Extra costs when buying a flat in Poland

Hi,

I'm considering buying a flat in Poland and I'm trying to get my head around the costs that come on top of the advertised price.

Who pays the notary? The buyer or the seller? How much is that?
Who pays the real estate agency?
Are there extra taxes or expenses beside the above?

As a quick example, if there's a flat advertised for PLN 400K, how much roughly should I expect to fork out?

Thanks!

Nick

the buyer - the amount depends on the price of the flat in question - it can amount to a couple thousand PLN - in the case of 400 thousand flat it would amount to 1360 PLN (edit: sorry it would amount to 2360 PLN - my mistake)

Are there extra taxes or expenses beside the above?

Yes there is a tax involved - you pay it at the notary office - the tax is 2 per cent of the value of the flat - in case of a 400 thousand flat it would amount to 8 thousands PLN

Real Estate agency fee can be the highest expense here - they typically charge 3 per cent of the price of the flat but it can be negotiated

Thanks Gumishu for your reply.
So there's roughly 5~6% of extra costs unless there are more things we didn't think of.

Another question. I've spotted a flat that's nice inside, but the building (from the 30's) outside walls are in a bad (terrible) condition.

In the monthly expenses (czynsz), there's a contribution for renewing the building (fundusz remontowy).

How does that fund work? I mean, do you have the warranty that they will eventually end up renewing the building? And when they do, can they charge an extra lump sum?

Cheers

Nick

they can raise the fundusz remontowy part of the czynsz for a time after finishing some bigger renovation project - I never heard of lump sums charged but maybe it can depend on what is the owner status (if it's housing cooperative or a pirvate owner)

the renovation fund works this way: financial recources are gathered for a time for a planned investition, after the necessary sum has been gathered the investition takes place (housing cooperatives and private owners can hasten the carrying out of the investition (some kind of renovation) by taking credit and then raising the renovation fund part of rent for a time) - when the renovation fund contribution is low it can take a lot time between investitions (and renovating the outside of the building is often a pretty expensive investition)

Cheers Gumishu, much appreciated.

The ad mentions "WAŻNA INFORMACJA - kamienice przy ul. XX są objęte Programem Rewitalizacji Wrocławskich Kamienic"

How can they be sure about that? Also, what does that say about when they start renovating?

well the programme is not a large scale programme (i have just looked it up)- there are hundreds of pre-war buildings in Wrocław and only handful a year get renovated (this year only 5 buildings started to be renovated) - that the buildings in question are being planned for renovation does not mean you can expect it soon

Niko,

just look at this calculator:
dom.gratka.pl/kalkulator/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA1qajBRC_6MO49cqDxbYBEiQAiCl5_N4Li524xD7oEmtSyIVauGiV2TogpRQTKSl5qOhyChIaAiva8P8HAQ

use google translator when opening page.

regards
Daniel

Excellent, thanks!!

you are looking at about 10k zlotych to the notariusz for taxes and legal fees, + similar to the agent.

DO NOT sign their agreement forms when looking at flats! The bastards always pressure you to sign and have a 3% or so commission "oh yes we will negotiate it later"

Better to change it to 0.5% and they can negotiate up from there ;)

3% for basically showing a flat and posting some free ads on OLX? you have got to be kidding me.

Polish real estate agents are one of the professions here that provide very very little value or use

About half of the agents that insist on the buyer agreement form kick up one heck of a fuss when I refuse to sign. I've witnessed lots of tantrums from them. Of course, the majority don't ask for a signature, but at least 2 out of 10 do.

The myth that Polish people don't use agents is sadly just that, a myth. Using agents is an unfortunate part of life here. I've pretty much given up on buying due to the pretty consistent discovery of a significant number of sellers still seeming to think they can achieve unrealistic prices.

I always sign whatever they want, then in final stage negotiate like gotufka and they agree usually to max 1 percent maybe I'm lucky on 11 properties I bought here all the time from different agents

Merged: What are the associated costs of buying a flat in Poland

There are many sources of information and I can't see a clear answer.

Can someone tell me for both a New Flat and an old flat how much I would pay in the following areas@. I will be buying a flat for approximately 300k (PLN) in Silesia

VAT
Solicitor/Notary Fees
Stamp Duty (if there is equivalent)
Survey etc

Any other costs

I looked in the forum but couldn't find this answer, if it's out there please re-direct me to the right thread

For a flat of approx. 300,000 pln add 17,000 in extra costs.