Real Estate / How to manage an inherited property? Does anyone own real estate in Poland while living in US? [3]

Main pitfalls you will find are going to be making it a tax efficient investment that doesnt draw attention either side of the pond. Youll want to do things legally so you'll need tax advise both sides of the pond and then you will have an idea of the taxes you will pay, and so, the net yield.

Real Estate / Any recommendations for area to purchase small plot to build a detached house near Poznan? [2]

Distance to utilities and access to them is very important to ascertain while doing due diligence. While water mains may be close by, if you need permission to cross a neighbours plot, it may not be forthcoming, so best to speak to all potential neighbours that may be involved. Also go to the council and see what plans they have for the area. Certain projects take decades to begin let alone complete, but you dont want any surprises when you wake up one day.

Real Estate / Warsaw buyer or sellers market? Houses around the Milanówek area [20]

You can pay into the notarys account for a small fee, this eliminates any risk on both the side of the buyer and seller - the money being transferred to the seller byt the notary once the akt is signed.

PZU is the biggest and is often used given they tend to pay their dues in the event of claims, but of course they arent the cheapest. Dont skimp here though, as in the event of a claim of any sort, you could be left out of pocket.

Real Estate / Does commercial property rent relief exist in Poland ? [4]

I think for warehouses there's a reduced rate, or at least there was a few years ago. But you needed to apply for it/declare .As for other commercial property, you are going to have to pay the full rate. But to be honest, its pretty much the same rate across Poland and at 23zl/m its not a great deal to pay especially if you are focused in any of the big cities - your property is going to be earning many multiples of that rate. More of a problem in lesser developed areas. And thats one of the big turns offs from investing outside the big cities - you are paying pretty much the same taxes but have much lower income potential.

Real Estate / Does commercial property rent relief exist in Poland ? [4]

The landlord or the tenant? You can offer a short rent free or reduced rent period to a new tenant to allow them to make the necessary changes/upgrades to your commercial unit. Its quite normal. The amount of discount given largely depends on how desirable the location is. Providing relief for a current tenant is also possible if the tenant is making significant upgrades, but not recommended otherwise. Its a slippery slope reducing rent and your yield is what provides the bulk of the return in the long run, so any cuts in the short term will multiply out into the long term and significantly hamper the return.

Real Estate / Finding land registry number by an address in Poland [16]

go there in person, with someone that speaks the language. or try a notary. they should be able to work through the paper trail and get you what you need.

Law / Poland's ZUS/NFZ payments for businesses [27]


Mixed use just affects the VAT payment, while you cant have more than one car if its a single person business. So its more about income tax here, but you can't argue with people including it as a cost as few business are run without the help and use of a vehicle so its only right that costs can be claimed. And to be honest a lot of the loopholes here have been closed.


Businesses would pressure employees into self employment, absolving them of many responsibilities.
Enforcing ZUS payment and confirming employee status within businesses would be a way to go, then of course there is the spend side which is ripe for adjustment but is likely to stay bloated since it keeps so many in employment.

Law / Poland's ZUS/NFZ payments for businesses [27]

In Poland cash transactions are still very popular and with a less stringent tax system, there is a lot of room to cheat the tax man. Hence the requirement of business details on the petrol receipt. You can imagine the avenues for cost building. A lot of things that just aren't worth your while in the UK are actually worth doing if you have a lot of time but little cash flow and here is why the tax authorities stay on the offensive given that there is so much evasion.

Work / Diary of a Teacher in Poland [181]

Idealism costs money. If you're not paying for it, someone else certainly will be. Like it or not, it's the way of the world. And if you can't change it, because you can't, you have to play by those rules.

News / EU confirms it will take action against Poland over court reforms [554]

They can allocate funds based on the regions ability to follow EU rules and, in particular in this case, the rule of law. The EU is working on ways to get around the Article 7 veto issue and will use other treaties to apply financial restrictions, whereby a majority would be required to reverse or stop such actions. It is of course still just positioning by the EU, an effort to put pressure on PIS, but ultimately its aimed at Polish voters. In Poland, usually money talks and at the end of the day it probably will but it may come to late to influence the next EU budget in a positive way.

Law / Poland's ZUS/NFZ payments for businesses [27]

You can suspend your business for up to 3 years during which period you no longer need to make ZUS payments. ZUS is massively underfunded looking at the long term picture, so its unlikely any changes are going to be in our favour.

Law / Poland's ZUS/NFZ payments for businesses [27]

You can get by without paying ZUS if you aren't living in the country but if you are you do get a 2 year initial reduction down to 500zl/m before it goes to 1200zl/m. Tax is something else but tbh if you are worried about not making the ZUS maybe the potential for your earnings isn't great enough to consider that line of work or business any further, certainly if ZUS payments are still a worry at the end of the 2 year discount period.

Real Estate / Looking for a reputable Lodz Estate Agent & Solicitor [8]

Location and then flat layout should be your most important consideration given that most blocks are now built in large part by a Ukrainian workforce! Any problems can be usually put right or masked if not spotted before being granted usage. Echo are huge but stay away from places like Skytower which are massively overpriced and may have issues in the future!

Real Estate / Starting an English building company in Warsaw. [24]

Absolutely the opposite I'd say. I wouldn't touch anything flat wise built in the last 5 years, unless I was prepared to put a lot of extra money into it. I hear many instances of flooding of top floors and lift shafts. Work is usually completed by unskilled Ukrainians employed by sub contractors trying to increase their margins.

Real Estate / Starting an English building company in Warsaw. [24]


I try to do business only with people and companies that have more assets than me. You want to avoid counterparties working on a shoestring.

Real Estate / Warsaw buyer or sellers market? Houses around the Milanówek area [20]

compared to the uk, its always a buyers market in poland particularly when it comes to houses. higher priced stuff shifts less often and its not unknown and in fact quite usual for some houses to be on the market for years due to a mixture of lack of liquidity at that price range and of course unrealistic pricing. if you are a cash buyer, you hold all the cards. check the online ads to find out how long they have been selling and dont be afraid to lowball, as sellers are often selling for a long time and the smell of money (as opposed to bank loans) and the opportunity to close quickly is often enough.

agents fees are around 2% above a million or 3-3.5% below, thats an average, but you can negotiate. if the agent believes you want to buy, they wont stand too firm if it comes down to the fee as they know if you walk away they get nothing. and you can always go back after 12 months anyway (usually the lock-out period for agencies but you need to check your paperwork with them).

you can use this site to look at prices
ceny.szybko.pl/ceny-nieruchomo%C5%9Bci
while some of the free portals pick up ads from the big ones and time stamp then so you can go back years to see the first listings.

Real Estate / Real Estate Lawyer costs in Poland [18]

For a private property or house where cash and no loans are involved, there is no need for a survey and most folks don't bother. Even if you do ask for a survey (around 1000zl) dont expect them to measure the walls with moisture meters. Surveys in Poland tend to be very basic and if you want proper structural surveys done, its best to buy the kit which isnt too expensive and do it yourself. It will of course be useful in the future so well worth it. For structural surveys you will need an architect if this area is foreign to you.

As for the notariusz its pretty easy to check online. You can take a lawyer with you to the notariusz but usually you can ask for a draft copy of the akt that will be read out by the notariusz and you can take this to a lawyer before you go to the notariusz to sign. That way the lawyer can make suggestions to change the text in certain areas or include other clauses. He will also be able to alert you to any clauses that will be carried over from the present akt (deed). I always ask for copies of the present akt. People dont always want to show it but they can always blot out the price and pass it on as it would be demanded by a bank if a loan was required so you can really insist on it. As for payment, the safest way is to deposit the funds with the notariusz a day earlier, sign the protocol for this which confirms the transaction, then go to sign for the house. The notariusz will then transfer the money to the seller after the akt is signed.

Another thing you need to do is get a document from the seller confirming that nobody is registered at the address at the local council. This document is usually handed out on request. That way you wont have any nasty surprises as to who is allowed to live at the house besides yourself.

Real Estate / Starting an English building company in Warsaw. [24]

Forget limiting yourself to an expat market that often skimps and saves more than natives can do. And why limit yourself to a few thousand individuals. There are plenty of folks with money in Poland and to be perfectly honest, good tradesmen that can be left on their own are worth their weight in gold. These days I tend not to share the ones I use as its taken years and decades in some cases to find them and there is only so much work they can take on before you are stuck at the end of a one year plus waiting list. There is of course work for even the worst kind of builders/tradesmen. Its of course a spectrum. However, before you begin I suggest you very slowly make yourself aware of the way the Polish property market operates as a whole, before making any big decisions. That may mean simply speaking to others who are doing similar things or even spending some time at all levels from the site to planning. For this kind of work experience you'll need access through a friend or family, otherwise I imagine it will be difficult for you to see whats going on and how things are done. A lot of things are easier to do than in the UK, but there are certain ways of doing certain things which differ from a UK approach. Surveys in my view are wholly inadequate but this can work for you as well as against you, while fitting bathrooms and kitchens isn't much different but with plumbing and heating often different methods are employed.

Law / Investment advice - my options in Poland? [50]

Not much you can do with a ton without getting your hands dirty with a day job, certainly if someone is looking for a living wage from it. But looking at it realistically, there are a few blue chip Polish companies you can invest in which provide a good yield sometimes. You can be looking at yields of up to 7% and a healthy return of capital if your horizon is 5 years or more. There really isn't much else you can do if you want to stay relatively liquid. If however you have a skill associated with construction, light building work, utilities or decoration, there is plenty of work for good tradesmen going in the big cities.

UK, Ireland / Criminal elements within the Polish community in the UK [26]


These days its only those types that go abroad given they have ran out of options in Poland. Most folks are able to move through the system and find suitable work here, whether thats through employment or self employment.

Real Estate / Buying/Building a house in Poland/Wroclaw metro area [12]

look at otodom.pl. that and gratka.pl are the most used sites. As for location its always going to be a compromise of quality of life and travel time. A lot of people prefer to live in flats within the city as its easier to travel by tram to work. However, they tend to be single or at least have no kids. More are deciding to buy a house on the outskirts, but still within the city limits. Lesnica has plenty of greenery and will benefit from a ring road into the city centre later this year. The further out you go, the cheaper the houses tend to be. If you don't need to be in Wroclaw everyday, you could even consider a smaller town outside of Wroclaw such as Swidnica Trzebnica or Olesnica. It all depends on your personal circumstance really.

Real Estate / Buying real estate in Poland advice [18]

Plenty of worthwhile real estate investments in Poland. What do you need to know?

UK, Ireland / Are Poles in UK really that big of a deal? [112]


THIS^^^
Bar a few exceptions, special circumstances, anyone with any kind of start or education isn't going to risk losing a few years by trying to make a go of things abroad. A decade ago or more maybe, but not now. Those with no skills and looking for an easy ride that the likes of the UK can offer, are the ones that are emigrating. Its pretty embrassing to hear some Poles on the streets of the UK. The good thing is you can usually spot them a mile away and avoid them. Poland is glad to be rid of this sort, while I suppose the UK isn't really bothered since its still usually supporting these folks with rich benefits, the likes of which they would never get in Poland.

News / Poland's economic future? [294]


Do things properly and in the height of winter it can cost less than 1000 a month to heat even a 4 or 5 hundred square metre house by gas. The problem is efficiency and heat retention. Grants should be spent on correcting these and then even a cheap dual function boiler costs peanuts to run.

Law / ZUS for owner (living in the UK) of a business in Poland [3]

You can be a director and not draw a salary, so you wont need to pay. But an employee will need to have ZUS paid. There are ways shift the accountability to the employee but the fact remains that someone will need to pay it, whether its your company or the employee, so it would need to be figured into take home pay.

Real Estate / Expatriate mortgages + Property in Poland [24]

I once had an offer on a flat from a buyer with Canadian assets and income and his loan fell through too. You can of course purchase cash and then refinance within one year, as I have just done, but you will need to build up at least 6 months of steady income in that time as well as a future flow of income that is reasonable clear. Income from flats or properties gives you a lower multiple as far as how much you can borrow compared to earnings, but you should be able to borrow 4 or 5 times income even so. Just what out for costs and depreciation as it lowers your tax bill which is fine but when taking a loan out privately what counts are earnings after all deductions, whereas for a firm or businesses, they take things such as depreciation into account.

You have a 2-3 year time frame so I would invest some money in commercial property with a long term contract, banks look at these in different light compared to residential property where you run a heavy discount for income to loan ratio. You might be able to find something from half a mil but they tend to start 1M zloty upwards for something reasonable with a tenant that is likely to run the course of the contract. In a year or so you will then be eligible for a loan with which you will able to buy your house. There are some hurdles such as deposit size for houses over 250m2 and 500m2, with the deposit increasing the higher the hurdle you breach, which is worth remembering. The main thing at your stage is to develop an income stream in Poland in the next year or two and keep tax lower costs out of the accounts apart from the usuals such as council tax insurance etc.

Real Estate / Expatriate mortgages + Property in Poland [24]

Flat prices are starting to go up now, though to be honest they have been dragging near to the lows for a few years now. Of course you have your pockets of excess and higher prices than 2008, but generally most areas are still below or well below 2008 levels. Still, I don't believe flats can be anything more than an effort to diversify as they have a lower yield than commercial and are more hands on (in the case of managed, your yield goes down further).

Real Estate / Expatriate mortgages + Property in Poland [24]

You can try Hamilton May. Generally banks are wary if the loan is going to be attached to a Polish asset, given its cross border and the difficulties in getting a true state of play and of course in the future the possibility of calling in the asset. But you can try Hamilton May. As for buying tips, there is very little safety net here in terms of conveyancing, structural surveys, transfer of funds compared to the UK, certainly for residential assets and cash transactions. The fact you are wanting to use a bank, they will make you go through certain procedures to satisfy themselves that there are no financial surprises, but it usually comes down to you to make sure the house is strucural sound and that there are no hidden issues. There is a 5 year law for flats which allows the new owner to claim for hidden problems from previous owner but I don't know if that extends to houses to be honest.

Life / English family in Wroclaw! [70]

There are over 100 thousand Ukrainians alone in Wroclaw. The rest is a much smaller number but even so.

Law / Investment advice - my options in Poland? [50]

There are some investments priced in euros but if you want to invest only euros it begs the question why limit yourself to Poland and not the Eurozone, where your options will be much greater and more liquid. If you mean you want to make an investment in Poland, betting on growth in Poland, but want it priced in euros, again you are limiting yourself. The best thing to do would be to find an investment in Poland that suits you, which will be in zloty. You can then hedge the currency risk by using a currency option if you wish. The EURPLN rate is pretty stable so you can buy 1 year options which you can renew each year for low premiums. Alternatively you can invest in a currency hedged Polish investment fund.