Property management in Batumi for overseas owners

An owner who lives in another country loses only one thing when it comes to managing an apartment: the chance to get there within an hour. Everything else can be handed over to people on the spot. So when we work with an owner abroad, we start with questions that an owner living here never has to settle: who acts on your behalf and under what document, who holds the keys, what money pays the bills and where the payout goes. Once these are settled in the first week, the apartment runs without you having to fly in.

Power of attorney: for which actions and for how long

Renting the apartment out does not in itself require a power of attorney, because our work is covered by the management agreement. You will need one when we represent you before the developer, the building's management company or the utility companies: accepting the apartment after the building is completed, re-registering the utility meters, filing a request to repair a shared riser. Our partner lawyer drafts the text, agrees it with you before you go to the notary and includes only these actions in it.

A power of attorney for management should not contain the right to sell the apartment, mortgage it or receive the proceeds of a sale, and we do not ask for these rights. The term is stated from the start, for example one year: when it expires, the powers end, and from then on a new power of attorney is needed. You can sign it before a notary in the country where you live. Whether it needs an apostille and a translation into Georgian is something our partner lawyer checks before you sign, so that the document is accepted the first time.

A power of attorney can also be revoked before its term ends, for example when you change manager. The revocation is made in writing, and everyone the representative has dealt with on your behalf is notified of it. How to do this from abroad is covered in the questions below.

Keys and inventory without you having to come

The keys are handed to us by someone you know, an agent, or the developer if the building has just been completed. If the apartment still has to be accepted from the developer, our foreman does this under the power of attorney and records any defects in the handover certificate before it is signed.

The handover form records how many sets of keys there are and which doors they open, who keeps each set, and whether there is a fob for the entrance and a remote for the car park. At the same time we film the apartment, make an inventory of the furniture and appliances and photograph the meter readings. If there is a keypad lock, the manager holds the master code, and we change the codes for guests and tradespeople after every stay or visit.

We return the keys against a signed handover form too. A year later, when the tenant or the manager changes, nobody has to work out where the third set went.

Payouts to an account abroad

Once a month you get a report, followed by a transfer to your account in Georgia or abroad. The bank details, the currency and the payout day are written into the contract.

The bank's transfer fee appears in the report as a separate line, so that the amount in your account matches the calculation. The sending or receiving bank may ask for documents on the purpose of the payment. For that case you have the management agreement and the month's report, and we will send copies on request.

If the listing is on your account and we are added as a co-host, payouts from Airbnb or Booking come straight to you, to the account set in the platform's settings, and you pay for our work against a monthly invoice. How this choice affects reviews and control is covered in our Airbnb vs agency comparison.

Utility bills and the building service charge

Electricity, gas, water, the internet and the service charge of the building's management company have to be paid every month, even when nobody is living in the apartment. We pay them out of the apartment's income and attach the receipts to the report. As a market guide, an apartment's utility bills come to roughly 135–200 ₾ a month, and more in winter, because the apartment is heated with the air conditioner and dried with a dehumidifier.

If the apartment is not rented out in winter, or the income does not cover the bills, we show the shortfall in the report and agree with you in advance how to cover it. Without your involvement, we can re-register a meter in the name of a new owner or tenant only under a power of attorney.

We photograph the meter readings at every visit. They reveal a leak somewhere or a water heater left switched on before the bill even arrives.

Looking after an empty apartment in winter

How often we visit the empty apartment is written into the contract, and after a storm or a heavy downpour we call in outside the schedule. From abroad you see the apartment through the visit report: photos of the ceiling, the corners and the floor by the balcony door, and the humidity in the rooms. If the humidity rises from one visit to the next, you notice it before a stain appears.

On site we air the rooms, switch on dehumidifying and run water in every tap and into the floor drain: within a few weeks the water in the traps dries out, and a smell from the drains gets into the apartment. If we find a leak, we turn off the water, photograph the spot and call out a tradesman. We spend within the limit set in the contract straight away and agree anything above it with you. For scheduled checks of the appliances and minor repairs, a maintenance subscription is more convenient: the tradesman then comes on a schedule, not only when something breaks.

Tax on rental income: what stays with you

Tax on rental income is paid by the owner. Under the rules for 2026, ordinary rental of a home for someone to live in is taxed at 5% of gross income if you are registered with the Revenue Service as a landlord, and without registration the rate is 20% of income after expenses. For short-term rental we agree the regime with a tax adviser before the first bookings. Registration, deadlines and the tax return are covered in detail on the page about rental income tax for owners.

You or your accountant file the tax return. At the start of the year we send an export of income and expenses for the previous year, and you can also show it to an adviser in the country where you live. Bookkeeping and preparing the returns can be handed over to us as a separate service.

How much property management in Batumi costs for overseas owners

The commission for owners abroad is the same as for those who live in Batumi: from 15% of income. That is the rate for long-term rental, 15–18%, while short-term rental involves more work, and the commission is 30–36%. We calculate the percentage on the money received for the stay, after the Booking or Airbnb commission. There is also a flat-fee option.

What is needed precisely because you are far away is paid for separately. An empty apartment check with a photo report costs 100–145 ₾ per visit, a maintenance subscription 170–240 ₾ a month and rental tax handling 120–180 ₾ a month. The total goes up if the apartment is rented short-term, needs frequent visits in winter and you hand the tax over to us. It comes out lower with a long-term tenant who pays the utilities themselves. We name the final cost after viewing the apartment and agreeing the contract, in which the price of each service is written separately.

Your manager and decisions from a distance

You deal with one manager, whom you can call or message on WhatsApp. The manager handles urgent matters, such as a guest at a locked door or a leak, on their own and tells you the outcome. Spending above the limit, a change of rental format and your own dates in the calendar stay with you. If the time difference is large, we agree in advance when you can be reached and what can wait until the monthly report.

If the apartment needs renovating before it is rented out, that can also be done without you coming: you accept the stages by video and pay after each one is signed off. How this works is described on the page about remote apartment renovation.