|
While modern city apartments attract many buyers in Poland, savvy investors find old-fashioned heritage houses just as enticing. Words by Oliver Bennett
THE INVESTORS CROWDING into Poland's property market tend to congregate around the new-build apartment blocks that have sprung up in the cities.
But there is a more interesting side to Poland's property stock: its historic buildings. These are relatively plentiful; indeed, Poland has a large number of country houses, many of which were once second homes for the aristocracy. The poorer rural Poles lived in log cabins, usually one-storey bungalows, many of which can be seen in the countryside - indeed, some urban Poles use these as weekend retreats. And there are historic townhouses, too: often gorgeous pastel-coloured terraces with quaint dormer windows.
Prices can be attractive for these historic homes. While prices in Poland have risen, leading some to conclude that significant yields are no longer possible in urban new-builds, Zig Romanowski, of the property portal Property in Poland, says that historic properties are appreciating at about 10-20% a year.
"We're finding a lot of business interest in them for use as hotels and wedding venues," he says. "In places like Lower Silesia, you can find properties that are very cheap - as little as 150,000 zloty (?43,000) in some cases." Those properties with access to ski areas will be of particular interest, as will those nearer to tourist towns.
"It could make a good business decision to buy one," adds Romanowski. "There aren't that many left on the market, and they'll bring about 10-15% more turnover if you install a business in
one, than in a modern building." Plus, if you play your cards right, you might be able to get a European Union subsidy for renovation work - and they might also be free of the local property tax.
Michael Clay of Polish specialist DKM Real Estate says that while the bigger country houses are often somewhat isolated, it's worth watching out also for the historic town houses. "You've got to be aware that many of the historic palaces are in the middle of nowhere, while town houses are being snapped up, often for commercial purposes," he says. This view is supported by Tim Hill, author of Buying Property in Poland and operations director of Polish real estate company Mamdom. "As Poland was wealthy in the past there are significant numbers of purpose-built old apartments with period features and high ceilings," says Hill. "Many have been snapped already and the idea of converting them into apartments is catching on."
The cachet in having an "antique" home is growing in Poland. The historic towns of Krakow - the country's main tourism destination - and Gdansk have for some years attracted buyers for their lovely old houses, and prices are relatively high.
But the more up-and-coming cities have historic centres filled with old properties where, Clay says, one can get a 50m2 apartment for about ?180,000 - and if you are prepared to be a bit of a pioneer into less discovered areas, perhaps as little as ?60,000. Some are buying historic town houses for non-residential purposes. "You find that some have retained their historic façades, but that behind them, they are entirely modern," says Clay.
 During the Socialist era, some older homes became the property of the state: indeed, some may still be owned by the Polish government. Others were lived in reluctantly. As Hill says, "at the end of the WWII period, properties were given over to the very poor, so the general population couldn't wait to get into properties with double glazing." Perhaps this explains why contemporary Poles returning to their country tend to prefer new-build and 20th-century housing. "As far as I can see, the Poles, including the ones that have returned to their home country after working abroad, tend to favour new homes," says Clay. "However, I've seen some of them opting for loft-style apartments in converted factories and warehouses."
Yet there's no denying that many of the heritage properties in Poland are exquisite, and several buyers - often with Polish connections - have bought into the country's big country houses, commonly known as "palaces", and generally dating from the 18th century. These grand old piles may have anything from 10 rooms upwards, and they offer the committed restorer a real project.
But there are several caveats to observe. Firstly, the bargains may not be there any longer. "It's much more difficult to find the big dilapidated places that go cheap," says Romanowski. Also, adds Clay, the tendency for such places to be called "palaces" shouldn't necessarily suggest any aristocratic connection. "They are often large country houses and mansions rather than palaces as others might understand them."
Clay adds that the sellers are often private families who have over-expectations of the prices that such houses can attain. "From my perspective, I'm not aware of any real bargains in heritage properties," he says. "Which isn't to say that they don't come up - they might just require a bit of digging."
Most importantly, the purchaser of a historic house might be in for a bureaucratic wrangle. As Romanowski explains, there are two classes of period building: listed and registered. "If it's the latter, you can mostly do what you want to them," he says. "If the former, you have to apply." And the application, needless to say, might take a rather long time to process.
So go in with your eyes open. "You've got to tread very carefully with this type of property and have an experienced legal professional inspect all the documentation, as well as what the categorisation of protection actually means," says Hill. "Some are so strict that you are only allowed, for example, to install or repair the original windows." Not only might renovation be expensive; it also might be necessary to use a certified historic renovator.
Then there's also the problem of planning law, which might designate some period properties as being on agricultural land and therefore unobtainable. The law is due to change next year, says Romanowski, who is expecting a wave of interest from buyers to coincide with this change. By 2016, it should be fully liberalised.
So, many investors won't want to wait that long. But as Romanowski says, "in general prices are better than they are in most of Western Europe. Be prepared to be patient, and you could own a fantastic piece of Polish heritage."
ADDRESS BOOK
An estate agent specializing in historic houses is dolana.pl Property in Poland, www.property-in-poland.biz DKM real estate, www.dkm-poland.com Mamdom real estate, www.mamdom.com
Na polskim rynku nieruchomości zainteresowanie inwestorów skupia sie g3ównie wokó3 nowoczesnych wielkomiejskich apartamentowców. Ale rynek ten ma te? swoje ciekawsze strony - zabytkowe domy, dwory i pa3ace.
Jest ich tu sporo; zw3aszcza na wsi, ale równie? w miastach. Ich ceny s1 ca3kiem atrakcyjne. Podczas gdy w przypadku nowych nieruchomości trudno obecnie o spektakularny zysk, to je?eli chodzi o budynki historyczne - zysk ten mo?e osi1gaa poziom 10-20% w skali roku. Na Dolnym Śl1sku stare domy mo?na znaleźa ju? za 150.000 z3.
Decyduj1c sie na zakup takiej nieruchomości, przy dobrym rozegraniu kart, mo?na otrzymaa dotacje Unii Europejskiej, pokrywaj1cej koszty renowacji.
Coraz wieksze zainteresowanie wzbudzaj1 "antyczne" nieruchomości miejskie. W wielu miastach, takich jak historyczny Kraków czy Gdansk, ceny s1 stosunkowo wysokie. Ale w historycznych centrach mniej znanych miast inwestorzy myśl1cy bardziej perspektywicznie mog1 kupia apartament o powierzchni 50 m2 ju? za ?60.000. Niekoniecznie z przeznaczeniem na cele mieszkalne.
Pod II wojnie światowej wielkie nieruchmości przesz3y na w3asnośa skarbu panstwa z przeznaczeniem na lokum dla ubogich. Ludzie z niecierpliwości1 czekali wiec na nowe mieszkania. Mo?e to t3umaczy fakt, dlaczego powracaj1cy do kraju Polacy zdaj1 sie preferowaa nowe domy i mieszkania. Pozostaje faktem, ?e w Polsce wiele jest wspania3ych historycznych nieruchomości, spośród ktorych sporo znalaz3o ju? kupców. Du?e domy, pochodz1ce g3ównie z XVIII wieku, popularnie nazywane s1 "pa3acami", choa nie zawsze nale?a3y do arystokracji. Czesto s1 to raczej du?e dwory ni? pa3ace w powszechnym rozumieniu tego s3owa.
Choa w przypadku nieruchomości wpisanych do rejestru zabytków do pokonania jest wiele przeszkód biurokratycznych, agenci nieruchomości uspokajaj1, ?e polskie prawo budowlane ulegnie wkrótce liberalizacji.
|
