You Are Buying an Apartment. The Bank Bought a Problem. What an Analyst Checks in a Property Before Looking at Your Earnings.

Most people preparing for a mortgage focus on themselves — on earnings, BIK history, down payment. Logical. Meanwhile, the bank also evaluates the other side of the transaction — the property you want to buy. And it can say no regardless of how great your financial situation is.

The down payment is already paid. The date with the notary is set. And the bank says no — because the apartment has a problem you had no idea about.

Land and Mortgage Register — what is it and how to check it online?

The Land and Mortgage Register (KW) is the basic legal document of a property — its "ID card." It contains information about the owner, encumbrances, mortgages, and third-party rights. The bank checks it first — before even looking at your earnings.

How to check a land and mortgage register online? The Ministry of Justice provides a free portal, Electronic Land and Mortgage Registers, at ekw.ms.gov.pl. You just need the KW number — the seller is obliged to give it to you. The number looks like this: WR1K/00123456/7 (court code / proper number / check digit).

You can do it in 2 minutes, without leaving home, without a lawyer, and without fees. Do it before you pay the down payment.

What does the bank check in the land and mortgage register? Whether the register exists and can be established. Who the owner is and if the data matches. Whether there are mortgages of other creditors. Whether there are any ongoing proceedings. Whether there are any third-party claims.

Beautiful apartment. In the land and mortgage register: commercial premises.

You are buying a place that looks like a premium apartment — living room, bedroom, terrace, high standard. And suddenly the bank analyst opens section I-O of the land and mortgage register and sees: "commercial premises" or "non-residential premises."

This is not a mistake. It is a legal fact that changes everything.

For the bank, commercial premises are commercial property — not an apartment. And that means different lending rules, a higher required down payment — often 30-40% instead of the standard 10-20% — higher margins, and a shorter loan period. In many banks, the application is rejected automatically.

Commercial premises and VAT: when buying a classic apartment from a developer, you pay 8% VAT. In the case of commercial premises — for example, an aparthotel or condohotel — the rate is 23%. On a property for 600,000 PLN, that's a difference of 90,000 PLN. Check the purpose of the premises before you sign a preliminary agreement.

The owner is dead. And still listed in the register.

The seller inherited the apartment from a parent. Everything looks honest — good price, well-kept apartment, pleasant person. You shake hands and pay the down payment. The analyst opens the land and mortgage register and sees a name that does not match the seller. The previous owner — parent, grandparent — was never formally removed. Inheritance proceedings were not carried out or were not disclosed in the register. The bank will not accept such a transaction. The mortgage is entered for the actual, legal owner — if the owner in the register does not match the seller, the bank has no basis to disburse the funds. The legal status must be absolutely unambiguous. A similar situation applies to donations with a personal servitude reservation, division of property after divorce without a final ruling, and properties with third-party claims. Any ambiguity = suspension of the decision or rejection.

Renovation without permits. An appraiser will find it.

The previous owner was a handyman. He demolished a wall between the room and the kitchen, added a mezzanine, moved the bathroom. Everything looks great — until an appraiser arrives. The bank sends a licensed property appraiser who prepares an appraisal report — a property valuation. The appraiser compares the actual state with the documentation. If the layout of the rooms does not match the documents, the area in the register differs from the actual one, or there are traces of alterations without administrative decisions — the bank suspends the decision for clarification or rejects it. Also problematic are: interference with load-bearing walls, adaptation of common parts of the building, changing the way rooms are used without appropriate permits. Each of these situations is a legal risk for the bank that it doesn't want to take.

Property valuation vs. sale price — when the appraiser values lower

This is one of the most common and most surprising problems. You agree with the seller on 500,000 PLN. You prepare a 20% down payment — 100,000 PLN. Loan: 400,000 PLN. Everything matches. The bank sends an appraiser. The appraisal report — i.e., the property valuation — comes out at 480,000 PLN, not 500,000 PLN. What does this mean in practice? The bank will only grant a loan up to the value in the report. The property value and the loan amount are strictly linked — the bank calculates LTV (loan-to-value ratio) from the valuation amount, not from the transaction price. With a valuation of 480,000 PLN and a loan of 400,000 PLN, your effective down payment drops below 20%. You have two options: accept worse loan terms with a higher margin, or pay the missing 20,000 PLN out of your own pocket and reduce the loan to 380,000 PLN. What the appraiser does not value: apartment furnishings, household appliances and electronics, or arrangements between you and the seller like "freshen up the apartment before moving in." They value the walls and the location. Any contractual value added to the transaction price has no impact on the report.

Loan rejection and down payment — can it be recovered?

This is a question everyone who got a rejection after paying a down payment asks. The answer depends on the content of the preliminary agreement. If the preliminary agreement had a provision about the condition of obtaining a loan — the bank's rejection gives you the right to withdraw from the contract and get the down payment back. If there was no such provision — the seller can keep the down payment. That's why it's so important to check the property before signing the preliminary agreement and paying the down payment — not after. Problems with the land and mortgage register, the purpose of the premises, or the legal status of the owner are detectable before you sign anything.

Mortgage of another creditor and lack of consent from a co-owner

Two situations that automatically block the loan regardless of your financial situation. First: the land and mortgage register contains a mortgage of another entity that cannot be deleted before the transaction. The bank must have mortgage priority — i.e., be first on the list of creditors if the property were to be sold at a forced auction. If someone is ahead of it in line and doesn't agree to step down — there will be no loan. Second: the property has several co-owners and one of them does not consent to encumbering it with a mortgage. The bank will not enter a mortgage without the consent of all co-owners. No mortgage — no loan.

Check the property before you pay the down payment. Problems with the land and mortgage register, purpose of the premises, valuation, or legal status of the owner — these are things detectable before signing a contract. A credit advisor from NaszEkspert.pl knows what an analyst looks at and will warn you before it's too late. Free consultation. Zero obligations.