The Polish government has introduced a law that will make purchase of the first apartment or house easier. So if you don’t own any residential property yet, this could be an opportunity for you.
The program provides an interest rate subsidy in the first 10 years of payments. The law is scheduled to come into effect on 01-07-2023. In what follows, I outline the most important elements of the program. I would like to emphasize that the law has not yet been implemented, legislative work is still in progress and parts of the program may change.

It’s not a 2% loan
In fact, it will amount to a 4-5% (fixed) for 10 years. The bank will add a fixed margin to the 2% interest rate. Average margins in banks are within the 2-3% range resulting 4-5% in total. Offers will vary depending on the bank that provides the loan and the amount of your own contribution. With 20% down payment you may expect to get closer to 4%, with less than 20% down it will be closer to 5%.

First time buyer
You can not own another residential property to be eligible for the government subsidy. This also applies to properties you owned and sold in the past. It must be the first residential estate in your life. You also don’t qualify if you are already paying off a mortgage (even if you’re not a property .

Limits (age & amount & down payment)
Maximum amount of a loan is 500k for a single and 600k for a couple (married couple or a not married couple with at least one child). Maximum down payment of 200k limits purchase price to 700k and 800k respectively.
The applicant must be under 45 years of age at the time of applying for the loan. For couples, it is enough that one person meets the maximum age requirement (so the other person can be older).

Mind the restrictions on the use of your property!
If you joined the program and then sold or rented the property within the first 10 years, you will lose the entitlement to subsidies and the received payments will have to be returned. The same will happen if you buy another property for residential purposes.

Is it worth it?
If the above listed restrictions are not a problem to you, then it is definitely worth an effort. Currently, mortgage rates in Polish banks are 8-9%. Getting a loan with a fixed rate of 4-5% is an attractive alternative.

What about foreigners?
The program will be also available to people who don’t have Polish citizenship. The only requirement is that the foreigner lives in Poland (it is the center of their vital interests) and earns enough to be creditworthy.

Program’s effect on Poland’s real estate market
There are widespread expectations that the program will revive the housing market. A state intervention like this is probably going to further increase prices.

For more details or to find out if you qualify for the program, email me at kamil@polishmortgage.pl

I got a lot of queries from blog’s readers who live (and work) abroad and are interested in buying a property in Poland on a mortgage. I wish everyone could become my client. Unfortunately, it is not that easy. In the following I will explain why.

If you’re an EU citizen living in Poland, when it comes to the mortgage loan a residence registration certificate is a must have. I’ve recently been in a Voivodship Office in Wroclaw with my client to get this registration done and I thought it could be a good idea to post a tutorial on my blog, in which I will describe this procedure step by step.

Yes, you can. I will tell you how it works in Polish banks. Even if you are buying an apartment on loan, you still need to have your own savings to finance down payment and other initial expenses related to the purchase of the apartment. I write about it in this post: Buying a flat on a mortgage – let’s calculate initial expenses.