Buying an apartment at auction in Poland. Owners still present

Hi, I am thinking about buying a small apartment in a village of East Poland. My partner who is Polish, I am Irish want to know what is the legal process if I win the bid and the previous owners don't wish to vacate.

If it's a repossession does the owners need to be accommodated by social services before they move out. Also I wouldn't want to buy and know people might be forced out.

Regards
Sean

It's a terrible idea to get involved with any property that isn't vacated.

Essentially, if you win, you still need to get a court order to remove them. They will most likely not find alternative accommodation, so they will be allowed to stay until they have an address that they can be removed to. As you can imagine, this is not going to happen in a small town in Eastern Poland.

Thanks for the reply. I am against in morally too. I guess it would take a long time. It wasn't sold after first action. I guess because of this reason.

A long time, a lot of hassle and a lot of bad feelings, which will spread round other people in the village (i.e. you'll forever be the nasty foreigner who had the nice Kowalski family thrown out of their home).

Can I ask why you're thinking about buying a flat in a village in eastern Poland? That sounds very much like the first step down a path which leads to moving to that village, and while I very much enjoy visiting eastern Poland, the idea of living in a village there fills me with dread.

A weekend home in, say, Podlasie, can be nice, however in a small town maybe, not a village with no pub worth the name, no decent shop, neighbours that other Poles would avoid and nothing much within easy driving distance.


I would be too, however you'd be surprised how often this happens.

I live in a village in eastern Poland and love it. It's five Km from a town with a hospital, supermarkets, banks, etc., and an hour from a medium-sized city. When the street lights go off at 1100 pm the night sky is a marvel. It is quiet and the neighbours are friendly. Different strokes for different folks. I lived in cities all my life until seven years ago, and this was the best move I've ever made.

As for the op's question, I wouldn't do this if the property were on sale for 50PLN. He would be entering a world of pain.


I'm glad there's no pub where I am. There used to be a shop where farmers would go for a few early morning beers after milking and then roll home for breakfast. As for shops, we have a car. In fact we have two.

I lived in cities all my live too. But I would prefer live in a small town, of course with easy access to the major city in winter.

The apartment is 120pln. But I've changed my mind now. So we won't even attend the auction. In general what is the property market like in Poland. In terms of a property bubble is it growing and becoming more expensive to purchase compared to say 5 years ago.

Prices in Ireland have rising from the bottom in 2013 to about 20% higher now.

Generally the property market bottomed in 2010 and has been on the up, but as I say thats a generalisation. There are pockets and sectors that are well off 2005-2008 prices and some of those that are dragging on the bottom. The major cities have seen the biggest gains, houses and commercial leading the way, while flats have made small increases given the fact that developers are building more and more flats - this isnt really a problem yet as the demand side is taking up the slack and leaving single digit y/y increases in the big cities. Overall however, flats houses and commercials in small cities or villages aren't in demand annd in the weakest areas youll find prices are still pretty much near the bottom. Land has been steadily increasing y/y and represents a good investment, but again weaker areas, those with poor infrastructure and employment plus greater distance to large cities are seeing little interest.

Yeah the small villages look like they have not changed much from decades ago.

My dream would be to have a place near Zakopane. Or the mountain areas. it's crazy money from what I seen for a small apartment.

The rent money generated from an apartment is not worth the hassle in the small villages is it , so you would be paying these communal fees per month for a holiday apartment. I know her parents pay a few hundred pln per month but they live there.

Forget trying to generate rent in small towns from flats. It is a very hands on experience given default rates are high, so not worth the time or trouble since you can get almost as good yields in the bigger cities or the coast. Too high opportunity cost to bother imo.

Instead of looking at such places, why not look at something more off the beaten trail, but equally nice? For instance, try Namestovo in Slovakia. It's in the mountains, the town is nice, and yet prices are a fraction of what you'll pay in Polish resorts.