- Step 1 – Apply For A Permit
- Step 2 – Find A Property & Agree A Price
- Step 3 – Preliminary Contract
- Step 4 – Completion
Dont worry – it’s just a formality! If you are a foreigner and are planning to by a second home in Poland, you will need to apply to the Ministry of Home Affairs for a permit.
Although this can take up to two months to come through, it shouldn’t be a problem unless you are trying to by a property right on the national border – in which case you may be rejected.
If the property is going to be your main home, then you may not need a permit – check with your solicitor.
If you are planning to get a Polish mortgage, you should also start your application at this time – mortgage approval can be time-consuming in Poland and you won’t want to delay the sale further down the line.
Step 2 – Find A Property & Agree A Price
Here’s where the face-to-face element really kicks in. Once you have found a property you’d like to buy, you will need to agree a price and the terms and conditions of the sale with the seller.
Although your estate agent will probably be happy to help with this, one of the best ways of sorting it out is to meet with both your notary and the seller and thrash out all the details of the sale.
Bear in mind that details really do mean details – whatever repair work, legal checks or other conditions you want including in the contract absolutely must be specified in writing. That also goes for fixtures and fittings – of which more later.
Step 3 – Preliminary Contract
Once you have agreed on all the terms and conditions of the sale, your notary will produce a Preliminary Contract which should reflect your agreement – that’s why it is a good idea to have the discussions with the notary present.
The preliminary contract will also specify a time frame for completion – by which time you must have funding in place and the seller must provide written confirmation that there are no debts or other charges attached to the property.
This contract will require a 10% – 20% deposit and is legally binding – the only way out of it is through the conditions in the contract not being met. You, the seller and the notary will all need to sign the Preliminary contract.
Step 4 – Completion
On the day of completion you will meet with the seller, the notary and a representative of the lender (if you are taking a Polish mortgage).
The seller will bring with him a letter from his local council dated the same day showing that there are no outstanding charges on the property. This is important because in Poland debts remain attached to a property when its ownership changes.
You will also have to pay the closing fees at completion – typically these come to around 10% of the properties value and will be similar to this:
- Estate agent’s fee: 3%
- Legal fees: 0.1%
- Taxes: 5%
- Registration (Court) Fee: 2%