There are, however, significant differences in this process in each country. These differences define specific characteristics of each Real Estate market, and it is crucial for the potential buyer to get to know them.
We have prepared this short guide in order to make it easier for you to understand and be active on the Polish real estate market. This guide includes also several website links directing you to institutions which may help you prepare to make investments in Poland.
1. Find the property that meets your expectations
If you are preparing to purchase a property in a foreign country, it is crucial to find a web portal which provides services to the foreign clients. It should include sales offers from the whole country, and of all type of properties: apartments, houses, land, commercial properties. Currently, there are only few such web portals in Poland.
Most of Polish online portals focus on Polish clients, paying no attention to the fact that there is a huge group of foreigners interested in our domestic market. The online portal should provide you with – apart from the diverse types of offers – direct contact to the owner of the property, map with its location, and the description in English language. Browser, which enables a client to find property that meets his specific criteria, is also indispensible.
In addition to all that, a good online portal shouldn’t only present offers, but also ensure other services – first and foremost the assistance of financial and legal advisors. The fact that you can find articles which explain different aspects of investing in real properties in Poland would be also a great benefit.
2. Get a good Real Estate Agent
If you decide to look for the property in Poland with the assistance of the Real Estate Agent, here are few tips on how to choose a good one. The first thing to do is to make sure that the Agent has a license enabling him to perform his profession.
If you already know forename, surname and the license number of the Agent, you should be able to find him in the Centralny Rejestr Pośredników w Obrocie Nieruchomościami (Central Register of Real Estate Agents), which may be accessed from the Ministry of Transportation, Construction and Water Management website (all the links are at the end of this guide).
Your agent should be fluent in English and have a verifiable transaction history. Ask him to briefly describe the last transactions he completed, i.e. within the last few months. He may also give you phone numbers to his contractors so that you can contact them and ask about his work. Choose the Agent who is experienced in working with foreign clients and knows Polish law.
3. Can you buy a property in Poland?
Property acquisition in Poland is governed by the Law enacted in 1920. The second official document regulating this issue is the Ordinance by the Minister of Interior on the detailed information and types of documents to be submitted by a foreigner applying for issuing a permit for the acquisition of a real estate.
Before the purchase, you have to make sure that you can acquire a Polish real property without the Minister’s permit. More details about the subject are to be found in the aforementioned documents and also on PolishProperty.eu website in the article “Who can purchase a polish property without a permit?“.
You can also learn about the details concerning the documents indispensible for the completion of the property purchase in Poland in the following article: “Documents you need to collect in order to purchase a real property in Poland“.
It is important to read the regulating documents, as it will make the whole process easier for you.
4. Checking the legal status of the property
One of the most important steps in the purchase process is to check the property’s legal status. This information is included in the Land and Mortgage Register. It may be accessed online through the Ministry of Justice’s website – in the Centralna Baza Danych Ksiąg Wieczystych (Central Land and Mortgage Register Database).
In order to check the property’s status online, you need to have its Land and Mortgage Register number. You enter the number into the database browser and gain access to the whole content. Unfortunately not all the Land and Mortgage Register entries are available online. If the property’s Land and Mortgage Register cannot be accessed via Internet, you have to submit application for the issuance of the Land and Mortgage Register excerpt to the competent division of the district court.
In such a case, you can use the Real Estate Agent’s assistance to check the legal status of the property. He will make sure that, among all other things, there are no mortgages on the real estate and no encumbrances for the benefit of any third party. Thus, it may be a good idea to use help of an expert, who will represent you and deal with all the formalities on your behalf.
5. Additional costs
An investment property purchase, apart from the sales price, incurs, of course, additional costs, with notary costs in the first place. The amount of the notary costs depends on the property value. The maximum notary fee is also defined by the provisions of Polish law.
It is best to follow the advice of the Real Estate Agent when you are choosing the notary. In order to complete the transaction, you have to collect all the necessary documents and submit them to the notary office. Such documents may include Land and Mortgage Register excerpt, Land Register excerpt, or any documents confirming the acquisition of the property by its owner.
Obtaining all these documents also entails additional payments – this is something you have to be prepared to, if you decide to engage in the property purchase process. You should not forget about the Real Estate Agent’s commission, which in Poland equals 1.4 up to 4 per cent of the property value.
6. Helpful online resources
Here is the list of links which will direct you to the most important web pages on how to start investing in Poland:
• Online service with the real property sales offers for the foreigners
• Centralny Rejestr Pośredników w Obrocie Nieruchomościami (Central Register of Real Estate Agents)
• General information concerning acquisition of Polish properties by foreigners (unfortunately in Polish language)
• ACT of 24 March 1920 on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners (consolidated text)
• Ordinance by the Minister of Interior of 20 June 2012 on the detailed information and types of documents to be submitted by a foreigner applying for issuing a permit for the acquisition of real estate
• Centralna Baza Danych Ksiąg Wieczystych (Central Land and Mortgage Register Database)
Source: Polish Property
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