Land Around Krakow, Poland - how to find it?

Any advice on how to search for Land that is for sale around the Krakow area?

Unless your Polish, you cant buy land i think.

Are there ways round that? In other countries you can set up a registered company....

Not really, any trace of foriegn buyers will stop the deal. Though i have heard of one invester having the land put into a polish lawyers name untill the law changes in a few years. Though its not something i'd recommend with the kind of money land costs around Krakow.

E.U citizens cannot buy land/property in Poland???

Sounds improbable......but maybe it's true.

only agricultural land is subject to such law.. you can buy land if it is not agricultural

but try finding land not agricultural around Krakow. Are you sure about that? Maybe im wrong, but i heard that the law to buy land in Poland wouldnt change till 2012?

sunshineestates.net/reg_sum/krakow.html

Does it say about outside urban areas?

here what I found:

Acquisition of land located on Polish territory by a foreigner requires , in addition to the formalities which in this case must satisfy every citizen of the Republic of Poland , he also fulfilled certain specific obligations under the Act of 24 March 1920 . Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners ( ie Journal No. 167 , item . 1758 2004 . , as amended . , hereinafter referred to as ,, Act " . )

In addition, a foreigner from outside the European Economic Area ( EEA ) is subject to additional duties , which does not have to meet the citizen or entrepreneur of the EEA (European Union, Norway , Liechtenstein and Iceland ).

lol

Well I have Polish citizenship, but I don't live in the country just wondering how do I go about it. I would like to build a house close to Krakow, Wieliczka etc. But I think Land is almost impossible to find to build a house on it.

If you have Polish citizenship, then you can buy any land you want, no problem!
The best place to look for plots around Krakow is krn.pl - Polish only portal. There are lots to choose from!

Alternatively, you can PM me as I work in an agency in Krakow and we also use several other databases (POP for private offers, MLS for agency offers) - let me know the size of the plot you want to buy, areas of interest, budget etc and we will see what we can find.

As for non-Poles, well the basic story at the moment if you want to buy land is that you will probably need to apply for a permit from the government. If you want to do this, definitely consult a Polish lawyer to get some help.

All the definitive information is here:
paiz.gov.pl/index/?id=55603a5f239e435c642244be3e891b85

On the same site, you can also download an English translation of the property ownership related laws of Poland with regards to foreigners:

paiz.gov.pl/files/?id_plik=7117

In terms of foreigners, you will need to get a permit from the government in the following cases:
1)To purchase agricultural and forest land - for 12 years after Poland became a member of the EU (i.e. until 2 May 2016),
2)To purchase a second home (i.e. the real estate which is intended to be developed for residential or recreational purposes and which will not be used by a foreigner as the habitual residence) - for five years after Poland became a member of the EU (i.e. until 1 May 2009).

So, basically, 8 months from now, it will get a lot easier for foreigners from EU countries to buy building land for single family homes or development.

I would be very cautious on using agencies in Krakow. Unless you are willing to pay over the odds for a generally poor service.

Sorry, but I think that's a pretty unfair generalisation.
The fact is that most people, unless they have lots of spare time, or get lucky in finding the right offer/buyer privately, will use the services of an agent. This applies to pretty much anywhere in the world. And in Krakow, just like pretty much anywhere in the world, you will find good agents, bad agents and ones in between.

I think you will find that the bad agents in Krakow, the ones who in the past have done little or no work and charged high commissions, are the ones which are now going to go out of business given the slower market. From my experience in dealing with foreign clients, I know the huge amount of work which goes into helping such people, and I believe that the fees charged are reasonable. However, I too have had experience of greedy agents who I have had to co-operate with in the past demanding big fees for doing absolutely nothing.

I'm sure that there are some good Estate agents out there. Unfortunately they seem to be very hard to come by, and as you said, with people not having much time look around, they are often stung by greedy agents. One example is with a client i have dealt with in the past month. The process she went through is this. After finding the place she wanted through the internet, she visited the Agent to get more info, and to arrange a viewing. Before she could arrange a viewing of the flat, she had to pay a "signing on" fee of 500pln, if she did not want to take the flat, and the agent couldnt find her a suitable one, she would have to pay a 1000pln cancellation fee. Luckily she took the flat, and paid further fee's such as, 2500pln finders fee to the agent, a months rent - 2500pln, plus 2 months rent as a deposit, returnable on completion of contract. So in total, before she even spent one night in the flat, she paid 10500pln! approx 2500pounds. Now this is an extreme example of cowboy agents, but the fact is, though there are some good agents in the city, its all too easy to get stung.

Another thing which is starting to be all more common recently, is this deposit equivalent to 2 months deposit. Whether this is desperate landlords noticing that the market is turning, and trying to grab as much as possible now, or that its a normal thing.

I believe that is highly unethical. Is it even legal under Polish law?

I just read an article about such practices becoming more commonplace in Australia, where there is a severe rental shortage in the big cities. Agents have apparently starting charging "application fees" if someone wants to just look at an apartment, which apparently is illegal in Australia. Also there are bidding wars taking place, with agents driving the rental prices higher.

Article is here if anyone is interested: news.com.au/business/money/story/0,25479,24248897-5013951,0 0.html

Thankfully the situation isn't so bad in Krakow. Sure, I believe there is a shortage in some rental segments (mainly the cheap end) at present, but that doesn't mean it gives agents free licence to start using such underhand tactics.

My colleague told me that gumtree has recently banned any advertising of rental apartments in which interested tenants are asked to pay money upfront just to find out more information about the apartment, or arrange a viewing. This did happen.

This section has been added to their regulations for advertisers:
"Nie akceptujemy ogłoszeń agencji/ biur itp. pobierających opłaty przed pokazaniem nieruchomości. " / We don't accept advertisements from real estate agencies who ask for (take) payment before conducting viewings of apartments (something to that effect)

Basically, this is how it should work. You see a property advertised which you like and contact the agency. Before showing you the property, the agent will want to sign a representation agreement stating how much the tenant will pay should they decide to go ahead and rent it. This is normally between half and one month's rent, depending on the term of the lease agreed. If you don't want to take the property, you shouldn't have to pay anything to the agent.

This is how we do it anyway.


Mostly we still only take 1 month's rental amount as a security deposit, though I have noticed more owners recently asking for a larger deposit, particularly if there is any doubt about the tenants, i.e. they are students, for example, or a risk in some way.

Unfortunately not, this "contact" is in polish, and explained in english. Which would be the first give away for anyone who has been here for a while. For those coming, Always ask for a translation, you pay for a service, and that should give you a legal contract which has been translated. If not, think hard about the seller.


This sounds a much more better way of doing things. Though im a little confused about what it means. Do you pay a fee to the agent before seeing property? or only after you have accepted it?


I would encourage these owners not to do that, by doing so they are only going to get a select group of people who can afford this easily. As i have said in older postings, the fact remains, the market should remain fair not only to those relocating here, but to those who live here. These high demands will only lead to people having the impression that krakow is far too expensive, and to look else where. As someone who help alot of people move here for work or other reasons, i think its the wrong way to go.

All our contracts are in Polish and English (each page separated into two columns).
A contract which is signed by someone who doesn't speak the language is surely not legally binding?


Sorry it wasn't clear, we do not charge a person just to look at a property. They only pay if they actually sign a lease. However, normally we do sign the representation agreement (stating how much the fee will be) before showing the apartment.


I agree, and for that reason I am actively discouraging our owners who wish to rent their apartments from charging any more than 1 month rent as a deposit. At the end of the day though, it is their decision to make.

hi!
i have a nice piece of land (i'm the owner), 12 km away from the city. If you're interested let me know, i'll send you details.

Hi there

Land sell is NOT restricted for polish citizens. Actually the city of Krakow is encouraging foriegn invesment in the city. My business partner has bought several land lots for development. So far we have gained lot of experience in this field and our team of lawyers, city planners and accountants are even advising that this the right moment to purchase lands in Krakow as prices at their lowest rates and they are expected to rise as we near 2012 when poland would cohost the europe football cup.

Should you need further support feel free to write me at vic.saad48@gmail

Good luck
Vic

how can you say that this is the best moment to sell land? You probably represent some agency looking for buyers, land will be much cheaper soon; loans are getting more expensive, fewer people will be able to buy and prices will naturally be lowered :-) Besides, with the beginning of 2009 huge rural lands will be granted residential status.