Hey folks, For those of you who have already gone down the Polish mortgage route, in hindsight would you have opted to pay cash instead by say increasing your residential mortgage? I keep reading about the hassle and expense of getting a Polish mortgage that I'm considering doing this instead. From what I hear Polish interest rates are on a par if not higher than in the UK. I guess I could always take the Polish mortgage out at a later stage if I needed the cash for another investment or if the exchange rate looks very favourable at the time. Okay so I'm exposing myself to currency fluctuations by effectively borrowing in a different currency to the rental income, but in the long run this won't be too much of an issue. Curious to hear from those who have already trodden the Polish mortgage path. PS - The mortgage required is only about 35K anyway so the mortgage expenses are a high % of the borrowing amount.

Hi Faz It really depends on what your situation is. I would certainly advise not committing to a deal unless you have another means of paying other than a Polish mortgage, cos in the current climate this is a largely unknown variable. And you're right, even if you do get mortgage approval you'll end up paying 6-7%. Of course the downside with paying cash, is it drains your capital reserves, making it harder to build your portfolio. I managed to get my first Polish property mortgaged, I paid cash for number 2 and 3, am about to pay cash for number 4, but will probably look to mortage one of these to fund number 5 and 6. Tho of course, without the pressure that goes with an upfront mortgage purchase. Good luck

I agree with Dan - always make sure you have other means of completing if the foreign mortgage doesn't come off. The other issue, which i have raised on this forum and asked PS to clarify until I'm blue in the face is whether the interest on a UK loan to buy a property in say Poland is tax deductible in Poland. Currently, more down to personal circumstances than anything else I have paid for all of my foreign investments (apart from France) in cash from UK borrowings and will be trying to arrange foreign loans when the opportunity arises. As Dan says, otherwise it's impossible to build a portfolio. Huw

Hi Huw I hadn't seen that question. Why not email Colin Davison and ask him? His contact details can be found on the Question of Tax page under the Opinion drop down menu. I'm sure he'll be able to help.

Have spent many hours and much expense with Polish Mortgages. Purely to help others; I am self employed. My wife is employed - multinational company. Our joint income is above average. We are in our early thirties. Both our credit histories are squeeky clean. I applied to the prominent lenders suggested by PS. I was turned down by Lender '1'. I have also invested elsewhere in Central Europe - they didn't like the look of this, thought I was overstretched. Anyway I have now paid 85% of my Warsaw flat from my own funds. I did get a mortgage offer from Lender '2'. It would be inappropriate for me to go into the detail but only right at the last minute did the offer's real terms materialise, and conveniently they were in Polish. The interest rate I expected was above that stated (the banks margin was higher - not the chf rate). Redemption charges are 5% in year one. The application process will take time. You need a Polish address for the offer. I paid a Polish Lawyer, got this set-up, paid my money - couldn't use it as the mortgage offer was not as expected ! As for Nordea - process was just perfect. I completed application on internet and I was in Warsaw (Galleria Mokotow) - job done in minutes. Guess it's luck of the draw which person you get to deal with. Also have had good dealings with Citibank. Looking back I feel that not taking the mortgage was a blessing in disguise. Remember these are not interest only loans, also in my case a low ltv, so the potential tax deductables are outweighed, in my view, by the hassle factor. Long term I hope things will mature in the mortgage market, to what extent who knows ?

I have recently received an offer from Noble and am awaiting a response on whether the bank's margin is included in the interest rate or not. Based on your experience, have you any thoughts? Terms and conditions · Bank’s margin: 3.25% · Bank’ margin 4.25% (before the bank’s mortgage is written in a mortgage book of a property) 4.25% · Interest rate: 5.11% · Interest in a bridging period: 6.11% (before the bank’s mortgage is written in a mortgage book of a property; interest rate is higher in this period due to higher interest rate) · LTV net 85.00% · Currency CHF · Repayment period: 360 months

Just go to warsaw go to a bank and get a mortgage its pretty easy. DO NOT USE A UK AGENCY. It is a complete waste of money