UK, Ireland / UK Sky TV in Poland [39]

rjsky

Yes, you can do it this way but you cannot connect your phone line to the box as they will know you are out of the country and the other problem will be if they change the viewing card for your box, they will send it to your last address.

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]

delphiandomine

Poland has the highest prison population in the EU. People are actually waiting at home to serve their time as places become available.

Do you remember the special holding prison they built for "asylum seekers" in the UK. It cost £40,000.000 to build, it was open for a few months and was "holding" only 16 prisoners when they rioted and burnt it down.

Never mind, the tax payer can afford to build more, its only money.

The UK governement can give billions away in foriegn aid to despots who watch their own people starve and yet we have no money in the UK to build additional prisons to keep the scum off of the streets. I suppose its all about priorities.

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]


I take justice very seriously. When the UK courts send a man to prison for 3 years for beating up the burgular who threatened his family with a knife and the burgular with 50 previous offences walks free, it just shows you have low the British system has sunk. I wish the sentences handed out there were on a comparison with the ones handed out in Poland, there might be a lot less crime.

Love / Opinion from Polish men on this please (Polish men so 'spiritually' romantic?) [43]


It had better be!!!!....it costs enough!!!!!

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]


My God the polish are lenient, they would have got at least 80 hours community service or a 6 month suspended sentence in the UK!!!

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


Unfortunately, the way the law works in Poland, I would be very wary of leaving myself open to being sued for libel, the Polish courts tend to side with their own first and justice comes a long way second.

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]


The only broadcast I have seen recently, was your General Mc Crystal stating that "the war may be winnable", if they could find and kill Bin Laden.

I suggest you listen to your own propoganda and get ready to waste another $50 billion next year.

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]

Stolen on Friday and recovered on Monday. I am impressed.

The Americans still cannot find Bin Laden after 8 years and the UK police would have issued you with a crime number to claim on the insurance. The Polish police cannot be that bad then.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


I never said that the laws were ridiculous. When I lived in the UK, I had to obey and implement many stupid rules and regulations in my business or face large fines for disobeying them. The problem I have illustrated in my post, has become a matter of principle for me. If Poland wants to be an equal partner in the EU then the rules have to apply to all.

I was merely pointing out, that the process of trying to get legal redress in Poland is almost impossible for a foriegner.


I did not state that every single rule had been adopted or accepted, but, the ones that have are rigorously enforced, to such an extent that the newspapers/media, regularly make fun of the fines imposed for breaches of the same.Whereas, in Poland, they either do not know the regulations or they totally ignore them.

Is that clear enough for you, sh1t for brains?

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]

stevepl

"Actualy your consumer rights in Poland are almost identical to those in the UK".

"How far you would have to go to enforce it I don't know. But I think if you threatened legal action (seeing as that if the supplier lost he would also have to pay the costs) should usually get the result".

"(But you never know perhaps I should try a test case)."

I booked a flight through a Polish travel agent in Jan, 2005.The departure from Warsaw was on the 15th May, 2005. The Polish holiday company cancelled the flight and only wanted to refund 75% of the cost of the tickets. I explained to them that they not only had to give me a refund, they also had to compensate me with 400 euros for each ticket. I refered them to EU regulation 261/004 and was told that they were not obliged to obey EU regulations.

I have spent thousands of PLN going to the highest courts in Poznan (this court knew I did not speak Polish and promised a translator, when I arrived for the case, they told me they had forgotten to organise one) and Warsaw and they will still not accept the EU regulations that they signed up to.

This whole proceedure has so far taken nearly 5 years and my last option is to sue the Polish government through the European Commission. The Polish judicial courts demand that you reply to the in 7 days, they then take 6-8 months to write back to you. Any judgements they give are not sent to you, you have to send 30PLN to have them forewarded, when/or if you know these judgements have been given.

So, the idea of taking a Polish shop, a plumber, a builder or a car salesman to court would seem to be a waste of time. It would be quicker to get the US army to intervene.

EU regulations and laws only work if the countries that sign up to them, actually enforce them.
In my experience, the uK is the only country, stupid enough to enforce all the EU rules and make everyones life a misery.

Real Estate / Is there a Real Estate bubble in Krakow? [60]

milky

another new alias....lol

Law / Non-EU country citizen on tourist visa - could anyone help me with Karta Pobytu? [63]

My 5 year residence card runs out in mid-December, so, after looking up the Polish government website I find that:-

After 5 years of continuous stay within the territory of the Republic of Poland the EU citizen acquires the right to stay permanently.

Now, does this mean that I will be sent a permanent residence card automatically or do I have to apply for one? As it does not say, I decide to play safe and telephone the number in Warsaw that is given on the website.

Todays conversation with the office in Warsaw:-

me: Hello is that the department for foriegners.

office: yes, how can I help you

me: I have lived here in Poland now for over 6 years and my 5 year residence permit is due to expire in December. I read on the government website that I qualify for permanent residence after 5 years, what do I need to do to get the permanent card.

office: You have the wrong number, the number is the same but the last 3 digits are ***

me: Thank you. (I dial the number given)

office:yes, how can I help you

me: I have lived here in Poland now for over 6 years and my 5 year residence permit is due to expire in December. I read on the government website that I qualify for permanent residence after 5 years, what do I need to do to get the permanent card.

office: You have the wrong number, the number is the same but the last 3 digits are ***

me: Thank you. (I dial the new number given)

me: Hello is that the department for foriegners.

office:yes, how can I help you

me: I have lived here in Poland now for over 6 years and my 5 year residence permit is due to expire in December. I read on the government website that I qualify for permanent residence after 5 years, what do I need to do to get the permanent card.

office: You need to apply.

me: What forms do I need and where do I need to send these forms? Do I use the same form as the one for the 5 year residence permit?

office: Yes, and you need a photocopy of your passport, copy of meldunuk and 5 passport sized photo's.

me: So, I need to send them the same documents that I sent them 5 years ago?

office:Yes

me: And to what address do I send these documents?

office: Where do you live?

me: I live in Malopolska

office: In that case you will need to send your documents to Krakow.

me: Do I send them to the same office as for the 5 year permit?, in Ul.Sebastiana?

office: I don't know. you will have to look it up on the internet.

me: I have already looked on the internet and the only address given, is in Warsaw, that is why I am phoning you.

office: I will try and find out for you.

4 pieces of classical music later..........I can hear frantic voices in the background..........

office: You need to send it to Ul.Przy-Rondza 6, 33-550.

me: To what department?

office: I don't know. I will try and find out for you.

4 pieces of classical music later..........I can hear frantic voices in the background..........

office: The department is the voivodeship of Malopolska

me: Thank you, you have been most helpful.

I put the phone down with a big smile on my face and then realize...............

S**t!!!!!!! I forgot to ask if there was a fee for this!!!!!!........sob...sob.....sob

Travel / What to do when it's raining in Gdansk [33]

erdemath

How about this? By singing the song "I'm singin' in the rain
Just singin' in the rain," from Frank Snatra.

Actually, it was Gene Kelly

Real Estate / IS IT A GOOD TIME TO INVEST IN POLISH REAL ESTATE? [83]

bolek

"lol, then tell me mr know all, why don't real estate agents display a for sale sign on vendors property..."

That is an easy one to answer. The estate agent wants to get "two" commissions for selling, one from the seller and one from the buyer. If the estate agent puts a "for sale" sign outside of a sellers house, they are affraid that the buyer will deal directly with the seller and so avoid paying them the extra commission. The estate agent wants you to go to their office first and sign an agreement to pay them before they will put you in touch with the seller.

Another thing that seems to be popular with Polish estate agents is to "not" put a price on a property for sale. They do this to get people to telephone them first which is a waste of time if you are on a fixed budget and the properties you are looking at are all out of your price range.

I have seen some "for sale" signs on properties, but, these have been put up by the owners themselves.

Real Estate / Is there a Real Estate bubble in Krakow? [60]

Polsky..........you are the same person who has been "spamming" Polish Forums for the past week. You make unsubstantiated comments in order to provoke a response. Get a life.

posted by Avalon on Nov.06.2009

I posted just one message - this message. With clear arguments and study of the real estate markets. And almost every real estate expert agress with this. Few of the many arguments: I think everybody knows that for buying real estate you need to have DEMAND. RIght now there is just OVERSUPPLY from the 3-4 million poles working aborad, who never plan to return. Demand comes from people who usually pay with their wages, the credit from the bank. For an average wage of 2000 zlotych/month, bank allows you maximum 800 zl/month of payment for your mortgage. 800 zl/month for a credit of 20 years, equals 800 x 12 = 9600 zl / year equals maximum 200 000 zl (rounded in plus) for an apartment in Krakow. So that is the correct market price for a 2-3 rooms apartment (60-100 sq.m.) in Krakow: 200 000 zl Right now there are thousands of apartments for sale at absurd prices, and nobody is buying... (PS it seems that the only spammer is Avalon here)

posted by polsky on Nov.06.2009

this thread relates to krakow and only krakow

Real Estate / IS IT A GOOD TIME TO INVEST IN POLISH REAL ESTATE? [83]

jwojcie

"You are certainly right. But take into consideration that in bubble years 50% profit was normal thing for developers in Poland. They will not do anything for free for sure, but they certainly will take 15% profit..."

When you factor in inflation at 4% and bank interest of 6-7% it would not be worth spending a couple of years on a project which would only nett you 5%. No company could work on a business plan like that and the banks would certainly refuse to finance it. You make it sound as if 15% profit is worthwile?, it is if you are selling something over a shop counter!!!!

Do you have any idea of how long it takes to plan a building project, get the necessary permissions, set the financing in place, select the conractors from their bids, deal with the authourities over minor issues, market and sell the flats and then still deal with the clients who want to know why you never included a swimming pool and a helicopter landing pad into the design.

The business's that think they can make 50-100% profits are banks and share dealers, no construction company could plan or build expecting to make these types of margins, there are to many variables that affect the final profit margin, even bad weather can add a lot of unexpected cost to a project.

I would not say that it is impossible to make good profits, but you would need a lot of luck and maybe catch a "boom in prices" after you have started construction. There is no way you could plan it 3-4 years ahead. If you could, you would not build, you would buy shares instead.

Real Estate / IS IT A GOOD TIME TO INVEST IN POLISH REAL ESTATE? [83]

Tadeusz2007

What the hell have the parks in Berlin got to do with Polish real estate?

You still have not addressed the problem of producing goods for less than cost price?

The present Polish government was elected on certain mandates, one of which was to provide 3,000,000 new apartments/houses over a period of their term in office, this was to be new housing and replacement of exisiting defective stock. I suggest you look at the construction figures for the past 4 years and see what was actually built. If you factor in the Luxury end of the market, you will find that only a small amount of "affordable" housing has been constructed.

The only two positive initiatives brought in by this government have been the "one family" scheme which helps first time buyers with deposit and 50% interest payments for the first 8 years.

The second scheme could be a potential disaster. Allowing people to buy their rented flats in the old communist blocks is not such a bargain as it seems. The blocks were poorly constructed and are suffering from "concrete cancer", whereby the reinforcing bars are rusting and causing large cracks in the concrete slabs used in construction. Fixing insulation or cladding to the outside is only a short term solution. The UK has already started pulling down these tower blocks and constructed new dwellings to replace them. Where are you going to house the existing tennants if this has to be done in Poland?

The one true help that the Polish goverment should have given, would have been to abolish VAT on new build houses/apartments, as in the UK. This would encourage both private builders and developers, create jobs and improve the housing stock.

As very little is being built at the moment, the loss of revenue from VAT would be offset by the taxes paid from the new jobs created and the Polish people would benefit from having decent homes to live in, not to mention the ecological aspect of savings made from better constructed housing which should keep the EU happy regarding "carbon emmissions"

Real Estate / IS IT A GOOD TIME TO INVEST IN POLISH REAL ESTATE? [83]

Tadeusz2007
Today, 03:56

Tadeusz2007

An article for all you guys:

How to value Polish real estate or any other real estate

Basically the rule of thumb is this. Take the average netto income in any country you live and this is what the cost of a flat should be per square meter. If in Krakow the average is 2000 pln a month. A flat should cost 2000 pln a square meter. Poland has the biggest difference between average wages and prices of flats in the EU. The average person in in the Polish market can only afford a flat with little money down. Speculators are pulling out of the Polish real estate market for greener pastures, i.e. rising price real estate markets, for example Bulgaria and other new land rushes. Now Poland is a hot economy and will stay strong for many reasons, however, the real estate market is a a bubble of ridiculous proportions.

And what if the Land and build cost is, say, 2,500 PLN (excluding any profit for the developer or the 7% VAT which the Government takes), who will build these apartments?

According to your theory, Toyota will be selling new cars for 10,000 PLN.

As much as you would like it, nobody is going to produce anything at less than cost price, that includes the food you eat. Ask the french dairy farmers how this system works.

Love / Polish girlfriend going back to Poland if I dont buy engagment ring [85]

Remember, there are three rings!!!!
1) The engagement ring.
2) The wedding ring.
3) The suffer-ring

Law / What is the quickest and cheapest way to send money to a bank account in Poland? [37]

If you have internet banking then it should take a couple of days to transfer funds. My bank in the UK, HSBC normally charge around £8.00.for transferring £1000.00. (maximum charge £21.00. for large amounts) my bank in Poland charges another £8.00. to receive it and they set the exchange rate to convert the Sterling into Zloty but its not usually too bad.

Two years ago I transferred 75,000 Euro from a bank in Spain and it was 2 months for the Polish banks to clear the transfer. I was not paid any interest for the two months that the Polish bank sat on this money.

Life / Anyone living in Szczecin? What's the city like? [69]

An ex girlfriend did her studies there to become a doctor. She quite liked it there and still returns to the area for her holidays.

Genealogy / What are common Polish character traits? [417]

Hey bimber94,
I had a construction company in the UK from 1973 - 2005, have worked on every type of project going,(large and small), building luxury apartments, house building, refurbishment of listed buildings, chemical factories, clean rooms etc, etc...even reinforcing river banks to prevent erosian and was a member of the Federation of Master builders for 30 years. Decided to do something in Poland. Took my references, certificates, complete photo records of all the projects I had carried out over the years and was turned down for a development loan by a Polish Bank as they said I "did not have enough experience"? Ah well!!!!, perhaps in another 10-15 years they may change their minds.....lol, probably around the same time as they start to build the new motorways here.

Real Estate / Building a house in Poland need advice from anyone that has built [100]

I am currently constructing, PM me for information.

Real Estate / House prices in Poland to drop more or rise again? [228]

I find it strange that nothing has been said about the actual cost of construction?....I am sure that many on here would love to pay 2000 PLN per m2 for a new apartment and are waiting for it to drop down to this level. It will not happen. The cost of the land, the cost of the build and the developers profit will never go down to below what is reasonable. Otherwise, developing would be a waste of time. The one thing I am suprised at in the current financial situation is that the Polish government which was partly elected on the promise of providing 3 million new apartments over the next 4 years, has done sod all to help the construction industry. At the very least, I would have thought that the abolition of VAT on new builds would have helped replace the defective housing stock, helped the envoirment by making new properties more energy efficient and created additional employment for the people who want to return from the UK and Ireland.

Or, do we really want to drive along hundreds of kilometers of new roads in 2012, looking at 40 year old houses that are still unfinished.

USA, Canada / Now American men want to marry Polish women for polish papers. [38]

Simple, he puts the business in your name but keeps 51% of the shares. If you are getting married, you should be able to trust each other anyway.

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

Not if you are have to deal in legal or civil terms. wording becomes very important, especially if you are relying on a translator to help you.

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

I am sorry to have to agree with the English members here. American "English" is hard to accept. My partner teaches English and sometimes I overhear her lessons and I cringe, because, I know that she is teaching from books that are Anglo/American, but, as much as we find the Polish language hard to learn, English is more difficult for the Polish to learn.

If an American teaches "English" in Poland, then, the students are going to find this useless when they apply for jobs in the UK. Oral will be understood, written will not be accepted.

Life / I'm British in Poland and I think that it's time to go back to the UK! [240]

Yours posts are too juvenile for me. Sleep well.

Life / I'm British in Poland and I think that it's time to go back to the UK! [240]

Not a personal insult...just stating a fact. Either you cannot read or you see something in the text that is not there.

Life / I'm British in Poland and I think that it's time to go back to the UK! [240]

Lir..........you are an idiot!!!!..........I am NOT knocking my adopted country. I love it here and have a far better life than you have in the UK. The discussion was about the problems (for both foriegners and Poles) in dealing with the authourities and how the authourities deal with the people. After 6 years, I can handle anything that comes up. I have learnt patience and also, I now know a fair bit about citizens rights and EU consumer law, which, I can now make work to my advantage.

Every time I phone my relatives and friends in the UK, they tell me how much worse their daily lives are. They come and visit me for holidays and "envy" the life I have made here and the beautiful countryside I live in. You worry about the UK, I'll worry about Poland.