Poles are buying houses in Belarus — wondering if a European pension will be enough for life, and rejoicing at the ridiculous expenses
Polish TikToks featuring Belarusian houses are gaining thousands of views, and specialized agencies are selling houses for every taste all over Belarus. What's happening?
Screenshots: Biuro N. Zakazane Państwo / TikTok
Recently, a video from the Polish real estate agency Zakazane Państwo went viral on TikTok. In the video, which garnered 128 thousand views, potential buyers are shown a small house near the town of Varapayeva in the Pastavy district of the Vitebsk region. The wooden house is priced at about 1300 dollars.
The house in question requires renovation. Even agency representatives admit this — the exterior walls need to be painted and the windows repaired. However, judging by the comments, the price of the house tempts some Poles:
“Maybe I'll buy myself such a small house for retirement. I know Russian, after nine years of study something remained in my head from that language. Silence and peace.”
“Like in Podlasie.”
Of course, there are also those who doubt. They ask the agency representatives how Belarusians feel about Poles and if it wouldn't be difficult for Poles to buy such a house with land in Belarus.
The agency also offers houses in other parts of Belarus: on their page, you can find videos, for example, from near Smarhon, from the village of Zahorye in the Smalyavichy district, and near Narach. A random commenter asks under one of the videos: does anyone really buy a house in Belarus? And he is explained: you would be surprised if you knew how many Poles are there.
“I'm researching the topic. Definitely a perpetual lease, 99 years — that's enough for me. The possibility of selling after five years, I don't know yet about buying out into ownership.
I will [buy] this year, acquaintances have already bought. Maintenance costs are ridiculous for us. For example, gas for heating — about 20 groszy per cubic meter (approximately 16 kopecks — NN),” — writes one of the Poles in the comments.
Perpetual lease concerns the land on which houses stand. Foreigners can buy houses in Belarus, but not land — for that, they will need to arrange the same perpetual lease for 99 years. There is also an exception: a foreigner can inherit land in Belarus.
Judging by the comments on TikToks, Poles also consider Belarus a place to live in retirement. One user clarifies if a pension of 1200 euros would be enough for her to live in Belarus. She is reassured:
“In general, you will spend a maximum of 400-450 euros out of 1200, and still be able to ride taxis. With the rest, you will fly to Turkey for two weeks every six months.”
In one of the comments, the agency explains that Poles have bought nine houses in Belarus through them.
There are other platforms that sell Poles their Belarusian dream. For example, on Domaza you can find apartments and houses, mostly in Minsk and its satellite towns. The cheapest option is a house in the village of Lashany, in the Minsk district, for which Poles would have to pay about 39 thousand dollars.
The Rielt platform offers a small guide on how Poles can choose real estate in Belarus. According to it, the cheapest houses, starting from 20 thousand dollars, can be found in remote areas of the Vitebsk region, but they will require renovation. In the Mogilev and Gomel regions, houses, Poles write, cost 30-50 thousand dollars, but in those regions there is little work and poor infrastructure.
If there is money, the guide's authors advise considering houses in the Minsk district, especially in Barauliany, Zhdanovichy, and Ratamka — saying that there's good infrastructure and it's a good option for those working in Minsk. You can also choose the Dzyarzhynsk, Lahoysk, or Zaslawye districts, where nature is better, or the Brest or Grodno regions, which are close to Poland.