Buying real estate in Poland advice

As the title suggests am looking at buying some real estate in Poland and would like some advice. Whilst I am a British citizen my mother is polish and still has polish passport. I am fluent in polish language although struggle to read and write. Anyway my partner and her dad have just picked up a fair bit of money from inheritance from relative. They're a bit stuck what to do with their money and I've always had this idea to buy property in Poland. Seems you get far more from your money than England and with their money I've sort of talked them round in potentially doing this. Hoping to buy a few properties over the year and potentially move to Poland eventually when Britain hits the wall when brexit inevitably goes wrong

Looking at potentially Warsaw or Kraków. Don't want to pay any more then 400k pln for properties. My family live in płock which is close to Warsaw but then again Kraków seems to be the city that's got everything going for it so not sure which one is better any advice?

We would be aiming at buying some smaller newly built flats somewhere not too far away from centre hopefully renting too young professionals and maybe students ideally

In terms of financing property looking to get mortgage but not sure where to start on this one. Have seen there are overseas mortgage broker in uk, are these worth trying and anyone got any of these they'd recommend? What is generally acceptable amount for deposit? We were looking at 10-20%.

My final question is are there some decent lettings agents out in Poland. Hoping to leave the running of the renting to an agency as won't have time to deal with it day to day ourselves at first

Very early stages and still got a lot of research to do but any advice would be appreciated

Brexit is slowly sapping confidence and pressurising the exchange rate lower. Currently its around 4.79, but a transition and a deal of some sort is in the price. That means plenty of downside if things don't go to plan. I personally believe the market is being too rosy and giving both sides too much credit, where in reality, neither side really wants to compromise to do a deal, both thinking they can get away relatively cleaning without, for various reasons. I think we can down down towards 4, or above parity for euro vs sterling, which still leaves a lot of downside for sterling from which to profit.

Warsaw being the capital, draws the most interest, but Wroclaw is second behind it, being the tech hub. I looking away from the capital Id look to Wroclaw first ahead of the rest. You mention buying a few flats for no more than 400k each. But I would caution against flats. The main reason being yield. You will struggle to get more than 4-5% certainly after costs. If you can afford a million or two, I would suggest commercial property rather then 3 or 4 flats. For that money it wont be prime location, but you can get some good smaller secondary units for that money, on a long term contract (5-10yrs), inflation indexed and on a yield of 7-9% depending on location and terms. Your tenant is likely to be a chain and will take care of the upkeep, you will be able to stay hands off. From experience I would say a far better prospect than dealing with the pitfalls and low returns of flats. I made the move from retail to commercial in Wroclaw some time ago and I certainly wouldn't go back.

Getting a mortgage without earnings in Poland will be tough unless you have a larger deposit or a long business history. Your best bet is to buy a first property, run that in the books for 6 months and then try one of the small banks such as mbank for a loan on the next.

So, let's get this right: your partner has inherited a bit of money ,which is burning a hole in her pocket, and somehow you've managed to convince her to invest in Polish real estate. Then you also talk about getting a mortgage to finance the purchases. I'll just assume you have some capital to invest in your venture and will need more to expand your portfolio. My candid advice since I have my own experience in this field: first of all if you are gonna be successful in real estate don't come down here with the UK way of doing things in this industry - it's a whole other kettle of fish. If you are a novice in this industry don't come in through this angle. If you wanna risk it here goes:

Krakow or Warsaw for new builds- Warsaw any given day, mate! For the obvious reasons if you are looking for a good return in the future. Population of your target market is growing. Overseas mortgage brokers in the UK to buy property in Poland? As part of your homework you can ask a few and gather as much info as possible. You don't have to accept any offers they might have for you. Keep in mind they are brokers not lenders. Deposit you will be ok with 20% both in UK and Poland. Then there is property registration in Poland which can also be a nightmare depending on who you are buying from and whether cash or registered mortgage. If you decide to let out your properties then you are liable to tax. Letting agents are plentiful but mostly make money by charging you and the tenant as well. I would never recommend letting out property remotely until you know the practices in the market.

@Buggsy
I'm in a similar situation to the OP and have really only just started researching the project. Could you elucidate what you mean by "don't come here with the UK way of doing things in this industry"?

If you know of any lenders (UK or PL) who will lend to a UK taxpayer (with documented income in PLN from Poland) on a Polish property, please share. My income will cover the mortgage payments comfortably and I have a low LTV but I'm finding it impossible to find anyone willing to lend.

You can try Hamilton May, they are based in Krakow I think. And speak English.


The higher up you go the more professional things are (which is another reason to go with commercial - you are dealing with large business lacking in emotion rather than locals which sometimes left emotions take over). That tends to be the case becauses its other peoples money they are dealing with and the onus is on then getting a good deal for their company within the law, rather than looking to bend the law or break it by those who have nothing to lose. Certain aspects are certainly different, but as long as you apply common sense and don't leave things to chance (that means paying for expertise when required), its a great way to play weak sterling and run a high yield in the meantime. Liquidity is pretty good in the biggest fastest growing cities, particularly if your asset is in a top location with good footfall. Of course you have to pay for this but that doesnt mean accepting a low single digit yield as in the UK, you can get high single figures although yields are getting more and more compressed as more people take an interest in Poland. Id say office space is suffering a bit from over capacity and while they are building record numbers of flats, there is still plenty of demand and a large chunk of deals there done in cash. Prices are still some way off pre GFC peaks in 2008, so there is still plenty to play for, but as I say, yields are going to be just 4-5% in better areas. You can get higher yields elsewhere, but you will need to be very hands on as you will be dealing with people that wont always have the ability to pay. So best avoided. So that leaves the commercial space. More professional, strong yield and given the long term contracts on offer, more stable.

Thanks for the advice.

I have sent Hamilton may a request form to hear what they have to say. The getting the mortgage bit sounds like the trickiest bit maybe getting a loan in uk may be an option potentially

I never have thought about commercial property might be too pricey for us now but definitely something to consider in future sounds much more simpler to manage.

Does anyone have any experience with millennium bank they have a mortgage calculator page in English on their site don't know if there keen to give out mortgages to people not living in Poland

dom.gratka.pl/deweloperzy/tresc/422-73573709-1-.html

I've found a fairly cheap looking new build property in Warsaw. Do these tend to be decent properties? Just seems fairly cheap and a bit too good to be true at 200000 pln.

I think Warsaw sounds the safest bet I don't know much about Wroclaw and have never been tbh. My family lives in płock near Warsaw so that could be a higher yield option. Although seems to be a town with a fair bit of unemployment so may be more risky

@ziutek maybe we could keep in Touch if we're botg interested in doing this? But be able to help each other along the way?

@sebncfc123
I'm not sure what I can add at this point as I am only just starting out but by all means PM me if you want to keep in touch.

From very recent experience i can tell you its impossible to get a mortgage at Millennium if your earnings are not in zloty.

And from what i've read, other banks dont do this as well (following some debacles here in Poland with foreign currency mortgages both ways)

I don't know Warsaw and investable areas, I stick to Wroclaw, but I suggest zou find someone knowledge on the ground that can point to which areas are worth investing in and which are not. Whilst all of the big cities are doing well, each has its better and worse regions. You need to decide on what or who your clients will be, then buy a property in a location that suits that remit. If you insist on residential and say the student subsector, you want a property close to schools or at least tramlines in an area of the city that will appeal to them.

Merged:

Real Estate Investments within Poland

Dear all,
Is there anyone who really advice about how to invest in Real Estate and where within Poland? In Warsaw and/or Poznan.
We are Developers.

thanks
cheers

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

Hi, please let me know what are you looking for? We can help you with almost all kind of property starting from single apartment to land for the serious investment as plant or mall. We run law office but we also find and secure real estate investment for our clients. We cooperate with real estate agent who is Irish and many years live in PL.

I can give some help in 3city area, in real estate and mostly, with architecture.

Hello,

I am going to get a small apartment directly from developer without mortage or credit, is there anything you can advise on it?

1)As a foreigner, what kind of documents/process I need to officially register the apartment on me. So everybody can find me on the book at court(don't knwo how to call it)

2)What kind of document I should take from the developer?
3)I heard it is very normal that polish developers don't keep the due date of handing over keys. What measures can I take if such case happens?

4)The ownership(court based) will be delivered once I got the key(when completing payment)?
5)How much can I estimate to furbish per m2? Of course, it varies on the standard, but I mean average...and the cost for labour for paiting and flooring...

6)Please advise anything releated to buying a new aparmtment. (Expected moving is December.)
7) FYI, I am a non-EU citizen, have a residence card on work permit basis.

Many thanks

If you want to pay money for a hole in the ground and give money to a developer who skips (i.e. runs away) as soon as he gets your money go ahead.

I have to agree they do, especially with foreigners , best buy something that you can see and touch, you don't need the hassle and potential grief honest.