Work / PHP Web Developer needing to move to Poland, chances of finding work in this field? [5]

You'll be welcomed with open arms, especially in places like Krakow. Have you tried googling 'PHP Krakow'?

Law / How to sell a ready made 'shelf' company in Poland (Gdynia) [5]


Yes you can, but you may need to pay 23% VAT. You need to check with an accountant.


If the company just uses the flat as its registered address but isn't the owner, just move the company's registered address somewhere else. There are plenty of virtual offices around that will provide this service for a small monthly fee. Selling a Polish company that has had a trading history is a complicated business, especially if it's had employees in the past - you have to keep their records for years. If it's not trading, it's much easier to close it down. Again, talk to an accountant.

Work / Employment in Poland for an English engineer [16]

Try the BPO companies here - they're always looking for people.
Also, learn to code. There's heaps of work for software developers in Krakow.

Real Estate / Preliminary Contract - Purchase of Apartment [26]

The amount a property was sold for is not public in Poland.

Real Estate / Preliminary Contract - Purchase of Apartment [26]

Check whether the spółdzielnia will allow you to create a land registry entry (kśięga wieczysta) for the property, but the major issue is that by buying this share, you agree to pay the service charges that the spółdzielnia sets.

The notary will request the seller to submit the documents needed to ensure that they have the right to sell their share in the cooperative - you're paying for this.

Life / Getting kaucja back - dealing with landlords [20]

It's a bit suspicious - whenever one of my tenants moves out I always take the final meter reading to the electricity company and get the meter signed over back to me from that moment. They then send a final bill (or refund) to the tenant. It's very straightforward.

Real Estate / What are the legal rights of a majority owner of Polish real estate property? [11]

Sorry - I misunderstood. You should be able to take back control of the building from the minority owner, but from what I know (I'm not a lawyer but am involved in a few administrator/co-owner disputes over property) there are a few factors that determine how you need to go about it, e.g.

- if the property has been divided between the owners (i.e. owner A owns this part, owner B owns that part)
- if there are any other owners and the proportions of ownership (if one owner has the majority and could in theory force anything through a different arrangement applies)

- if a homeowner association has been set up (wspólnota mieszkaniowa) or not
- the terms of the original agreement between whoever originally gave the management to the minority owner and the person from who the majority owner inherited their share.

If the minority owner is carrying out work that exceeds the normal scope of responsibility of an administrator (minor or emergency repairs) without authorization, you don't have to pay for it.

Talk to a lawyer - they will ask you all the right questions and tell you what you need to do. In my case, the process of getting a court-appointed administrator took about 6 months, but she turned out to be useless and it took about 2 years to get another one appointed and he has turned out to be great.

Real Estate / What are the legal rights of a majority owner of Polish real estate property? [11]

If there's a dispute about who should be the manager and you apply to court to appoint one, the court has no option but to appoint a third party - it can't favor one side over another.

To remove a manager, you need to have a majority vote of the owners or demonstrate that the majority is harming the minority. It's not an easy process.

Real Estate / "Zachowek" means that even if the dead bequeathed his/her property in Poland.. [6]

It's called 'legitime' and comes from Roman law, which is what Polish law is based on. It's a way of ensuring that people aren't disinherited unfairly in a will - it doesn't exist in the US or UK. There are a number of factors that come into the calculation, but in the most straightforward case your cousin will have to pay everyone who qualifies (next of kin) a cash sum equivalent to half of what that person would have received if the will had treated all of you equally. If any of the next of kin are disabled or under age, they get a bigger share than half. I think that everyone has to be offered zachowek but most people decline it. Whether you decide to take it up or not doesn't make any difference to the relative who wants it.

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]


I agree. I also resent paying my accountant every month, but do it simply for the peace of mind. If you decide to go it alone, do let us know how it goes.

Real Estate / What's with the commitment for rents in Poland? [9]


You can also be charged for the remainder of the year, or at least until the landlord finds another tenant to take your place. This can take a while...

Life / Want to watch BBC iplayer in Poland? [59]

Try PrivacyProtector.eu - a free, ad-free, browser plug-in that creates a P2P VPN, so there's no central server that allows them to track you. They're a small startup from Krakow :)

Food / Polish "kremowka" dessert question [29]

Can't help you with the American versions, but I can translate into British English for you. Good luck!


- sour cream


- homogenised vanilla cream cheese (eg like vanilla Philadelphia)


- mid-fat white farmers'/curd cheese (i.e. not full fat or non-fat)


- cream custard (budyn is a custard)


- cream cheese


- double cream (min. 30% fat)


- cream and curd cheese

Real Estate / English speaking Estate Agents In Poland? [18]

Try airbnb.com, Gumtree or one of the vacation rentals companies - they're much more likely to find you something for just a couple of months. A typical tenancy agreement is 12 months and you're liable to pay all of it if you move out early.

Work / Polish Born-Native English Speaker Chances of Finding a Job [10]


Not according to the guys who head up recruitment that I was speaking to the other week...

Work / Polish Born-Native English Speaker Chances of Finding a Job [10]

The BPO industry will snap you up - they're desperate for good English speakers with international experience. Expect to start at around 4000PLN/month + medical insurance, bonuses etc, but this could go up quite quickly.

Food / Canned pumpkin in Warsaw? [9]

Try Kuchnie Swiata for canned pumpkin - I'm pretty sure I've seen it in the branch in Zlote Tarasy.

Real Estate / Chimney Sweeps in Krakow - experiences of flat owners in central Krakow? [4]

Yes - I had one chimneysweep who did a survey of the chimneys in a flat I was renovating and certified that there was nothing connected to one stack. However when we demolished it (it was in the middle of what would otherwise be a lovely open plan living room), it turned out that there was in fact, a boiler connected to it on the ground floor. As a result we had to relocate the boiler and run a new flue up through 2 floors and the attic to above roof level. What I then found out was that they don't have the power to order that something has to be done - all they do is issue a piece of paper that says whether it complies or not. It's then up to the building owners to do something about it (or take the consequences of not doing it).

Real Estate / Księga Wieczysta (no entry) [16]


If she's entered into the Rejestr Gruntow that doesn't mean she owns the house on the land. We had the same issue in my family where the land was registered to my grandfather (from before WW2 - he died in the 1970s) but the house was owned by by grandmother (who died in 2001) so my Mum had a bit of paperwork to do in order to tidy everything up. In our case it was pretty simple, but it could clearly get much more complicated. Personally, if the price was right I'd sign a pre-agreement and make it a condition of completion that your vendor completes the KW process.

Also, I also bought a cooperative property in a block at a very low price and haven't bothered getting a KW for it - it would require a visit to a notary and a wait of about 3-6 months for them to write it in. As part of the sale I got written in to the register of members of the cooperative which is proof of ownership.

Food / Pinto beans in Poland [17]

I'm pretty sure I've seen them in Kuchnie Swiata in Galeria Krakowska. Try also the two health food shops on ul. Krupnicza.

Work / How to find an IT internship, work placement, graduation assignment in Cracow? (Krakow) [10]

Try Hive53 - it's a group of people in the tech and IT-based startup community here in Krakow. I think some of them would jump at the chance of having a willing intern...

Travel / Custom Restrictions for Income Devices in Poland [4]

If you can't prove it's your personal property or gifts, you'll be charged duty and VAT on anything exceeding 430 euros.

Real Estate / Cousin stole my dads home in Poland... [49]

Wills in Poland (codified system) don't carry the same weight as they do in an Anglo-Saxon (based on common law) system. If they've sold the property I think the chances of getting it back are practically nil but you really should get a Polish lawyer to look into the possibility of a zachówek - sounds like your Dad's entitled to 50% of what he'd have got anyway + interest.

Love / Polish Wedding Venue near Krakow [22]

Try the Palac pod Baranami on the Rynek - they have gorgeous function rooms.

Law / Investing money in Poland - what are the best areas / ways to invest private money? [23]

Have a look at some of the internet startups coming out of Krakow and Warsaw, particularly those being spun out by software houses. Most are incorporating in Delaware now so minimal bureaucracy.

Food / Butcher Shops in Krakow with Good Beef [11]

It's hard to get good beef here because they don't hang it. Basically it goes straight from the abbatoir to the shop and doesn't have any time to develop flavour. I suggest you go talk to the guys from Pimiento Argentine Grill as they bring in properly hung beef from Berlin. The Sklepik Naturalny on ul. Krupnicza (the one in the courtyard, half way down the street on the left as you walk away from Bagatela) also have regular deliveries from a good catering wholesaler in Berlin and may be willing to order you some.

USA, Canada / Polonia who needs help with Polish Documentary [27]


WTF? Hooliganism is hardly a large topic in Poland and Europe. And it's definitely not the most interesting thing about Poland right now! Why don't you choose a more interesting, less inflammatory subject if, as you say, "


?

Life / Question about hot water in Poland and the use of water heaters? [52]

I'm also in Krakow and strangely enough we had a discussion with the other owners of our building (a 1930's kamienica) today about the possibility of installing district heating. Apparently MPEC will connect us to the system for free (we have a mains pipe either in our street or 50 m away) and possibly even subsidise the distribution pipework within our building, all of which sounds too good to be true! I guess it's to do with Krakow's appalling air quality due to coal burning. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm going to call MPEC in the morning to find out for myself but as we seem to have some people who know what they're talking about here, I thought I'd ask...

Australia / Inheritance: Dual citizenship (Australia) but no Polish will [3]


Yes. You need to go through a court process to transfer the ownership. I'm about to PM you the name of a lawyer I can recommend.

Real Estate / Good places to live in Krakow [20]

IBM is located on ul. Armii Krajowej to the north east of the centre which, luckily for you, is near to some nice residential districts. I'd recommend you try and find an apartment in the Krowodrza or Nowa Wies districts - you'll be able to walk to work and in to the Old Town in the evenings. But in any case, there are loads of buses that go past as it's opposite the main university campus and halls of residence.