This is a simple insight of the crucial steps of the process of buying a property in Portugal.

1. Research:

This is the most important step of all.

I normally use the expression "buying a house is not the same that buying a pair of shoes" so the research on where, what, when, who, etc... assumes a special role in the process of buying a property.

Research on:

a) The country you want to buy and the various factors such as: the language, the gastronomy, the climate, the currency used, the distance from your home land, the social climate and other relevant information you should consider;

b) The location within the country you choosen as destination, search if the area is friendly, if it supplies cultural & social events, if there is a expat community, if it is close to all services and amenities, the distance to the nearest airport that serves you country with regular flights, and others...

c) The type of property you want to buy: Land, Villa, Apartment - finished on off-plan.... adjust this to your budget and the life style you want to have or the reason why you are buying abroad.

d) The possibility of organizing a mortgage in Portugal; The rates in Portugal are lower than the majority of countries in Europe and the process is quite straight forward. Learn more about this here.

2. Visiting the area:

The better your research is, the easiest it will be to find where you want to buy and the more confident you will be on giving the next step.

It is important that before you decide to buy you visit the property the numbers of times you need to identify yourself to the area you've chosen.

3. Visiting properties and agents

Agents: Select a good agent, one that is in the market for some years and that has experience. Ask the expat community about them. Ensure they are not an simply an online agent, that they have a phisical office and staff members, check if the are registered (ask for their AMI number and ensure it is not a fake one!), see if the information they provide is accurate and if they provide answers to all questions you may have.

Try more than one agent and compare their service, but don't go thru several agents as you will not have time to understand which is best.

Properties: Select a list of properties, take your time visiting them. If your decision is over two diferent properties repeat the visit so that you can see on your second (or third) visit details you haven't noticed initialy.

In Portugal, the same property is often listed in a large number of agents, so if you found the right agent but the property you wanted to see is listed with another agent, show the agent you've chosen the properties you found on your research and you can be sure they will be able to show it to you.

In a market like the Silver Coast a good agent will have access to a particular property in a glance.

4. Making an offer

After you decided which property you want to buy and that the agent has clarified any doubt you may have, it is time to put an offer. It is important you ask the agent what kind of values you should offer so that you don't loose the oportunity of offering less than you would or that you don't make such a low offer that is ofensive to the vendor.

Please notice that in Portugal when you put an offer the buyer expects to also know:

a) How long you will take to be ready to complete (pay the total of the purchase price);

b) How much will be your deposit?

c) When will you pay the deposit?

Important note: In Portugal once you put an offer the vendor expects to receive the deposit within 3 to 10 days after it is accepted. Only after the deposit is paid the property will be removed from the marketing channels and other Agents listings.

5. Paying a Deposit / Sale Agreement Contract

After your offer is accepted and that you selected a solicitor/lawyer to represent you and make all searches on the property, he will then prepare a Sale Agreement Contract which explains all details of the deal such as:

a) Price & Deposit Paid;

b) Time frame for completion;

c) Finishing List or List of Items included in the deal,

d) Clauses that you agree to put in the contract;

e) Details of the property, the vendor & off course the buyer;

Important note: This contract legally binds both parties to the deal, and gives rights and obligations to each such as:

- If the vendor decides to change his mind on the deal you will be entitled to get the deposit paid back in double;

- If the buyer gives up of the deal or delayed for completion then will entitled to loose the property and deposit that was paid;

Important note 2: This is a good moment for you to contact our Currency Exchange partner that will allow to save you a large amount of money. Learn more about Currency Exchange here.

6. Title Deeds

On the date agreed for completion the Lawer/Solicitor will schedule the signing of the final deeds, on a Public Notary, when the total amount is paid to the vendor and the keys are handled.

In the same day the property is fully registered in your name and there is no risk of loosing it.

Congratulations you are now the owner of a property in Portugal!

7. Connecting the utilities / Getting a house insurance / Changing the door locks / Furniture / Gardening / Handy man / Others

After the property is yours there are more things you will need to be sorted, please feel free to ask us and we will be happy to help you.

Our sister company, Black Cove that handles all these kind of services

Original text by Richard @ TOPcasas Silver Coast Estate Agents

This information is provided as guidelines only and is no substitute for proper legal advice. TOPcasas Estate Agents accepts no liability for any mistakes or omissions herein and subsequent issues.