I know that a lot has been written about mortgages in Poland but wanted to share my recent experience. I asked my bank PKO for information on obtaining a mortgage with them. My wife is Polish and I am British. Although the staff were very helpful and tried their best, they said that because I was not earning an income in Poland it was not possible to get a mortgage with them. I receive a monthly pension of 6,000 zlotys but can work if necessary. I intend to buy a property and will put down about 200,000 zl towards a house purchase and plan to make up any difference, say about 100,000 to 150,000 zl with a mortgage. We were told that I or my wife must have a job and be earning in Poland in order to get a mortgage. (neither of us have a job in Poland but we could if necessary)
The bank clerk said that normally we would have to be working in Poland for about 3 months to get a mortgage or even better a year. They did however say it was possible to get a loan for 100,000-200,000zl but this would have to be paid back over an 8 year period, which would make monthly payments too expensive. They were unable to offer a loan over a longer period. I find this all very odd and I would have expected mortgages to be based on fixed income rather than the mere fact of having a job. I did ask that if I did have a job how much I would have to earn before I could get a 150,000zl mortgage and the clerk wasn't able to answer. The clerk did however suggest that although she would like to help all this was to prevent foreign buyers from buying property in Poland. I thought that as we are in the EU that the purchase of property would in general be something banks would be knowledgeable on and would embrace.
Would anyone be able to share their experience or could anyone advise on how we can move on and get a mortgage. Thank you.
200,000 is more than enough for a nice small holding in lower Silesia, your wife is Polish so ignore and bull$ite about foreigners and land, 6000zl is more than enough for you and your wife to live on , and don't forget your winter fuel allowance. buy a house do it up and enjoy your retirement in Poland.
For a start, stay away from PKO, they haven't got a clue about anything unusual. The rubbish about "stopping foreigners" is just that - rubbish.
The rules have been considerably tightened up, which is true - but if you've got 6k a month in hard cash coming in from a reliable source, it shouldn't be a problem. You should try Citi Handlowy or ING, both of whom are a bit more clued up.
Braveheart, I just realized that we have already spoken on this subject, let me know when you are down this neck of the woods and I will show u what is possible.
It will only take your wife 30 mins in the notary office to buy a house in her name this is the simplest way to do it .
To Braveheart, if this is going to make you feel any better: there are probably more than 100 banks in Poland. PKO is run like some state companies that are still stuck in communism. Some years back, when I first arrived on these shores, a colleague told me he had been refused to open a bank account coz he didn't have permanent residence. Surprisingly he travelled to another bigger city and they allowed him to open, in the same bank, upon showing them his passport. Shop around, mate. There is plenty to choose from. In your situation you are eligible to receive the extra you need to purchase your property.
Thank you Dolnoslask and Delphiandomine.....your comments are really helpful and much appreciated. It has been a bit demoralising to be told it is not possible to obtain a mortgage and your responses have been a great morale booster. Yes Dolnoslask I may well take you up on your kind offer to meet up so I will keep in touch. We are looking in the lower Silesia area for a property as well as other areas. We are realistic and hope to find a suitable property soon.
Thank you both again.
Thank you Buggsy for your reassuring words they are also much appreciated and helpful. Yes, I will take your advice and shop around.
The Mortgage Change Directive is coming in to operation in April. It will make getting a mortgage more difficult, but the fact that neither of you have a job is a big red flag. Lenders have strict criteria, age when the loan finishes being paid being a crucial one.
I doubt you will find it easy to get a loan in the UK without a job, that sort of lending led to the 2008 crash.
Interest rates aren't going up in Poland any time soon and in fact the new government will try to cut them early next year if they get their way, so its a good time to get a loan or mortgage (and use the low rates to pay down as much as possible in the next couple of years, rather than overstretch and stump for a larger mortgage). You can approach a loan adviser to save you running around all of the banks. You will have to add maybe 1% to the value of the loan as their fee, but they will do all the leg work for you and save you having to make official requests at banks, as these will go against you at the checking phase if you have taken too many applications.
Interest rate must go up. Anything else says you are in a depression like the rest of us.
Devalue of the Zloty is a great strategy when the with the rest of the EU swimming in debt. They can't afford to raise rates without throwing the entire region into a worse depression and banking collapse.
Braveheart, I know what you are going through, me and the wife tried to get a mortgage for an apartment and got rejected as they would not accept my income here, as my wife owns the business, so we paid for it in cash. 5 years later went through the same and had to pay cash too. Last month we decided to buy a house and the wife banks with PKO and they were the worse bank ever to deal with. So the motgage was accepted with Eurobank no problem at all, they contacted PKO to confirm the income, and then PKO terrorised our mortgage dealer to find out the details. I would recommend going to a Mortage Dealer and let them find a lender for you, as they usually can. Good Luck.
Whatever they do will have an opposite effect to what they (publicly/admitted) intended. The new bank tax is superficially a tax on banks, but in reality its will be a tax on borrowers who will pay higher interest rates. It will also probably move money outside Poland's tax jurisdiction (the tax is 3x the UK rate). Reducing investment and lending in Poland.
Free movement of capital is something the Socialist government, as ever, doesn't understand.
Wakening the Zloty may help the economy, but its very low already, Poles get lousy wages and reducing them further with a devaluation is just going to **** them off even more. Good for foreign investors and Poles working abroad.
