What to watch out for when buying a flat? Part 1

For many people, buying a flat is the investment of a lifetime. Its high cost prompts future buyers to pay attention to the smallest detail. After all, nobody wants to spend several hundred thousand PLN on a flat they will not be happy with. So before you go ahead and buy a flat, it is good to know where to look for flaws. You will find the answer to this question in today's article.

Looking for the ideal flat is a bit like hunting. The buyer wants to bag their prey at the lowest possible cost, while making sure it meets all their requirements. The seller, on the contrary, demands the highest possible price, while at the same time hiding the property's shortcomings from us. How can an agreement be reached in such a situation? It may not be easy. That is why, when looking for the ideal property to buy, you have to keep your eyes and ears wide open so as not to miss any nuance that, after the transaction, could make our lives difficult for years.

Check the local zoning plan

You have found your dream flat in an excellent area. It is close to the centre, with a lot of green space around, peace and quiet and a few shops. Simply an ideal place to live. But before you sign the deed of sale and spend several hundred thousand PLN, check the local zoning plans (plany zagospodarowania przestrzennego) for that place. It may turn out that what is an oasis of calm at the moment will look nothing like it in a few years, and the green area will be replaced by a shopping centre or more blocks of flats that will limit your flat's access to sunlight.

Doesn't sound encouraging? Don't worry. Local zoning plans for a given area are available to everyone at the municipal office and anyone can read them. Some of these documents are also published on the Internet. By analysing them, you can assess whether any drastic changes are planned on a nearby plot in the coming years. Knowing these plans, you can make an informed decision about buying the property, and changes in the immediate area that appear in the future will not take you by surprise. Besides, such knowledge is also a good argument when agreeing the final price of the flat.

Make sure there are no other occupants

If we intend to buy a flat on the secondary market, we absolutely must make sure there are no unwanted occupants in it. When signing the final sale agreement and the deed transferring ownership at the notary's, the seller is obliged to provide a certificate confirming that nobody is registered as resident at the flat's address. But that is not all, because persons who are not registered there may still live in the flat and, unless they have signed an occasional tenancy agreement (najem okazjonalny), they have no obligation at all to move out when the owner changes. To get rid of them, you will have to go to court and obtain an eviction order. Even then, however, its enforcement is limited. If the property is inhabited by pensioners, people receiving disability pensions, minors, disabled or unemployed persons or a pregnant woman, they cannot be evicted onto the street. Replacement accommodation is necessary, and sometimes you have to wait several years for it. To protect yourself from such unpleasant surprises, it is worth taking protective steps in the form of a document attached to the notarial deed (akt notarialny), clearly stating when the occupant declares that they will leave the flat.

However, unwanted occupants in the form of people are one problem; another matter is insects and rodents of all kinds. They occur even in completely new properties. It is therefore worth carefully inspecting the flat for signs of the presence of cockroaches, moths and even mice or rats. This is particularly important when the block has a rubbish chute, which encourages the spread of unwanted occupants.

These are only the first of the problematic issues that should be checked before buying a flat. You will find more in our next article.