We have been inundated lately with questions from investors about the effect of the Credit Crunch on the mortgage market in Central & Eastern Europe.

At the same time, rumour and misinformation has led to a heightened level of concern from those who have invested in off-plan property in the region.

To address this, we have been investigating exactly what is - and isn't - available in the markets in which Property Secrets has offered investment opportunities - and from whom.

Here's the definitive breakdown of current conditions:

Poland

Currently, Raiffiesen Bank have stated they will be pulling lending to non-Polish residents. There is no indication of when this decision might be reversed.

Both Noble Bank and PKO Bank are still offering mortgage products to non-residents, however, and Property Secrets clients are currently using the London branch of PKO.

Czech & Slovak Republics

The Credit Crunch does not currently seem to be affecting the Czech market at all and this, it seems, is down to the fact that non-resident loans currently account for just 3% of overall bank lending in the country.

Again, the Slovak mortgage market appears equally unaffected with banks still willing to lend to non-residents.

Bulgaria

The latest information we have from Bulgaria is that there are currently no issues with lending to non-residents and we have an agreement in place that should this look like changing we will be informed immediately.

Incidentally, we have had a number of queries from clients regarding the fees charged by our recommended partner Bulgarian Home Loans. We asked them to respond and explain their charges.

You can download their in-depth response here: Bulgarian Home Loans Fees Explained

Romania

Due to Regulation 11, imposed by the Romanian National Bank, commercial banks had to re-submit their credit norms at this same National Bank. One by one the Romanian National Bank has been signing off the approval of each bank's credit regulations since the beginning of October, and in only one particular case a certain Romanian bank has decided to put on hold non-resident financing. This, of course, does not mean other commercial banks will do the same, and we are awaiting the newly approved credit regulations of other Romanian banks who will include non-resident financing

We have been in constant talks with our partners on the ground, as well as several banks, and there is good news on the way.

New credit norms will be issued by the Romanian National Bank this month and banks are already preparing new lending criteria and products. We will have all the details later this week and will announce them as soon as they come in.

In the meantime, we have been looking at additional brokers as recommended by our members. The feedback we're getting is positive and we're moving in the right direction with these brokers. We'll update you as soon as we can on this too.

In the meantime, please feel free to call us with any questions regarding finance you may have.