You are planning to buy a house or a piece of land in Portugal. The first step is naturally to properly orientate yourself. Which region appeals to you? What is the climate like and what is actually on the market? Internet is the best place for your first orientation. You will, apart from all kinds of information on Portugal, also find offers from estate agents and private individuals.
Orienting yourself on the options for your ideal home and your ideal house is an adventurous, enjoyable and exciting process. You will, slowly but surely, form an image of what you do, and do not want and make lists of your desires about the location, type of house, accessibility, size and the price.
Experience and test the atmosphere
After all the groundwork, it is time to continue the orientation in Portugal. If you are not too familiar with the region, it is also a good idea to take your time to explore the environment and to have a look at different places.
You make an appointment with Terra dos Rios to go and view your favourite houses. In as far as we had not done that during the orientation phase, we first take the time to get a good idea of what you are looking for. Let’s briefly consider the facts: How many rooms and bathrooms do you want? How many square meters of living space? Only ground floor or more storeys? In or outside of town? These matters are reasonably easily definable. Our experience however teaches that the more emotional aspects are frequently decisive. What gives you the feeling that you have ‘come home’ somewhere? It can be about the light in a house, the smell, the acoustics in a spacious room, the unique location of a house or the architecture. This feeling of ‘coming home´ is more difficult to include in the description of your desires. We really do our best to clarify that with you.
We take you along to the houses or plots you would like to see. You have already formed an idea owing to photos and information. Now it is exciting to experience how the place is in reality.
In an ideal case we will take you to your dream place immediately, but, and here we are honest, in most cases a lot more time is required. After viewing a number of properties you have a nice idea of Portuguese architecture, the layout of the houses and you can get an even better idea of what is required to really make it your place.
Is your wish list still up-to-date? Should something be added or deleted? With our years of experience in the fixed property market, and our knowledge of the options for building, renovation and everything else, when looking to buy in Portugal, we help you further define your desires.
You have found your place?
If you have found your ideal place and have reached an agreement on the price, it is time for the formalities. In the meantime it is also pertinent to enquire, from the municipality, what the zoning plan has to say about your place. Are there plans for changing the infrastructure (constructing roads, drainage pipes, water pipes)?
Especially if you have building plans, we recommend that you go to the municipality to get information on the possibilities. You can obtain this information verbally from a municipal architect, but it is better to submit a written request. You will then receive a written answer from the municipality with an explanation of the possibilities.
Check whether, or not, the information you received from the owner or estate agent, on the zoning plan, is still valid. Government documents frequently have a certain validity period and zoning plans are changed once every five years. Moreover the Government can also, because of critical situations (such as, for example, the forest fires in Portugal), in the short-term, include stipulations in the legislation that have consequences for construction possibilities.
Additional costs
You have reached an agreement with the seller over the price. Apart from this you should, in the purchase transaction, take a number of additional costs into account. You will receive a customised summary if you buy via Terra dos Rios. This includes transfer duty, attorneys’ fees, costs for the draft purchase contract, costs for applying for a tax number, costs for the notary and the title-deed.
Following steps in the purchasing process
– Organise and sign draft purchase contract
– Sign purchase contract
– Register property in your name
In following these steps you have to deal with the Portuguese bureaucracy. It is important to have the support of someone that has the knowledge of matters and whom you can trust. If you buy from an acknowledged estate agent, you may assume that he knows everything about ownership papers of fixed property.
