniałej współpracy i pomocy Pana Łukasza Nowaka. Zdecydowanie polecam Hamilton May i mam nadzieje współpracować z nimi w przyszłości!

Ogólnie - profesjonalne i bardzo życzliwe podejście do klienta. Jestem bardzo wdzięczny pani Klaudii Cymerman za przygotowanie atrakcyjnego ogłoszenia o sprzedaży mojego mieszkania, zilustrowanego pięknymi zdjęciami, oraz pani Magdzie Grzybowskiej za wszystkie fachowe porady i logistyczną pomoc.

Efficient, friendly and really very helpful service from Marta Kubajka and Magda Grzybowska - a real pleasure to work with!

Jedna z najlepszych firm w branży nieruchomości, z jaką się spotkałem - pełen profesjonalizm!

Great service and great attitude! A real pleasure to work with. Keep up the good work!

Received outstanding service from Hamilton May Krakow. Prior to the relocation to Krakow we got in touch with Magdalena from Hamilton May regarding long term apartment rental in Krakow and on the day of our arrival she showed us three options, all of them suited our needs perfectly (location, price, quality) and we chose the best one among these three. Hamilton May is a reliable and efficient real estate agency. A truly five-star experience. Highly recommend!

Great Service and Great Staff and helpful with all the assistance I needed it most..I am using them now for many years..

Great response and help ! I found what I needed really quick and collaboration was great! Thank You Monika!

Great service! Most efficient and agreeable! Everything was done professionally and in most pleasant manner. I couldn't believe that all this could be done so smoothly. Very high marks!

Got all the help I needed!

Was Impressed by the website at very beginning as I am foreigner, which made it much easier in searching anything there.

I just bought an apartment with help of Hamilton May. Very good experience in their service. Professional suggestions, fast action, and perfect process management! What's more, special thanks to Magda!

I'm cooperating with Hamilton May Kraków since several years and am very satisfied with their effective, solid services. They have very good contacts with potential, specifically foreign, Clients. Their representatives are very polite and very professional. I would recommend this Company for dealing with real estate matters.

Fantastic service and we go to know all latest developments in Krakow. Fast and reliable.

First time buying in Krakow. Found HM to be a very professional and attentive real estate agent. Look forward to future purchases.

I have three (used to have five) apartments in my care in Kraków and Hamilton May agents have always done what I hired them to do: get the flats rented. What happens afterwards is between me, the landlord, and the tenants and what follows from what we have written in our legally binding lease agreements, which no agency (including Hamilton May) is a party to, by the way.

Personally, I find Hamilton May professional and can't but recommend their services. They are worth every penny, or grosze rather, of their commission.

Very unclear of what Hamilton May actually does besides viewings. If you think Hamilton May will make your relocation to Krakow smoother - don't.

I recently used this agency to help me find an apt in Krakow as I don't speak Polish, they were very professional and quick and managed to get me an apartment I liked within my price range. If you want to find an apt in Krakow without all the hassle I highly recommend them.

I would like to recommend this Property Krakow Group. I recently had dealings with their staff and found them to be highly professional and organized. They were able to help me in finding exactly what I needed. I was very impressed by their service and would definitely use them again.