Is it possible to take out a mortgage/loan and buy a property in Poland whilst living abroad?

I would like to ask anyone in this forum that has managed to take a loan and buy a property in Poland to share his/her experience.

As stated in other threads, me together with my fiancé live in a foreign country. I am currently attending school while he is working and earning around 4000zł gross. We want to buy an apartment costing between 380-420 thousand zł. I would like to know if it is possible to buy the apartment and take a loan from abroad and what the process entails.

We haven't chosen the property yet, however we have drawn up a list of possibilities and we plan to go to Poland for a week to see the properties. Would we need to contact the bank previously and find a bank that is willing to lend to us so that we can send the required documentation by e-mail and then just go to the bank while we are in Poland to sign the papers? Or would we need to go to Poland another time? Do we actually need to be physically in the bank to take the loan or everything can be arranged through internet?

Also, as I am not Polish (however my country is in the EU), would the bank find a problem to lend money to both me and my fiancé? We are ready to marry civilly before we apply for the loan if it would reduce problems in obtaining a loan, and then get married in a church later on.

Thanks for any help!

It used to be fairly straightforward pre the 2008 financial crises, these days not so much, best to contact Polish banks directly and ask them.

Yes, I'll try to contact some banks today. I hope I will not have problems communicating in English.

Yesterday, together with my fiancé, we contacted MBank. I am going to write down the answers to some of the questions I had for any future readers who have the same queries as me.

1. Can we take a home loan while living a working abroad?
Yes, it shouldn't be a problem. We need to have been working for longer than 6 months, have proof of income and have an indefinite contract.

2. Do we need to chose the house before we take the loan or after?
You can do it both ways. If you take the loan before hand, you have to present to the bank a property or land as collateral for the loan. The value of the property has to be equal or bigger than the amount of the loan. If not, you will need to chose the property and then apply for a loan.

3. Do we need to be married to take a loan as a couple?
No

4. Will there be any problems in obtaining a loan as I am a foreigner however an EU-national?
She mentioned three alternatives, but almost all of them pointed to the fact that either I am a polish resident or else I am registered in some town in Poland,

5. How much can we borrow?
She provided a simulation according to our income and any credit that we might have. Personal note - Polish banks tend to offer more credit than the ones in my country, so don't get carried away and be sure that you will be comfortable paying back the loan.

6. Can the loan process be done online?
We need to fill an application and send the required details and documents by e-mail or mail. A decision will be given after 9 days. We need to be physically there just to sign the papers when we are granted the loan.

The monthly repayment that this bank offered seemed to be a bit steep so we are going to continue shopping around to get the feel of other interest rates.

Side note: English speaking representatives are only available between 8:00 and 16:00.

Merged: Securing a Mortgage in Poland while Overseas

Greetings,

I was hoping to get some insight to any options that might be available for US Citizen married to a Polish Citizen currently living in USA. The threads on this site are a bit dated, and the one most relevant (Jan 2014) doesn't apply due to some new banking law that went into affect Nov 2014.

We would like to take a mortgage credit for a flat in Rzeszow. We were there over Christmas visiting family and friends. My wife's friends shared their research and found similar results. Now we are investigating a bank loan. I must of called every international bank and several Polish banks. Aloir Bank was the only one that would entertain a mortgage at 6.4% for the first two years, then 4.15% + LIBOR 3M, Plus a 2% Commission. We didn't even get to to the insurance for us or the building.

We spoke with a BNP Paribas representative said they do not but would check with the bank officials based on our guaranteed employment. We haven't heard back from this rep

Citibank may do it, this development we are looking at is in the process of completing the last two buildings. Citibank will only approve a loan for completed buildings. We will call back and inquire about the possibility of taking a loan for something that's complete just to see if plausible.

All other banks are looking for a more personal connection to Poland ie paying taxes, already living/working, or at the very least working abroad but earning salary in PLN. We do not meet any of these requirements.

Any ideas?

thank you

Why do you want a loan on an uncompleted property, in a city with little demand and in a country swimming with unsold units?

The banks obviously see you as very high risk which is why the interest rate is nearly double the rate it should be.

You are not in a criminal scheme with the developer are you?

We had a mortgage application approved through Getin Bank. We neither live in Poland full time or earn the local currency. Lending criteria might well have changed over the past 18 months though.

halo Bionicbuk

I wrote about current situation in mortgages in one of my post on forum. currently you will not get a mortgage. If you want to buy apartment you need a cash. this apply to almost 99% foreigners, especially whose living in US.

Hi Weeg,

My reasoning is sufficient in my original post and I am not in some scheme with the developer. After rereading it ,I guess it does sound questionable. It took me awhile to find some sound information to your other questions. Here is something you might find interesting globalpropertyguide.com/Europe/Poland/Price-History. I thought it was a good read.

I do not know why you would say Rzeszow has little demand, you did not elaborate on your comments but if your comparing to larger cities like Krakow or Warsaw then sure. From just very minimal googling, I found Rzeszow to be quite the opposite for the city its size. It now has an international airport and over a dozen of international companies. The cities growth over the last 5 years is pretty substantial, I don't have a number nor could I find one but just from the sheer fact of business placing roots within and around the city shows positive speculation.

I personally like how the city is not saturated with tourists, folks from UK, excellent transit hub to east and north regions, is much more affordable to live in and retire. Honestly, whats not to like about?

Here are some other notes you may or may not appreciate

Since 2006, Rzeszów has been growing every year. Overall, in recent years, the area of Rzeszów has almost doubled in size. The city population

has grown from 159,000 (2005) to over 180,000 (2011).

During the Second National Congress of Regions, which took place in Świdnica in May 2011, the monthly magazine Forbes awarded Rzeszów
with the second place in the ranking of the most attractive cities for business in the category of 150,000 - 300,000 inhabitants. Last year in
the same competition Rzeszów was placed in third position.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Frzeszow.pl%2Ffile%2F14850%2FRzeszow_The_Excellent_Choice_2012.pdf&ei=RS_uVMv4FYGSyASakoH4Bw&usg=AFQjCNFSF0EVT9CCsjadWnbegtlDYFSSgA&bvm=bv.86956481,d.aWw

Cheers

mcm1 and polishmortgages,

Thanks for the info. Getin Bank did not work out. BNP Paribas is probably our best bet with medium interest rates. They are very selective based on their employment review. I'll update as the process continues.

Hi, We are based and work in the UK and are interested in purchasing a property in Oswiecim.
My wife is a Polish Citizen (I am also from Polish descent but born in the UK) and ideally we would like to get a mortgage in Poland to cover the purchase of the property.

We went into a branch of BPO B.P. bank yesterday to enquire if we would be eligible for a mortgage but unfortunately they told us about 18 months ago most banks stopped giving mortgages to buyers (due to advice from a governing body relating to difficulties with collecting debts from overseas customers and their employers in case they fell behind with mortgage repayments).

The lady in the bank suggested that one other option would be to get a family member(s) living and earning in Poland to get a mortgage on our behalf (and then transfer the property at a later date). Unfortunately my parents in law's are reluctant to do this plus their joint earnings are only enough to get a mortgage covering half of the aforementioned property.

The question is are there any high street banks that can currently offer low interest mortgages for Polish citizens working in the UK?
I don't know the difference but understand that 'Parabanks' are not quite the same and as trustworthy as established High street banks?

The other option is remortgaging our current UK property however we would rather get a new mortgage in Poland if possible.

Any tips would be much appreciated, Thank you

on doing some more internet research on other websites i see that due to the following KNF recommendation


mortgages should only be taken in the currency that earnings are paid in.

so as commented on another website:


Thus, working in the UK it seems mBank may be our only option. We also have been forwarded details of 'Open Finance' from the vendor / developer.

I don't think mBank has any branches in Oswiecim and is quite internet based, and charges around 4% prowisja (arrangement fee?) which is nearly double compared to other banks so if anybody has any positive / negative experiences with either mBank or Open Finance or can offer any other solid reputable options for obtaining a mortgage in Poland while earning GBP in the UK, please let me know.

Thank you