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.

One PS investor who secured a 100% LTV Slovakia is Ravi Sawhney who recently invested in Bratislava in Slovakia.

Ravi purchased an apartment in Nove Mesto (new town) in Bratislava. The price was about SK56,000 psm and the property was an apartment on the secondary market.

His mortgage terms make his investment cashflow neutral - the rent covers the loan.

This is his first investment in central and Eastern Europe. He actually looked into buying in Slovakia about two years ago but at the time he ended up buying in London.

This tied up his capital, but he kept a close eye on the markets of Bratislava and other secondary cities such as Trnava.

His reasons for sticking with the Slovak market are that he believes the country and Bratislava in particular offers one of the best risk/reward profiles in Europe for property investment.

He believes the market offers great potential for growth yet a stable economy.

Great finance and rental potentials lessen the risks involved in investing in the market.

Ravi's girlfriend is from the Slovak Republic, so he is familiar with the market having visited the country over a dozen times in the last four years, each time becoming more familiar with the people, economy and areas of the country.

Having settled on the Slovak Republic as his investment location, he decided on his investment strategy.

Ravi's view is that there is value to be had in buying properties on the secondary market and refurbishing them.

The problem he encountered was finding the right property and being able to move quickly on it. He admits it took some time and effort before he eventually found something in Nove Mesto, very close to the transport links and the Old Town.

He completed the property purchase last October 2007 and began applying for a mortgage in November.

He started off by approaching a few brokers and intermediaries but soon found out that some of them were charging unreasonable fees.

One broker was charging him a 3% bank arrangement, fee but he believes you should walk away from anything more than a 0.5% fee, which is typically capped at €500.

In the end he went direct to the bank and avoided the fee all together. This was possible because he had his girlfriend on-site to manage the relationship with the bank manager.

The bank he went with in the end was OTP bank and he arranged a mortgage with 100% LTV, and valued Ravi's unit at 3% below market value, which he says in normal in Slovakia. Total charges, including translations and notary stamps, were around £1,500.

The interest rate is fixed for five years is 4.9%. Slovakia is expected to join the euro next year, there is an argument that rates might fall as a result. But he is bullish on the eurozone over a five year period and values predictability over the five year period more than the any potential small drop in lending rates.

He believes the expected rentals will also cover the repayments.

Would he recommend fellow investors to go down the road he did?

Buying on the secondary market was very complicated and he came across a number of obstacles when dealing with the purchase on his own.

He ended up paying for the seller's estate agent to handle a lot of the paper work but this worked out well for him as he felt they could be trusted.

Naturally it was a huge advantage that his girlfriend is from the Slovak Republic and in a position to negotiate with agents and banks in their native language.

A way around this would be to hire a translator however this adds to the purchase cost.

What advice would Ravi give to people setting out to apply for a mortgage in the Slovak Republic?

Do not pay more than 0.5% of the loan amount to any broker.

Ravi recommends you try going direct to the banks if you have the time but having a Slovak speaker definitely helped a lot in doing this.

Be prepared for things to move slowly.

Having a regular income also seems to be banks' number one concern. "It was the first question they asked when you walk through the door, " said Ravi.

Ravi admits he was applying for the mortgage over the Christmas period which didn't help however he advises not to be afraid to keep applying pressure on the bank manager and if you have a good relationship with the seller's agent, ask them for help also.

Another point to keep in mind is that because the markets are moving so fast, the valuation of your property may be less than the sale price by more than you would expect. In Ravi's case it was just 3%.

This, he explains, is down to the fact that the government body updates average valuations once a year in March.

The whole application process took two months, which was a little excessive as it was over the Christmas period. But Ravi describes the paperwork as 'Simple and straightforward' because the seller's agent did a lot of the work. "Otherwise it would have been a complete headache, especially on a re-sale since all the documents are in Slovak."

So, plan for the fact that you will need to get some translation work done and for this you will need a state recognised translator. Prices can also vary for this so it's a good idea to seek several quotes.

Ravi's final piece of advice is tread carefully and always do your homework!
Judging by the success Ravi had in securing a 100% LTV mortgage at interest rates where his rentals will cover the mortgage, it certainly seems that Ravi has done well in this Slovak Investment.

One PS investor who secured a 100% LTV Slovakia is Ravi Sawhney who recently invested in Bratislava in Slovakia.

Ravi purchased an apartment in Nove Mesto (new town) in Bratislava. The price was about SK56,000 psm and the property was an apartment on the secondary market.

His mortgage terms make his investment cashflow neutral - the rent covers the loan.

This is his first investment in central and Eastern Europe. He actually looked into buying in Slovakia about two years ago but at the time he ended up buying in London.

This tied up his capital, but he kept a close eye on the markets of Bratislava and other secondary cities such as Trnava.

His reasons for sticking with the Slovak market are that he believes the country and Bratislava in particular offers one of the best risk/reward profiles in Europe for property investment.

He believes the market offers great potential for growth yet a stable economy.

Great finance and rental potentials lessen the risks involved in investing in the market.

Ravi's girlfriend is from the Slovak Republic, so he is familiar with the market having visited the country over a dozen times in the last four years, each time becoming more familiar with the people, economy and areas of the country.

Having settled on the Slovak Republic as his investment location, he decided on his investment strategy.

Ravi's view is that there is value to be had in buying properties on the secondary market and refurbishing them.

The problem he encountered was finding the right property and being able to move quickly on it. He admits it took some time and effort before he eventually found something in Nove Mesto, very close to the transport links and the Old Town.

He completed the property purchase last October 2007 and began applying for a mortgage in November.

He started off by approaching a few brokers and intermediaries but soon found out that some of them were charging unreasonable fees.

One broker was charging him a 3% bank arrangement, fee but he believes you should walk away from anything more than a 0.5% fee, which is typically capped at €500.

In the end he went direct to the bank and avoided the fee all together. This was possible because he had his girlfriend on-site to manage the relationship with the bank manager.

The bank he went with in the end was OTP bank and he arranged a mortgage with 100% LTV, and valued Ravi's unit at 3% below market value, which he says in normal in Slovakia. Total charges, including translations and notary stamps, were around £1,500.

The interest rate is fixed for five years is 4.9%. Slovakia is expected to join the euro next year, there is an argument that rates might fall as a result. But he is bullish on the eurozone over a five year period and values predictability over the five year period more than the any potential small drop in lending rates.

He believes the expected rentals will also cover the repayments.

Would he recommend fellow investors to go down the road he did?

Buying on the secondary market was very complicated and he came across a number of obstacles when dealing with the purchase on his own.

He ended up paying for the seller's estate agent to handle a lot of the paper work but this worked out well for him as he felt they could be trusted.

Naturally it was a huge advantage that his girlfriend is from the Slovak Republic and in a position to negotiate with agents and banks in their native language.

A way around this would be to hire a translator however this adds to the purchase cost.

What advice would Ravi give to people setting out to apply for a mortgage in the Slovak Republic?

Do not pay more than 0.5% of the loan amount to any broker.

Ravi recommends you try going direct to the banks if you have the time but having a Slovak speaker definitely helped a lot in doing this.

Be prepared for things to move slowly.

Having a regular income also seems to be banks' number one concern. "It was the first question they asked when you walk through the door, " said Ravi.

Ravi admits he was applying for the mortgage over the Christmas period which didn't help however he advises not to be afraid to keep applying pressure on the bank manager and if you have a good relationship with the seller's agent, ask them for help also.

Another point to keep in mind is that because the markets are moving so fast, the valuation of your property may be less than the sale price by more than you would expect. In Ravi's case it was just 3%.

This, he explains, is down to the fact that the government body updates average valuations once a year in March.

The whole application process took two months, which was a little excessive as it was over the Christmas period. But Ravi describes the paperwork as 'Simple and straightforward' because the seller's agent did a lot of the work. "Otherwise it would have been a complete headache, especially on a re-sale since all the documents are in Slovak."

So, plan for the fact that you will need to get some translation work done and for this you will need a state recognised translator. Prices can also vary for this so it's a good idea to seek several quotes.

Ravi's final piece of advice is tread carefully and always do your homework!
Judging by the success Ravi had in securing a 100% LTV mortgage at interest rates where his rentals will cover the mortgage, it certainly seems that Ravi has done well in this Slovak Investment.