Buying/Building a house in Poland/Wroclaw metro area

Hi

I'm Polish but have lived outside of PL for the past 20 years. My wife recently started talking about moving back to Poland (Wroclaw is where we used to live). I know absolutely nothing about purchasing or building a property in Poland. I was only 14 when I left the country. Can somebody suggest how to look for property (besides Domy on Wyborcza and Onet). How can I research neighborhoods in terms of schools, transportation, etc?

We were thinking of getting something in Wroclaw or not too far from the city. Small place of about 130 sq. meters. What's the price range we should be looking at. We do have a budget in mind, but obviously the better deal we get the better it would be for us. Also when it comes to loans is it possible to obtain a mortgage with a fixed rate like it is in the United States? Has anyone taken a loan from US bank with fixed APR financing for a property in Poland or anywhere else in Europe? Is it even possible?

Thank for your help.

Just ask the Forum. There are a quite a few members living in Wroclaw and the surrounding area.

If you want to know what a neighbourhood looks like it might be possible for one of us to take a picture and post it on the Forum.


For a flat, that is actually quite big


Do you want brand new or pre-war.

Do u want a house or a flat ?

Hm... If I were you I would first rent a flat and look around for couple of months before purchasing anything, and for sure I wouldn't start bulding a house at once. Unfortunately all valid sources I know are in Polish. Before I'll post links some warnings:

1. Wrocław lately was choosen as third most congested city in Europe
(59 biggest cities was examined)

thenews.pl/international/artykul130207.html

it will probably change when highway ring will be finished (about two years to go), but till then buying property outside of the city and work in the center will kill your spirit ;-) All traffic national/international goes through city center...

2. There is huge road building program around and in the city, so be carefull where you choose property to buy. You will think that it will be quiet and calm, but there can be some main road next to it in couple of years, example = 9 maja street (it actually wan't be that bad because there are high noice standards so noice barriers are builded, but still).

Here some links to start with (in Polish):

- overall housing investments in the area: investmap.pl/galeria/mieszkania-i-domy/
- forums and opinions about it: forum.investmap.pl

- similar stuff (probably you will need to register):

skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=292321&page=122
skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=349592&page=834

Some useful maps:

- current and future roads (when there is no road on google maps and is here, then probably it will be in future)
- future road map of Dolnoslaskie Province
[hm.. sorry those two above are to big to attach..]
- fload range (1997) - next one probably in 2997, but you never know ;-) :

• 
  fload map
  

Thanks for the replies and tips. What are the costs for doing general renovation on a house that's about 80 years old. I came across this large house outside of Wroclaw that requires a lot of attention. Assuming that it needs paint (interior/exterior), windows, roofing, electrical and plumbing, what are we talking about in terms of price range? Is it 100,000 PLN or even more? I can put 100K into it, but don't want to spend equivalent of a purchase price on renovation. Are these houses somehow governed by the city and puts them under "historic building" code?

BTW, I don't have to rent in PL. My in laws have a house so we could move in there for a while, although I'd prefer that time period to be as short as possible. :) For obvious reasons...

Edit: We're looking for a house (wolno stojacy and not blizniak or two-flat).

I wan't help much with those precise questions, but:
1. house is not historic monument just because it is old. It depends. There is conservator office where there is list of such objects.
2. I'm not sure, but I think that for major renovations you will need some official permits and plans
3. as for cost I have no idea, I guess it could be easilly 100 000. My family is planning roof changing in different and cheaper location than Wroclaw area, and first estimates are that it would be at least 30 000. So if you add painting, windows, electricians, plumbing... what about heating system?

Well you will need some professional advice! Good luck :-)

My rule of thumb is to allow 2-3,000zl/m2, depending on the scope of renovation required.


You need to check this with the Wydzial Architektury and the Konserwator.


krn.pl

How long is a piece of string?. Renovation work is always a lot more expensive than new build and with a house that is 80 years old it can be an absolute "bottomless pit". Before you even start on the shell, you will need to check the foundations (if there are any), roof/floor timbers, electric and plumbing and external drainage. If you are talking about a complete refurbishment then it may be cheaper to knock it down and start again.

Spend a little money on a full survey before you contemplate buying, it could save you a fortune.

Is home inspection negotiated through the seller/town/or something else? Are they independent workers in Poland? In the US they are typically independent and home inspection takes about a day if they are good and look for things. How much does it cost to do an inspection of the building?

Merged:

Houses in Wroclaw

Where in Wroclaw is it best to buy a 2-3 bedroom house for a young family? We prefer a quite peaceful community with access to schools, supermarket etc. My kids and wife are polish. I will start work at pl. Grunwaldzki. Appreciate if you could guide me with specific areas.

Ps- I m not an ultra rich foreign investor. Just looking for a roof on our head. (minus the unnecessary mortgage)

How much are you willing to spend is the question?

Are you going to tell him about the price of bricks from Leroy Merlin for fireplace in his OWN property?>?

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.