Sławek Muturi emphasizes that he feels uncomfortable being called "the Polish King of Rentals" because he considers himself "a fairly modest person." He avoids directly answering how large his "kingdom of rental properties" is. "I avoid answering that question directly because in Poland, it's not as well-received compared to places like the United States, where people openly boast about their success and wealth," Muturi, a real estate investor and founder of Mzuri Group, tells Forbes.
How many apartments do you need to stop working? "Income from five apartments"
Muturi adds that envy is one reason, but the other reason is that he doesn't want to "set a target for how many apartments people should have," as he knows that many people look up to him. He says that his company, Mzuri, currently manages about 10,000 different apartments, including his own. He came up with his early retirement plan in 1995 when he was 30 years old. In an interview with Gazeta.pl's Studio Biznes, Muturi explained in April that he made this decision because "he doesn't like winter" and wanted to leave Poland in October and return in April the following year.
He adds that to achieve his plan, he needed a steady income "not dependent on work." "I planned to stop working in 2013, just when my son would turn 18, and I’d live off the rent from five apartments. I planned to rent each for $200 and have $1,000 a month to live on," Muturi tells Forbes. He emphasizes that in 1995, this seemed sufficient, so he started working toward that goal. "I bought my first apartment in 1998, another in 1999, and quickly had five," he explains. However, his ambitions grew over time. Muturi says he began aiming for 20 apartments and quickly surpassed that number. "Then it just took off, and since 2009, I've had what's called financial freedom," he adds.
Where did "the Polish King of Rentals" get the money?
Sławek Muturi explains that the funds for purchasing his first apartments initially came from selling a consulting company he co-founded with a friend. He was also a consultant at Arthur Andersen, a global consulting firm, where he made "very good money." "In 2000, I became a partner there, and I was able to buy two studio apartments with a single paycheck," he explains. Another source of funds came from savings. He recounts how, in 2006, he would go to Łódź and buy 10 apartments per week. Back then, he says, studios cost between 25,000 and 35,000 złoty each, with a down payment of 10%, around 2,500 to 3,500 złoty. "I bought them through a friendly notary, with appointments every 40 minutes to sign deeds. It was quite funny because when I arrived, there was already a queue of sellers, even entire families, all selling their properties to me," he says. Muturi explains that growing earnings, combined with savings and rental income, allowed him to continue purchasing more apartments.
