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Posts by mcrpolak  

Joined: 21 Apr 2013 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 22 Feb 2016
Threads: 6
Posts: 36 		From: England
Speaks Polish?: Yes
Interests: Polish Language

Displayed posts: 42 / page 2 of 2
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mcrpolak   
23 Aug 2015
Real Estate / Pitfalls of buying a Polish Flat built in 1950's [20]

So Smurf, you don't know anything about the price of property in Katowice, but you do know I need to look at the suburbs.

I have no issue with the location. As i made clear in my first post, i've been in Kato enough times and my friend lives on Ulica Francuska too and never had any problem when sleeping there. The apartment itself is 1.5km from the train tracks so sure i'll be ok. I also am comfortable with paying that amount of money to live close to the city.

I was looking only for advice on the pitfalls of buying a 1950's brick constructed property. What I should do and who I should get to look at the apartment to make sure it's ok. I am from England where our properties are old and rest assured i'm smart enough to know to get someone qualified to look at it. I just wanted to know some practical things such as the other costs I might expect when buying and where to find a reputable person to inspect the property.

Avalon kindly provided some detail but need to know more about the total costs as listed in my first post,
mcrpolak   
23 Aug 2015
Real Estate / Pitfalls of buying a Polish Flat built in 1950's [20]

It's actually in none of those places, it's on Ulica Francuska.

Our plan was to appoint surveyor so thanks for advice.

Thanks for the advice on the make up of 1950's blocks. I've read the link you posted which gives good advice however it seems to mainly relate to concrete blocks. This one is built from brick, I heard that brick constructed apartments from this time were generally better quality. Is that true?
mcrpolak   
21 Aug 2015
Real Estate / Pitfalls of buying a Polish Flat built in 1950's [20]

Hi all,

Looking for some advice. We've seen a flat we'd like to buy in Poland. The flat is 60m2 with three rooms. It's in an area of Katowice we'd specifically like to live within.

The building the flat is in is a 5 story high building built in the 1950's from brick. Everything seems in good order but we're not experts. The flat has recently been renovated too and looks to be in a brilliant condition. We'd like some help however with specific costs, the flat is PLN375k, We understand we'll also be liable for:

2% VAT which equates to about PLN 8k
1% Notary fees so about PLN 4k
Who pays the estate agent fees?
Given the age of the building we'd like to instruct a Nadzor Budowlany. How do you go about doing this? How do you find a reputable person? And lastly what do they charge.

Are there any other pitfalls we should think about when buying an apartment of this age?

Lastly how does a deposit process normally work in PL? Do you pay a set amount upfront? Or does everything get paid at the end?

Your help is appreciated.
mcrpolak   
6 Jul 2015
UK, Ireland / Why English do not like Polish? [417]

I guess the type of people who come onto the internet trolling are not wholly reflective of the population at large. Come to a liberal city Poles, we welcome you.
mcrpolak   
6 Jul 2015
Law / Bank Account in Poland without residency or banks in the UK who will allow to have a PLN account [15]

Thanks all for the advice you gave. I did some research off the back of it and it would appear without residential address in PL you are limiting choice of banks.

I wanted to give you all an update. I went to Barclays Bank in the UK and opened a premier account. With this account is a currency option and I am pleased to say they do offer a PLN account. The application process was simple.I went in branch with normal ID. Opened the UK sterling account and then applied at the same time for a PLN account which I have now been approved for.

There were a few important conditions which were:

1) The sterling account has to be active to remain in operation. Although this can be a simple transfer in and out each month
2) You must deposit at least the equivalent of £2k into the currency account and keep this balance at all times. If you do not there is a £7 per month charge

3) The PLN account is a currency account only. You can make payments using the online tool with no cross border transaction fee. However you do not get a debit card and therefore it can only be used for payments in and out.

It's perfect for me as it's a place to put my Zlotys (although the deal I got on them doesn't look so good now (thanks Greece and Europe))

Hopefully this will be useful to any other Brit who is in this position.

Next challenge to buy a flat :)
mcrpolak   
22 Jun 2015
Law / Bank Account in Poland without residency or banks in the UK who will allow to have a PLN account [15]

Hi all,

I am hoping for some help. I will move to Poland in October/November this year. I have saved up a reasonable amount of cash to buy a flat with my girlfriend in my chosen city. After much procrastination about where to live and thoughts about a number of cities we have settled on Wroclaw as in my profession there are simply more job opportunities and some good Polish Language courses.

However I need some help. The GBP:PLN rate is very good at the moment (at 5.88 on Friday) so I bought around £50,000 whilst the rate was good and got 5.81 for each £ so 290k (PLN). The way I bought it was using a forward contract, So I committed to buying the Zlotys today and made a deposit payment, then I receive the Zlotys on September 30th. I am happy with the financial elements of this transaction but now the practicalities.

I have no PLN bank account currently and need to open one. I am going to receive 300k PLN on 30th September and my plan is for it to sit there until I complete my flat purchase at which point it will leave the account (probably by start of November 15). I then plan to open a bank account in Poland and transfer the rest of my savings into that account

Therefore I need a PLN account, the options I have from the are:

1) HSBC expat offer a PLN account however you have to maintain a balance of £60k GBP at all times. I do not plan to do this as my money will only be with them for a short period of time (say 1-2 months)

2) I am aware that Barclays operate PLN accounts from the UK and I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to apply for this.

3) Do any of you know of any other banks in the UK who will allow you to have a PLN account?
4) How easy will it be for me to open a bank account in Poland? Are there any banks in Poland where I can open an account without actually residing in the country?

5) Transfer the money into my girlfriends account in Poland. However we understand that will lead to a gift tax liability.

I've tried to be as specific as possible and would appreciate it if anyone can help me with advice or suggestions on any of the above.

I don't need any advice on moving to Poland itself (jobs, economy, way of life etc). Just simply on the best way to deal with the above transaction.

If any of you can suggest UK banks in which I can hold PLN or Polish Banks who will let me open an account without being resident It would be much appreciated.
mcrpolak   
18 Feb 2015
Work / Typical Post - A good salary in Rybnik - 3000 for part time in finance? [16]

Jolly Romek, we don't intend to dine out every night. However we do plan to frequently (say once a month) visit the cinema, bowl, ice skate & go to the pub. We like the great outdoors and regularly cycle not far from Rybnik when we are there. We don't have kids and don't plan to have them for at least 5 years. I already speak Polish to intermediate level but the aim is to use my free time to become fluent in Polish as I want to immerse myself in Polish life. I plan to work part time for two years whilst also studying Polish so I can fully immerse myself in Polish life.

My main concern was to make sure we have enough for the essentials plus the above activities. I won't be working full time and there is always the option to increase my working hours, however i'd prefer not to so want to be comfortable that we can live on this money as it would possibly interrupt my plans to study.

Remember though I will have paid for the flat and won't have a mortgage so on that basis I hope it will be enough, it seems from the answers so far that the Jury is still out.
mcrpolak   
17 Feb 2015
Work / Typical Post - A good salary in Rybnik - 3000 for part time in finance? [16]

Hi all,

I am an englishman who will soon move to Rybnik.

What is a good salary in Rybnik? I will be moving from the UK and have actively saved enough to buy a flat in the centre of Rybnik and still have some money left over to support me for 1-2 years if ever anything went wrong. I am a professional who will go to work in Gliwice.

I've been offered a job for 3000zl gross and also a job for 4500zl gross. The job paying the lower wages will be less stressful and ideally i'd like to take that one, however want to be sure that it is enough to live on without having to access savings.

My wife will also be working and she will be making 2500zl-3000zl per month.

If I was earning 3000zl too would this be enough? Especially given we would have no rent or mortgage.

I am actively learning Polish and am probably intermediate level currently.
mcrpolak   
13 Oct 2014
Life / Polish Healthcare Advice; Crohn's disease treatment [2]

I am a British Citizen who has two job offers in Poland in Wroclaw and Krakow. I currently live in the UK/

The question I have is about healthcare, I currently suffer with Crohn's disease and receive a treatment of infliximab in the UK once every 8 weeks. I can't find any information about this treatment in Poland and so have no idea of it's availability or cost.

When I move to Poland I will be earning a good wage upwards of 200,000pln per year Gross, but want to make sure that the cost of this treatment is not prohibitive before I accept any offer.

If you have any knowledge or could point me in the right direction that would be perfect.
mcrpolak   
21 Apr 2013
UK, Ireland / Polish TV channels in the UK [95]

Merged:We would like to install Polish TV in Manchester. Any good company to do the work?

We would like to install Polish Television in our house, we currently live in Manchester. Can anyone recommend a good company to do the work and advise on how much it will cost?

We would like if possible satellite TV from a few European countries.

Thanks

J