Real Estate / Annual wspolnota (owners committee) meeting-prejudicial treatment of foreigners in Poland? [4]


Yes, pretty quick!

I can confirm that what Looker says is correct and many administrations and similar treat residents' complaints with little or no interest, excuses, no response at all, etc. Whether that's about noise, crumbling buildings, or anything else - they don't give a monkey's.

Travel / LOT Polish Airlines - Baggage Change / Liquid Restrictions! [5]


From which source did you learn that? Got a link, please?

Life / Life in Poland for American who likes women, beer, hates Tories and is concerned about the weather [19]


It is good and great variety. I am seldom disappointed with that. It's one of the main reasons I'm still here!

Real Estate / Ideas how to invest sum of 500,000ZL in Warsaw - real estate is recommended? [20]


One Skok went bust, did it not?

Life / Life in Poland for American who likes women, beer, hates Tories and is concerned about the weather [19]


I think you'll find they marry sooner. If you're in your 20s or early 30s, perhaps great. Otherwise, it may not be as great as you imagine.

You also need to consider income potential, or not, in your circumstances. Without a speciality, earnings will be very low or zero. Teaching English can pay poorly and competition has intensified in many places leading to more of a scrum for students.

Real Estate / Buying a property in Poland to rent out from the UK [82]


Quite likely, yes! And some of them would be dodgy and violent or a thief -- all of this sort of stuff happened to people I know back home.

Real Estate / Buying a property in Poland to rent out from the UK [82]


Actually, in some cases the numbers are only good for UK landlords if the British government keep supporting the market and house price inflation (a reckless thing to do, but that's another show).

In Polish cities, many ordinary workers can't afford even these (by comparison) reasonable rents because wages are much lower, as of course you know. It's mostly IT specialists and IT developers and similar workers from overseas that can 'easily' afford such rents. Also, many managers or senior managers are on very good money (I was told 12K a month at least). I have spoken to countless ordinary Polish workers here and they all tell me they have to share flats to make ends meet. Since then, rents have risen, but wages for many ordinary workers have not.

News / British/Polish medical team find cure for paralysis [8]

On BBC News the British professor said it was a Polish surgeon who brought the idea to them and who performed the surgery. He also cautioned that this is very much at the early stages and by no means is this now some sort of definite fix. They have to build on this, and build on it considerably, before some of the newspaper headlines become accurate. There's a long way to go. But it's a very important achievement, a very important and vital potential unlocking of what the headlines shout.

Real Estate / Buying a property in Poland to rent out from the UK [82]


When you say reasonable, I take it you mean too low to make a profit on considering the cost of purchasing the flat?
That is my observation too, and it suggests the obvious about property prices.

Law / Tourist visa to Poland for Indian citizen, invitation letter. [57]

Embassy in Delhi info newdelhi.mfa.gov.pl/en/consular_information/visa_information
(I assume this applies to you even if in Bahrain if you hold a passport issued by India)

and msz.gov.pl/en/travel_to_poland/visa

Travel / Budget for a week in Poland- fast foods, some brand clothing buy, three star hotel - shared room, and clubbing [8]

Sorry. I've had a few beers and wasn't concentrating :(

Well for 430 per day you're likely to be fine (if it's not high season or Xmas/New Year). You've probably already realised it's best to book ahead, and that'd be my plan too because it can mean the best hotel deals so that you might get a 5 or 4 for the price of a 3 star. Wroćław has nice hotels, you'll be spoilt for choice. Make sure you see the Panorama painting when you visit, it's well worth it. Lots of clubs too, I believe, catering for a variety of tastes.

Someone else may post better and more specific info in a moment !

UK, Ireland / Curious about differences Polish people see with the British? [95]


They want a free lesson, probably. Or, as has been suggested here once before when Poles suddenly speak English in response to a foreigner's Polish, it's because your Polish ain't all that :p


Well, that happened in the UK in the past and then supermarkets started to train staff to ask the customer "Shall I show you where it is?" or to as a matter of routine always escort the customer there. I realise in this case the customer was infirm and so the staff member should have delicately suggested she could fetch it for her, but everyone has blonde moments and that same member of staff could be a star on another occasion.

Travel / Budget for a week in Poland- fast foods, some brand clothing buy, three star hotel - shared room, and clubbing [8]

Depends which part of Poland, but you're looking at 60 or 100 PLN per night for a reasonable, budget hotel (shared room sometimes possible, depends). There are some hostels at 30-45 a night (per bed, usually) but very limited availability. Entry to clubs usually has to be paid for. I would say 430 PLN is insufficient for a week, it might be OK for 2-3 days (just about). Food is not cheap in most cities unless you know exactly where to dine if you get tired of American burger chains.

Check Gumtree Poland for "nocleg" and select the city you want (remember to use the Polish word for the city name if searching for it in the search box)

You should book ahead online for the accommodation if you can, to avoid higher costs or no availability risks. Hotels such as Ibis may be a solution.

UK, Ireland / Curious about differences Polish people see with the British? [95]


One of the cashiers at a discount supermarket in an Essex town always used to say "Enjoy the rest of your day!" to each shopper.

And a few years back another major supermarket's local manager instructed staff to greet each shopper at the checkout with "How's your day going/what are you doing today?" but not "What are you doing tonight?" of course, as that could have got a few of us a tad excited.

Law / Asbestos Roofing laws in Poland - tell me! [18]


I think he was just having a laugh with us, re-reading it I think there was an unseen wink in that text!

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

The UK has seen a massive increase in tenants due to skyrocketing house prices, now almost everyone has a flat or house that they rent out. It is called "buy to let" and for some people it is considered their pension or substitute for interest on their savings deposits (UK savers are lucky to get 1.5% max gross).

I can't give investment advice but anecdotes suggest many cities find a tenant in a few days or 2 weeks. If you go to Rightmove.co.uk and the letting or rental pages, you can search for flats in various cities and see how quickly they found a tenant. The green "let agreed" on the photo means that a tenant has been found.

The problem some might say is that landlords' portfolios have pushed the price of property up making many first time buyers unable to afford anything and greedy rents have fleeced poorer members of society. If I were in government, I'd not allow landlords to do this, it is a step back to earlier centuries and the bad old days.

Quite surprised to see a good, practical plot of building land in a good area reduced 20% in price. Unless there's some part of the street I don't know about, I'd have thought land was sought-after in that spot. Must be that it's designated for a 2-storey single family dwelling only, as a flats developer would surely have been tempted. Very curious that the agent, who's well connected nationwide, has had to offer it out like this. Works out 470 PLN a sq m approx.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Yes, I know several people in Wroclaw with flats built within the last 10 years and all have some issues with faulty workmanship. 2 have court cases pending.

I must just say about rents, however. There are cities in the UK which have flats for the same price as Wro and probably Krakow, yet the rent there is almost x2. So the yield/ROCE for anyone who wants to be a landlord is higher in these cities in the UK for the same outlay on the flat and the tax to pay is probably a lot less for someone who lives in the UK.

Law / Asbestos Roofing laws in Poland - tell me! [18]

I don't think anyone should have to breathe hazardous dust, and especially not those who are desperate and reduced to working for such low money. It's a specialist job and the pay should reflect that. I'd never want anyone to risk their health for me, least of all for such low pay. If you think about it, I'm sure you'd get what I mean and feel the same way.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Just reading about people moving to Berlin and not entirely surprised to see that Berlin is cheaper than Wrocław for a 68m2 flat. It's 82K euro. And, from the photo, this is a nicer and more leafy flat than here in Wroclaw.

I assume these are real ads in Berlin, as most of the blocks are very nice compared to even some of the latest ones we have here. Sorry, but it's true. I wish it wasn't, as Poland is a beautiful country away from its urban sprawl.

I think I'm right in saying that wages in Berlin are likely to be considerably higher, food is cheaper or the same, property taxes are average.

So, not really sure why Wro costs what it does.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]


Yes, it's a somewhat painful point. When I put that to people here a year or so ago they said their wages hadn't increased in years and they denied shop prices had risen much. Yet lately it seems managers here are on good money, which to me suggests there has been wage inflation and that explains why some people don't think accommodation is expensive. I was told inflation here is not an issue, but 23% inflation since 2007 does not seem like cheery news.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]


Well, I wanted to keep the money on easy access in case I needed it. In the UK, accounts which tie money up for a year usually either don't allow any withdrawals or the withdrawal costs something like 6 months' interest (which can also mean that they take the equivalent of 6 months' interest from capital if 6 months has not yet passed!).

I shall look at the info you sent me with great interest (pardon the pun!). Thanks again!

I'm reminded from that graph of how the prices shot up since 2006. A friend who bought back then said to me just a few weeks ago "It's crazy, how much do they want now for this estate?" He was really surprised when I told him it's almost double what he paid and they don't really want to negotiate in most cases, or only discount it by a little. He owns the flat and even he thought the flats were not worth that price, and they are better than average quality it seems. Nevertheless, prices have been slow to come down on that estate, despite the fact units are still empty from when they were built and completed some years ago. And his estate is pretty inconvenient too -- a terrible bumpy access road with commercial vehicles on it all the time, single file traffic in and out of the gates because of parking on the pavement on both sides which means a driver almost always has to stop and reverse or have someone else give way, it's just a big hassle living there. Yet the asking prices have pretty much stayed up. There was one reasonable bargain there a few months ago but that sold in about a week, from what I can tell.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Thank you, Monitor. All good points you made there, although I must admit I don't know where I can 4% unless you mean to lock the money in a 1-year account (no withdrawals allowed in return for a fixed rate). Most of my money's only getting 1.25% brutto/gross here! Some of it is on 2% gross, and of course they take a lot of tax off.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Cheers Monitor, much appreciate the translation and of course it captured the most pertinent viewpoints from which I can look into things in more depth and see what's what. I'm thinking of continuing to rent until Q1 2015, because there seems to be a sparse choice of places within my budget at the moment and rather than just chuck the money away I'm probably better off renting until things deflate. If they don't deflate, I think I'd still rather rent and be free to move around. Wro is getting too busy these days, and it seems more polluted from all the traffic. Just people everywhere, cars everywhere, noise everywhere, but so far not income everywhere for me as a foreigner. I assume that's not the case for foreigners with certain skills and Poles who are flocking here in droves and perhaps helping to sustain osiedle development prices.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]


Ah, that's very interesting Monitor, cheers. Could you please post the link for me? Thanks.

Law / What requirements are needed to set up a street trading business in Poland [5]

Well, I think the City Guards or other officials here would pay a visit fairly quickly. I've certainly seen them do that here when they see it's a commercial enterprise. I know that the grandmothers selling stuff from their allotments seem to be allowed to set up stall near the main junctions where they sit on the floor or small stools, but I don't think that policy applies to businessmen.

UK, Ireland / Former minister admits UK messed up on immigration [78]

Merged: UK govt drawing up 'radical' EU immigration control

Seems to me that the Tories can sense the keys to Number 10 slipping from their grasp after UKIP's surge


thetimes

I have no idea how they'd actually do this, but it's interesting to hear these noises and the frantic wriggling as it all starts to unravel.

Real Estate / Sub rent and stolen deposit (renting a flat in Warsaw) [6]


Isn't there a procedure which is very easy and done via an online or paper form and all it costs is 5% of what you claim for? That's what I heard, but I don't have the details. Maybe someone else can help.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Thanks Monitor

It's true that some of the new developments seem to have sold most of their units, but have a few hanging on typically which they knock out for 10 or 20% off. Some estates have had maybe 4 or 5% unsold units since 2010 or earlier.

I can well believe cash buyers are buying.

I don't understand the valuations here, but no doubt there is a lot of optimism for Wroclaw's future already baked into the prices! With so many people moving into the city in the hope of gaining a better (or any) job, it looks like it will just get busier and busier here. And believe me, it's already annoyingly overcrowded. People and cars everywhere from early morning like ants. I used to live in London and it seems more congested and chaotic and competitive here than my busy London suburb ever did. It's much busier than 4 or 5 years back.


Can I ask this again as no one answered?

Having checked flats and houses today, I recognise most of the houses from months ago, perhaps 8 months ago. As for the flats, many familiar photos, and the dates of original listing and updates show last year and early this year as the listed date.

The IMF has today said low interest rates, or rather ultra low interest rates for this prolonged period, are doing great harm.
theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/08/imf-low-interest-rates-financial-crisis-threat-speculation

I couldn't agree more. It's making a malconomy or that's what I'd call it.

Work / Moving back to Poland after 8 years in the UK (19 years old, currently studying HND in Business & Management) [4]


Seconded!

Also, here in Wroc, it seems the pollution on even the residential streets that have through traffic is worse than when I lived in London and had to walk along busy roads near the city centre. If Krakow's air pollution is worse than Wroclaw's, then I don't know what to say. I find myself trying not to breath here until I get back to the estate's greenery. I never recall this problem in my parts of England.

Work / Suggestions for starting a business in Poland ( I have 50/60,000 USD ) [59]

I can't answer you on that, but hopefully someone else can. I am not 100% sure but there might be some enterprise loan or grants and some department to speak to at the local government office. I did have a link but it's broken (for GUP, if anyone knows what that is and can post a new one).