Renting a flat

If there is somebody breaking a record in length of property lookout, I believe I would stand a chance of being in among leaders. I set off to search unhurriedly in late 2015, in 2016 I was giving it up on a few times, while considering moving to another European capital as part of secondment and buying a flat after I return, or moving to Wrocław (this involved a promotion I was doomed not to get). There was a time when my housing needs were met by hotels or time of absolute indifference and little hope for the future when I still hunted, but with not much zeal, nor pressure to buy.

Though I have not bought a flat, it does not mean I have not found any which I had been keen to purchase. After my “relationship status” changed for the better, the search accelerated and after somewhat loosening the criteria I have found four flats I was intent to buy. As it turns out, it takes two to tango, which means if a vendor puts up an advertisement, they do not necessarily aim to finalise the deal.

Without going into details, reasons why I am not a flat-owner are as follows:

Flat #1, the sellers wanted to sell their flat, but expected a buyer to let rent it from the new owner until June 2018, when they would be able to move in to their brand-new flat, currently under construction. Since such transaction would not help my housing needs be met, I gave it a rest.

Flat #2, the one which took my fancy the most. I kept a diary of negotiations… I found the ad directly from the owner (actually son-in-law of owners handling the whole stuff) on 18 July and immediately called him. After three calls I saw the flat on 7 August 2017, then once again with my parents on 12 August, then met the owners on 18 August to discuss details of the deal. Since asking price was quite attractive, there was no room for haggling and potential buyers were expected to place bids and the winning bidder would buy the flat. On 25 August the sellers called me to inform they would keep on letting the flat, instead of getting rid of it and maybe they would return to the market in a year.

Flat #3, quite OK rather than dreamt-up, but attractively priced. I was the first one to visit the flat and place a bid. The process kicked off immediately, but while I asked for a set of documents required by a notary to draw up a notarial deed, they turned out to had been missing, since 2001 when there was some mess with the housing co-operative which went bankrupt upon the completion of that estate…

Flat #4, also good enough and well-priced, with little additional outlays required. I carried on with negotiations, arranging a crew of dab hands to turn the bathroom (which needed a thorough refurbrishment) upside down, finally cheerful and putting faith everything was on track, I did not notice the seller was hanging back on arranging a date with a notary. Soon she called me to notify she had sold the flat to someone else.

I picked up that last call on the last week of November. Sadly, I must notice the number of flats put up for sale has dwindled recently and I blame high rent yields (according to the recent NBP report residential rent produces five times higher earnings than an average bank deposit) which induce several property-owners to let their flats instead of selling them. NBP figures which show number of transactions on secondary residential property market diminished from nearly 2,100 in 3Q2016 to 1,100 in 3Q2017 might support my presumptions.

In 2018 I have not a single flat I would wish to visit and the number of new advertisements is close to zero (this could be put down to winter holidays as well).

In the meantime my girlfriend, who rented a room in a flat, despite several attempts had not had her rent contract, which expired on 31 December 2017, renewed. The flat-owner, who lives somewhere in Poland, was too lazy to come to Warsaw and sign the papers, so from the beginning of this month she lived there without an agreement. On top, just before we headed for Norway, her flatmate told she would move out at the end of the month.

We discussed all pros and cons and arrived at the decision we would rent a small flat together and reside there until I buy something reasonable. After returning to Poland two weeks ago we entered a race against time. We knew the rent market in Warsaw is red-hot and any attractively-priced flat draws in a queue of potential tenants. We knew once we found something which would meet our needs, we would need to make a decision swiftly. In the first two flats we visited we made a mistake by being too sincere and declaring we would not promise to rent for at least a year. The prospect of looking for new tenants in a few months has probably put off landlords and our bids were immediately were turned down. There was a story of a cheap flat to be rented for a short period, until a 104-year grandma, who is formally entitled to reside until death there but reside in a nursing home, deceases, but I don’t feel like recounting it. In the fourth flat we lied we would want to rent for at least a year, but insisted on a just-in-case 1-month notice termination option. Out there, we signed the contract within one day and fended off the threat of my girlfriend becoming homeless.

This marks a new stage in the relationship, but still is perceived by me as a temporary solution, a quick fix before my own flat is found. Until this happens, may we dwell the rented one uneventfully.

Since next weekend we head south so that I meet my girlfriend’s parents and in two weeks we head north to get some well-deserved relax, the last before my girlfriend’s exam in mid-May and the subsequent holidays, the next posting will be due around 18 February.