A safe 2% loan in the “First Apartment” program. What do you need to know about it?

At the beginning of July 2023, a program was launched, prepared by the government for people under 45 who want to buy their first real estate. The premise of the “First Apartment” program is government support for singles, couples with children and married couples in fulfilling their dream of owning their own apartment.

The program consists of two pillars: a safe 2% loan and Konto Mieszkaniowe, which is to facilitate saving money for the purchase of your first apartment. Waldemar Buda, Minister of Development and Technology, informed that by July 28, over 18,000 applications for preferential loans had been submitted to banks.

The “First Apartment” program is a solution worth using, recommended by independent experts. What is worth knowing about a 2% loan and what conditions must be met to take it? Let’s check.

Secure credit 2% rules

The rules of a safe 2% loan are simple. The subsidy to the housing loan installments is the difference between the fixed rate determined on the basis of the average interest rate on loans with a fixed rate at lending banks, less a margin, and the loan interest rate of 2%.

The loan under the “First Apartment” can be used for an apartment or a single-family house both on the primary and secondary market. The maximum loan amount is PLN 500,000, and in the case of a household run jointly by spouses or when the household includes at least one child – up to PLN 600,000. Subsidies to loan installments are provided for 10 years.

Importantly, the borrower is free when it comes to the standard and location of the apartment – when buying, there will be no price limit of 1 m2, even if it is combined with the “Apartment without own contribution” program. You can apply for a safe 2% loan until 2027 (extension is possible).

The risk of an increase in the installment after the period of subsidies is minimized, which translates into an improvement in creditworthiness.

Loan under the “First Apartment”. What conditions must be met?

The “First Apartment” program has been designed in such a way as to facilitate one of the most important investments and make it much safer and more comfortable. However, it is worth knowing that – as in the case of other loans – a safe 2% loan also requires creditworthiness. The list of banks with credit agreements signed with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego is available on the BGK website. It is constantly updated.

When calculating the capacity of potential borrowers, banks are obliged to follow the guidelines contained in Recommendation S of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. However, there is good news for people who are considering taking a safe 2% loan: recently, the KNF decided to loosen the rules indicated in this recommendation. As a result, it increased the ability of many Poles to take out a safe 2% loan on preferential terms and lowered the threshold for entering the product.

What other conditions must be met to be able to apply for a safe 2% loan? The limit is age: you must be no more than 45 years old. If the loan is granted to spouses or parents of at least one common child, the age condition will have to be met by at least one of them.

You also cannot own a flat, a house or a cooperative right to a flat or a house (now or in the past), and this condition must be met by all persons in the household of the potential borrower.

What else is worth knowing about a two percent loan?

A safe 2% loan is granted for a minimum of 15 years, in accordance with the system of decreasing installments and a fixed interest rate. The government subsidy is granted for a period of 10 years. After this time, the borrower is obliged to repay full installments in the annuity system (fixed installments and variable interest rate).

Anyone who plans to take advantage of the safe 2% loan offer for the purchase of the first apartment must choose the appropriate bank and submit an appropriate application. The exact procedure depends on the internal policy of a particular institution – before deciding to take out a loan, it is worth checking the offers of various banks.

Q&A, as a set of frequently asked questions and answers, can be found on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Tourism https://www.gov.pl/web/mieszkanie-dla-ciebie/program-prezent-mieszkanie. This material is constantly updated.

The list of banks participating in the “First Apartment” program is available at https://www.bgk.pl/programy-i-fundusze/programy/świadcze-mieszkanie/bezpieczny-credit-2/#c28119