Real Estate / Buying property in Poland [41]

When you decide to buy a property in Poland, you pay a deposit and you agree the amount of that deposit with the owner. It can be as little as ten percent, which is actually quite usual. Fifty per cent is a bit much and I certainly wouldn't pay that much myself. The reason some sellers want a big deposit is because they are worried you might pull out of the sale and they think that if you agree a large deposit, you are more likely to complete the sale. It's quite normal for the deposit to be paid directly to the owner but you can ask to have the deposit held in an escrow account through a lawyer or notary. The important thing is that the terms on which you pay the money and anything else you agree is clearly stated in the preliminary contract and that the contract is drawn up by a notary or solicitor.

There are two types of deposit contract, 'zaliczka' and 'zadatek'.

With zaliczka, either of you can pull out of the sale at any time before completion and you'll get your deposit back. With zadatek, if you pull out you lose your deposit and if the seller pulls out, he will have to compensate you with double your original deposit.

As for six months to complete sale, about two to three months is more usual and I would want to know the reason for such a long delay.

To sum up, there's nothing illegal in what the seller is requesting but it's far from ideal. I would say that you should consult a Polish lawyer as you seem a bit unsure of what you're doing and it's a lot of money to risk.

Finally, if you're not Polish, you need to have a 'sworn translator ' to look over all documents and be present at any legal transactions. Even if you speak Polish, if you're not actually Polish, you must have this.

News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]


Yep - i've noticted how much my shopping bill has gone up. It's astonishing. I noticed it first within a few weeks of the pandemic starting. Some items have increased 25% including fresh local produce.

Real Estate / Buying property in Poland [41]

Depends on where in Poland you want to buy and how many square metres you want, house or flat/apartment, town, city or rural. Just like anywhere else in Europe, it varies. Warsaw is the most expensive city, then Gdansk, Krakow, Wrocław. Poland is divided into several regions and each has its own charms and socio-economic profile. If you don't need or want a city property then you can get good value for money in a house in the Dolnośląskie (Lower Silesia) region or east Poland in the Ukrainian or Belarussian border areas.

Average asking prices in Warsaw for an apartment are 10,000zl per square metre (that's about 2,500 dollars) and the other big cities/centres of employment are similar these days. There are some ridiculously expensive developments in Warsaw with prices up to 30,000 per square metre but ignore those. Mr Average Local pays between 8 and 10,000 per square metre.

If you want a house anywhere in Poland that's modern and habitable, then you can get something for 300,000 zl but that would be in the countryside or a small town and it wouldn't be very big, about 100 square metres.

The above is just a rough guide.

Here is a link to a property website so you can get an idea of prices:

morizon.pl/

If you don't mowi po polsku :) use Google Chrome for your browser and you can translate the site into English or you can just cut and paste into Google Translate. Mieszkanie is apartment/flat and Dom is house. You want the 'sprzedaż' category, for sale.

Law / Car Insurance in Poland for only 2-3 months [4]

@ Scallywag, I assume somebody is letting you use their Polish reg car while you're in Poland? In Poland, it's the car that's insured, not the driver so anyone can drive a car that is insured and your age doesn't matter. .

To be honest if you're only 18 and recently passed your test you are literally risking your life if you drive on Polish roads. Ireland has the safest roads in the EU after the UK, Poland the most dangerous. People drive like lunatics here, they drive at excessive speed, they drive drunk ...... and they drive on the other side of the road compared to Ireland which an inexperienced driver would struggle with.

You have to realise that what we'd classify as joyriding in Ireland, by a bunch of skangers who've nicked a car, is pretty normal driving in Poland. It's better than it was ten or twenty years ago but it's still madness compared to Ireland.

@Roibeard, how are you finding driving in Poland compared to the UK? Hope things are going well for you btw :)

News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]


How right you are.


And yet .................in a statement on Thursday, Discovery said it had notified the Polish government of its intent to take legal action under the 1994 USA/Poland bilateral investment treaty.

Po polsku / Targowisko - Bazar - Handel [36]

To warto spróbować przez rok lub dwa, ale jest mądry mieć plan, cele finansowe i 'plan b', jeśli nie powiedzie się.

News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]


Not according to your own statement in post number 229. If PO wanted to abolish this, that and the other and PIS wants to abolish this, that and the other, then they're all nut jobs and Poland is far from being a healthy democracy. Seriously though, Poland is only a fledgling democracy, not a firmly established one. That's why it's a bit of a mess. Coming from a country that is a true democracy, I was astonished when I first came to Poland back in 2006 at the puerile level of political debate and the ignorance and apathy of the electorate. It has improved a bit but it has a long, long way to go.

Po polsku / Targowisko - Bazar - Handel [36]

Po pierwsze, przepraszam za mój polski - jeszcze nie umiem mówić poprawnie!


Tak, to jest najważniejsze. Znajduje się wiele dawnych sklepów na Wiatraczna - a nawet dla nich, często to dużo pracy za bardzo małe pieniądze.


Ale on musi zapłacić zus, prawda? Dla pierwsze dwa lata jest specjalna niższa stawka dla nowych firm, ale na końcu on musi zapłacić pełną stawkę, około 2500 zł za miesiąc :(

News / Polish universities for Polish students (only?) [57]


Define a deserving Polish student .......... the entry requirements for undergraduate degrees in Poland are not very high. The Matura exam isn't especially demanding and the course content of a lot of degrees is fairly shallow. Cheating is still rife and a blind eye is turned to it by the authorities. Many Polish students are part time and the universities are not bothered about their academic standards, only about the fees they pay.

UK, Ireland / Polish drink-driving murderer sentenced to 5.5 years in prison [99]

He should be charged with manslaughter. It should really be murder because when you drive at that speed there is a pre-meditated and deliberate disregard for human life, but it might be hard to get a conviction, so if I were the public prosecutor I would go for the manslaughter charge. I see he's pleading not guilty to the two minor charges he's facing. What a disgusting, dishonourable coward.

Polonia / Which country is better SPAIN or POLAND [118]



The Scotland/England relationship is complex. Despite being separate and distinct countries, there is a connection to England going back centuries due to the intermarriage of the Stuart and Tudor royal houses. The Stuart line were monarchs not only of Scotland but of England too for over a hundred years and spent quite a long time after that trying to retrieve the English throne.

Please keep to the topic, two pages of off topic have already been cleared from this thread

UK, Ireland / Polish drink-driving murderer sentenced to 5.5 years in prison [99]


I don't think many ordinary people would have the slightest idea how to stop the bleeding from a severed leg. Some kind of tourniquet I suppose but Cargo said the poor guy's intestines were out of his body. I think most people simply would simply be too horrified to do anything much - except for those people who were taking pics of course who are beyond disgusting.


No, but you know what I mean. We were taught by the nuns that in the event of a person being near death and no priest available, you could say the Act of Contrition on their behalf. Of course the poor man will go to Heaven anyway but it's the gesture, you know, especially as he was probably a Catholic, this being a Catholic country.

UK, Ireland / Polish drink-driving murderer sentenced to 5.5 years in prison [99]


I just read it. It really just about sums up Poland for me, an utterly useless government obsessing about reparations from Germany while the country goes to rack and ruin. Don't want pregnant women to abort because they value life so highly but when it comes to protecting those already born from being mown down in the street, not so interested in that, are they. Of course, it's the fault of successive governments. PO have to take their share of the blame for not cracking down on this when they had a chance. Seventeen years in the EU and this is the standard of driving, policing and justice - disgraceful.

UK, Ireland / Polish drink-driving murderer sentenced to 5.5 years in prison [99]


In a company where my husband worked in Warsaw, there was one guy who regularly went 'road racing' at night in the city streets with his friends. They would go out at two or three in the morning and race each other - un-effing-believable. That's their hobby, grown men in their thirties with higher education and professions. It's a major social issue that needs to be addressed.

UK, Ireland / Polish drink-driving murderer sentenced to 5.5 years in prison [99]


I know, it's terrible. As a Catholic, I would wish to go to him and take his hand in his final moments but I don't think I'd have the courage. It's almost my duty to say a prayer over a dying person but with that kind of horrendous injury, I don't think I could do it. I hope I'm never put to that test. If it's any comfort Cargo, he would probably not have been aware of what had happened to him - poor man, Jesus. I don't know how those ambulance/emergency services people can deal with the terrible things they see.

UK, Ireland / Polish drink-driving murderer sentenced to 5.5 years in prison [99]


That's the crux of the issue. People are run over on pedestrian crossings in Poland all the time. It's outrageous. Poland has a disproportionately high number of fatal accidents involving pedestrians. You're not even safe on the pavement because drivers drive at such high speeds that they frequently lose control of vehicles and mount the footpath. I've seen it myself in central Warsaw, more than once over the years. It's simply shocking.

Traffic in the city centre or in any built up area should be driving at a safe speed that allows them time to stop. I know the accident occurred at night but it was a well-lit city street. I bet you'll find that if the Porsche had been doing 30 or 40km per hour and the driver was watching the road ahead, he would probably have had ample time to see someone crossing in the distance and slowed down to avoid him - and if he had hit him, he certainly wouldn't have killed him.

In Poland there doesn't seem to be any understanding of how to actually DRIVE a car - it seems to be a case of just getting into the vehicle, switch on the ignition and GO at the maximum speed without stopping till you reach your destination and that's it. No driving skills at all.

History / Life in communist Poland - personal relations [503]


No, some of them were quite small. More like the one below. Pawian is right, that's Jelcz.

• 
  xjelcz043ogorek_a.jpg
  

History / Life in communist Poland - personal relations [503]


I actually love it! It has a lot of character. I miss the old trams. I'm glad that when I first came to Poland I was just in time to see the last of a lot of things that had been part of everyday life under the old regime. It's great to see the prosperity and improvements now but whenever we gain something, we lose something too. Who remembers the old buses? The design looked as if it dated from the 1950s, possibly earlier. By the 2000s they were rusting badly, leaking, if you sat near the window on a rainy day you got rained on even when the window was closed! Huge pools of water everywhere, absolutely freezing in winter.

News / The ruling party in Poland tries to take American owned TV news station off the air [528]


Television ought not to be a state sponsored institution though. The nature of journalism is that it's supposed to be independent.

Study / Poland-Germany university transfer? [16]


Yes. If you complete a Bachelors anywhere in the world, you can apply to do a Masters in any EU country. As an overseas student and not an EU citizen it's simply a question of satisfying the immigration/visa requirements. Academically, there is no barrier.

UK, Ireland / Polish drink-driving murderer sentenced to 5.5 years in prison [99]


A poor woman was run over and killed a couple of days ago by a bus driver at the terminus in Nowe Bemowo, in Warsaw. I watched the dashcam footage. She was clearly visible crossing his path, from a distance of at least 30 metres and he just carried on and ran straight over her. Un-effing-believable. The nature of the accidents that occur in Poland are so often completely avoidable, if people just bloody well knew how to drive properly. My husband had driving lessons in both Ireland and Poland. In Ireland he was taught to read the road ahead - you know what I'm talking about Jon, being a Brit. In Poland when he applied that technique, he was SCOLDED by the instructor!! He was told that he should he keep his eyes more or less glued on the bonnet of his car. He was also told to stop checking his mirrors as it would distract him and he'd have an accident!!!!

I remember when learning to drive in Ireland, being taught HOW to watch out for pedestrians. For example, when you're driving in a built up area with cars parked on either side, watch out in particular for vans or higher vehicles which may obstruct your view of the pavement because someone hidden from view by a high vehicle, can step out quite suddenly, so you watch for feet visible UNDER the higher vehicles as you're driving. After a while it becomes automatic. You're watching all parts of the road at all times. That's how you drive.

Travel / Polish people have a weird attitude torwards tourists [82]


No, it's about the hostile approach towards you ...... there are plenty of glowing reports from people who've really enjoyed their Polish holidays, so what conclusion can we draw from that?


Low-life chav stag parties have a bad reputation and rightly so. There's no marked hostility towards English speaking tourists in the general sense.

Travel / Polish people have a weird attitude torwards tourists [82]


I'm not Polish - and if you didn't enjoy your trip, then it is certainly wiser not to repeat it.

Travel / Polish people have a weird attitude torwards tourists [82]


Yes, that would be best.

Life / Are you happy in Poland as an immigrant? [13]


It is actually.

20 grand brutto on B2B is not unheard of, but netting over 20 grand per month especially while still in your twenties is very rare indeed, even in Warsaw.

Life / Are you happy in Poland as an immigrant? [13]

Lol! The post has troll written all over it hasn't it?

Life / Are you happy in Poland as an immigrant? [13]


With a bit of trolling on the side :)

'Young' software devs don't earn that kind of money in Poland and certainly not 'young' ones.

Life / Are you happy in Poland as an immigrant? [13]


What branch of IT are you in?

Real Estate / Buying a 'Surowy Otwarty' House [3]


Yes, the law requires it so you do need a translator - but you don't need a solicitor :))


A solicitor is not required for property transactions in Poland. People normally use a notary. The notary is sometimes a solicitor too, but not always. There is a fixed fee for notarial services whereas a solicitor can charge you for bells and whistles including arranging the translator which you can easily do yourself. The fee for the notary for properties up to a million zloty is PLN 1010 + 0,4% on the excess above 60 000.

The buyer usually pays the notary's fees but they can be shared ;it's up to you to come to an agreement about that with the seller. You need a 'sworn translator' which you can obtain either from an agency or just google for one in the area where you live. You need to have them translate the contract of sale for you. They will usually want to see the contract a couple of days before the handover so they have time to look over it. They will charge you extra for preparing a written translation of it. Even if you have the English copy of the contract the translator also needs to be at the notary's office when you sign the contract.

It's a completely different process to Ireland or the UK where buyer and seller have their own solicitors and they represent your interests. In Poland, the role of the notary is simply to legalize the transaction and that's why buyer and seller simply use the one notary. He does nothing really except take the necessary documents from the seller, draw up the contract of sale and witness your signatures to it. The seller has to supply a document to him from the appropriate authority confirming that there is no outstanding debt/mortgage on the property but that's really the limit of the 'search' and he doesn't carry it out himself.

I've never bought a raw property but I googled it po polsku and here's the translated info I found:

When buying an unfinished house, make sure that it is a legal investment. So let's check that all building permits and the ownership title to the plot are valid. We should also make sure that the dimensions, location of the building, window openings, as well as the roof slope correspond to the formal and legal procedure for this construction. We can compare the actual state with the formal one by electronic means. For this purpose, we need to dimension the house, photograph it (from all sides) and, using the e-office procedure, send it to the appropriate department. To such an official inquiry, we must attach the numbers of letters that the seller presented to us. For the investor, the most important thing is whether the seller has not indebted the construction, e.g. with a bank loan based on a pledge of land - unpaid debts are charged to the buyer.

I would say it's worth getting a surveyor and perhaps he can also advise you about the documents you should be seeking in relation to being sure that all the correct permits etc were obtained for the building.

Btw, I remember your first posts here a while back. Hope life in Poland is going well for you :)

Travel / Had the most unwelcoming experience in all my travels in Poland, very unfriendly people. [115]

Usually in the very first post they make :)

The response they get largely depends on whether the forum members decide to give them the benefit of the doubt or we're in the mood for a bit of amusement at the troll's expense, so engage in a bit of batting back and forth and enjoy watching them dig themselves ever deeper into the troll hole.

Actually, we could do a kind of academic analysis of a typical troll's first post and how they set up the scenario. Your man's OP is a classic. It has all the tried and tested, seasoned troll basics which they learn in the various trolling academies :))......... graduated **'cumlaude' from the National Academy of Trolling, majored in Baiting etc.

** had to make that one word because algorithm for this site was obviously designed by Puritan.