BUYING A PROPERTY IN POLAND

Purchase procedure buying property in Poland The Polish legal system is very different from the British and Irish. However, provided that the appropriate procedures are followed and precautions are taken, buying a property in Poland is quite safe. First of all choose a reputable estate agent, one used to dealing with international property and one which can provide comprehensive and understandable information about the property you are thinking of buying. This is at the heart of the Prime way of doing business. If you decide to purchase a property in Poland, you will sign a simple reservation contract (rezervatzionen contract), which reserves your property for you.

A reservation contract (rezervatzionen contract) takes the property off the market for around two to four weeks, during which time your lawyer can make all the necessary checks on the property. You pay a reservation deposit of, typically, £2,000/€3,000. During this period, your lawyer needs to make the necessary checks on the property but s/he also needs to deal with the key issue of who should become the legal owner of the property. In Poland, the law states that only the Polish can own either pure land or houses built directly upon land. A foreigner can own an apartment, but not a villa or a building plot. Fortunately, a Polish company, even if 100% foreign owned, is seen as a Polish. So a foreigner wanting to buy land or a house can do so through a Polish company. This raises further questions such as who should own the shares in that company? This decision is of the greatest importance because the decision will directly affect the tax you have to pay, both in Poland and where you live.

After all the necessary checks have been carried out and providing you are satisfied, you then sign the preliminary contract (predvaritelen dogovor) and, usually, pay over a deposit of 10% of the price (on a resale property) or a down-payment of, perhaps, 30% (on a new or 'off plan' property). In the case of a new property, bought 'off plan', there then usually follows a series of stage payments as the construction process progresses. Eventually, the property is finished and the Act 15 certificate is produced to say that the property is ready for handover. You can then inspect it and identify any snagging.

Once the property has been finished (or, in the case of a resale property, as soon as everyone is ready to proceed), your lawyer will arrange for payment of the taxes on your behalf and the final Contract of Sale/Title Deed (Notarialen Act) is signed. This is the document transferring the right to ownership to you. The notary will then arrange for this to be registered at the Land Registry. In the case of a new property, a licence to occupy the property as a dwelling is issued by the Polish authorities. The whole process will, in the case of a resale property with no mortgage, typically take about 16 weeks. In the case of a property under construction, the pace is usually determined by the speed of construction – typically, perhaps, 18 months.