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Posts by mcrpolak  

Joined: 21 Apr 2013 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 10 Nov 2015
Threads: Total: 6 / In This Archive: 5
Posts: Total: 36 / In This Archive: 31 		From: England
Speaks Polish?: Yes
Interests: Polish Language

Displayed posts: 36 / page 1 of 2
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mcrpolak   
22 Feb 2016
Real Estate / Prices of apartment in central Krakow [6]

Merged: Wislane Tarasy Krakow

has anyone managed to negotiate a discount in this building on the apartment price?
mcrpolak   
28 Oct 2015
Polonia / BRAZILIAN POLISH PEOPLE [21]

God knows how. Polish father, it turned out.

I love this story!!
mcrpolak   
26 Oct 2015
UK, Ireland / Sugar tax in the UK. Polish friends addicted? [55]

Most of the Poles I know cook from scratch with pretty wholesome food. I would say there is a reliance on greasy things which is bad for a different reason but Poland never struck me as a place where people have high sugar diets (although I am from the UK and so see the extreme)
mcrpolak   
26 Oct 2015
Life / UK garage, do you get it in poland? [18]

UK Garage is not something the UK should be looking to export, the rest of the World should be spared from having to listen to it.
mcrpolak   
26 Oct 2015
News / Poland Parliamentary elections 2015 [1060]

Well the markets seem untroubled by the PIS majority this morning, I guess the fact a majority was achieved has calmed some investors.
mcrpolak   
26 Oct 2015
Language / I NEED TO LEARN POLISH QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY! [45]

No chance of learning quickly.

I studied at University of Manchester in a class of 12 people and not one was 'fluent' within 3 years.

It's a tough language but rewarding, I'd suggest a tutor and the books Hurra Po Polsku, Basic Polish & Intermediate Polish and 301 Polish Verbs
mcrpolak   
26 Oct 2015
News / Poland Parliamentary elections 2015 [1060]

I personally pulled all my convertible cash assets out of Poland simply on the prospect of a PIS coalition
V

Cheers Doug, I missed the boat a bit and didn't do it quick enough (late last week) by which time the Zloty had depreciated, but I pulled it out on the basis that PIS would be 10% ahead of PO but wouldn't form a majority. Now I see the exit poll I am glad I did. Tomorrow the markets will be a bit spooked I am sure.
mcrpolak   
26 Oct 2015
News / Poland Parliamentary elections 2015 [1060]

I personally pulled all my convertible cash assets out of Poland simply on the prospect of a PIS coalition. The fact they have an outright majority will spook investors and tomorrow i'd imagine the markets will take a bit of a kicking.
mcrpolak   
13 Sep 2015
Real Estate / New Build and Old Flat in Katowice, Poland [6]

Thank you so much, Delph that is definitely my impression to date. Been to look at a few flats which seemed high in price in my view (albeit rather limited view). It's amazing that you can have a great modern apartment with one round the corner, half the size and crumbling commanding the same price.
mcrpolak   
11 Sep 2015
Real Estate / New Build and Old Flat in Katowice, Poland [6]

Hi all,

Our property search continues in Katowice. We are relative novices in Polish Property. I therefore have another question (or two questions)

1) With new build properties what's the norm with list price. In the UK it's common to get a pretty decent discount on the list price of a new build often around 10-15%. Is this the case in Poland or is it pretty much pay what you see.

2) Same with older houses. Obviously here it is more varied and depends on the sellers motive but are all sellers expecting to be bargained down? Obviously I will try to haggle on any property I find but it helps to know the mindset of the other party.

Thanks in advance for your help.
mcrpolak   
11 Sep 2015
UK, Ireland / Polish Beer In The UK [98]

Merged: Anyone know where you can buy Ciechan Miodowe and Lwowski beers in Manchester?

Love this stuff.

Any other recommendations also welcome
mcrpolak   
7 Sep 2015
Real Estate / Pitfalls of buying a Polish Flat built in 1950's [20]

Buggsy, thanks for such pragmatic advice.

In the end mate it didn't work out, we've been to see it this week and it didn't look anything like the pictures suggested.

Was a bit worn and a bit of a wierd situation, the buyer wants to stay in the flat until early next year. Onwards and upwards.

I do appreciate the advice, it will stand me in good stead for the future search.
mcrpolak   
23 Aug 2015
Real Estate / Pitfalls of buying a Polish Flat built in 1950's [20]

So Smurf, you don't know anything about the price of property in Katowice, but you do know I need to look at the suburbs.

I have no issue with the location. As i made clear in my first post, i've been in Kato enough times and my friend lives on Ulica Francuska too and never had any problem when sleeping there. The apartment itself is 1.5km from the train tracks so sure i'll be ok. I also am comfortable with paying that amount of money to live close to the city.

I was looking only for advice on the pitfalls of buying a 1950's brick constructed property. What I should do and who I should get to look at the apartment to make sure it's ok. I am from England where our properties are old and rest assured i'm smart enough to know to get someone qualified to look at it. I just wanted to know some practical things such as the other costs I might expect when buying and where to find a reputable person to inspect the property.

Avalon kindly provided some detail but need to know more about the total costs as listed in my first post,
mcrpolak   
23 Aug 2015
Real Estate / Pitfalls of buying a Polish Flat built in 1950's [20]

It's actually in none of those places, it's on Ulica Francuska.

Our plan was to appoint surveyor so thanks for advice.

Thanks for the advice on the make up of 1950's blocks. I've read the link you posted which gives good advice however it seems to mainly relate to concrete blocks. This one is built from brick, I heard that brick constructed apartments from this time were generally better quality. Is that true?
mcrpolak   
21 Aug 2015
Real Estate / Pitfalls of buying a Polish Flat built in 1950's [20]

Hi all,

Looking for some advice. We've seen a flat we'd like to buy in Poland. The flat is 60m2 with three rooms. It's in an area of Katowice we'd specifically like to live within.

The building the flat is in is a 5 story high building built in the 1950's from brick. Everything seems in good order but we're not experts. The flat has recently been renovated too and looks to be in a brilliant condition. We'd like some help however with specific costs, the flat is PLN375k, We understand we'll also be liable for:

2% VAT which equates to about PLN 8k
1% Notary fees so about PLN 4k
Who pays the estate agent fees?
Given the age of the building we'd like to instruct a Nadzor Budowlany. How do you go about doing this? How do you find a reputable person? And lastly what do they charge.

Are there any other pitfalls we should think about when buying an apartment of this age?

Lastly how does a deposit process normally work in PL? Do you pay a set amount upfront? Or does everything get paid at the end?

Your help is appreciated.
mcrpolak   
6 Jul 2015
UK, Ireland / Why English do not like Polish? [417]

I guess the type of people who come onto the internet trolling are not wholly reflective of the population at large. Come to a liberal city Poles, we welcome you.
mcrpolak   
6 Jul 2015
Law / Bank Account in Poland without residency or banks in the UK who will allow to have a PLN account [15]

Thanks all for the advice you gave. I did some research off the back of it and it would appear without residential address in PL you are limiting choice of banks.

I wanted to give you all an update. I went to Barclays Bank in the UK and opened a premier account. With this account is a currency option and I am pleased to say they do offer a PLN account. The application process was simple.I went in branch with normal ID. Opened the UK sterling account and then applied at the same time for a PLN account which I have now been approved for.

There were a few important conditions which were:

1) The sterling account has to be active to remain in operation. Although this can be a simple transfer in and out each month
2) You must deposit at least the equivalent of £2k into the currency account and keep this balance at all times. If you do not there is a £7 per month charge

3) The PLN account is a currency account only. You can make payments using the online tool with no cross border transaction fee. However you do not get a debit card and therefore it can only be used for payments in and out.

It's perfect for me as it's a place to put my Zlotys (although the deal I got on them doesn't look so good now (thanks Greece and Europe))

Hopefully this will be useful to any other Brit who is in this position.

Next challenge to buy a flat :)
mcrpolak   
22 Jun 2015
Law / Bank Account in Poland without residency or banks in the UK who will allow to have a PLN account [15]

Hi all,

I am hoping for some help. I will move to Poland in October/November this year. I have saved up a reasonable amount of cash to buy a flat with my girlfriend in my chosen city. After much procrastination about where to live and thoughts about a number of cities we have settled on Wroclaw as in my profession there are simply more job opportunities and some good Polish Language courses.

However I need some help. The GBP:PLN rate is very good at the moment (at 5.88 on Friday) so I bought around £50,000 whilst the rate was good and got 5.81 for each £ so 290k (PLN). The way I bought it was using a forward contract, So I committed to buying the Zlotys today and made a deposit payment, then I receive the Zlotys on September 30th. I am happy with the financial elements of this transaction but now the practicalities.

I have no PLN bank account currently and need to open one. I am going to receive 300k PLN on 30th September and my plan is for it to sit there until I complete my flat purchase at which point it will leave the account (probably by start of November 15). I then plan to open a bank account in Poland and transfer the rest of my savings into that account

Therefore I need a PLN account, the options I have from the are:

1) HSBC expat offer a PLN account however you have to maintain a balance of £60k GBP at all times. I do not plan to do this as my money will only be with them for a short period of time (say 1-2 months)

2) I am aware that Barclays operate PLN accounts from the UK and I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to apply for this.

3) Do any of you know of any other banks in the UK who will allow you to have a PLN account?
4) How easy will it be for me to open a bank account in Poland? Are there any banks in Poland where I can open an account without actually residing in the country?

5) Transfer the money into my girlfriends account in Poland. However we understand that will lead to a gift tax liability.

I've tried to be as specific as possible and would appreciate it if anyone can help me with advice or suggestions on any of the above.

I don't need any advice on moving to Poland itself (jobs, economy, way of life etc). Just simply on the best way to deal with the above transaction.

If any of you can suggest UK banks in which I can hold PLN or Polish Banks who will let me open an account without being resident It would be much appreciated.