Additional costs when buying an apartment are a small fortune. Be prepared for these expenses

Buying an apartment is a huge expense. Prices on the real estate market are not decreasing, banks require a larger own contribution than before, and the expenses that need to be incurred for finishing the apartment are also increasing. However, this is not the end – before we start finishing, choosing floors or doors, we have to pay the necessary additional fees. And these are considerable – according to estimates, they can range from PLN 10,000. up to PLN 30,000.

Additional costs when purchasing an apartment

When purchasing an apartment, you must take into account additional fees:

• notary fee

• court fee

• VAT from the primary market – 8 percent of the property value

• tax on civil law transactions (PCC) – 2 percent of the property value, applies to premises on the secondary market

• loan cost – individual fee determined by the bank

• excerpt from the land and mortgage register of real estate

• establishing a land and mortgage register

• Court fee

• tax on civil law transactions related to mortgage registration

• real estate insurance

The most expensive additional costs when buying an apartment

The costs that must be incurred to become the owner of an apartment include both higher and lower fees. However, the larger ones can bring you to your knees and reach thousands of zlotys. These include:

Notary

The notary fee is the fee for a notary. It depends on the value of the transaction – the higher the amount of the purchased property, the higher the notary fee. It can reach up to approximately PLN 10,000.

The amount of the notary fee is as follows:

• up to PLN 3,000 – PLN 100,

• over PLN 3,000 up to PLN 10,000 – PLN 100 + 3% on the surplus over PLN 3,000,

• over PLN 10,000 up to PLN 30,000 – PLN 310 + 2% on the surplus over PLN 10,000,

• over PLN 30,000 up to PLN 60,000 – PLN 710 + 1% on the surplus over PLN 30,000,

• over PLN 60,000 up to PLN 1,000,000 – PLN 1,010 +0.4% on the surplus over PLN 60,000,

• over PLN 1,000,000 – PLN 4,770 + 0.2% on the surplus over PLN 1,000,000,

• above PLN 2,000,000 – PLN 6,770 + 0.25% on the surplus above PLN 2,000,000, but not more than PLN 10,000.

VAT

When purchasing real estate from the primary market, you must pay VAT in the amount of 8 percent of the value of the apartment. This is a huge expense, but the good news for buyers is that the tax is added to the price of the apartment. So you don’t have to pay it separately.

Tax on civil law transactions PCC

When purchasing an apartment from the secondary market, you must pay a separate tax of 2 percent of the property value. Assuming that we buy an apartment that costs PLN 500,000, we should pay tax of PLN 10,000. This amount is therefore considerable.

Sometimes it happens that the seller bears the PCC tax (e.g. when he uses the help of an intermediary). It is worth agreeing on this before purchasing the apartment and asking who pays the PCC tax.

However, there is also good news – from September 1, 2023, in accordance with the changes introduced in the Act of May 26, 2023, people who buy their first apartment will not have to pay PCC tax. However, this is only possible if the buyer does not own any other property.

Bank commission for granting a loan

Until recently, people who wanted to take out a mortgage loan but had a lower than required own contribution (e.g. 15 percent, not 20 percent) had to incur additional costs for the loan. They could reach up to PLN 10,000. In this way, the bank charged a fee as a “commission” for granting the loan. The borrower should receive information about additional costs before signing the loan agreement.

Lower additional costs when purchasing an apartment

This is not the end – when purchasing real estate, you have to incur several additional costs. However, they are no longer as high as the previous ones.

Court fees

Further additional expenses are court fees: PLN 200 for an entry in the land and mortgage register, mortgage entry in the land and mortgage register, PLN 100 for establishing a land and mortgage register. The notary may also charge an additional fee for a copy of the real estate land and mortgage register.