How to buy a property in Portugal- The Process
So, buying in Portugal, The Process......
Firstly before you can even offer on any property in Portugal you need to obtain a tax number (NIF) which is relatively straightforward. These are obtained by the local financas office (Tax office). These are in many local towns and its relatively straightforward for a small fee. Once you have this you can open a bank account.
https://www.idealista.pt/en/news/legal-advice-portugal/2018/06/22/114-how-get-your-nif-number-portugal
Then you need a lawyer. We used Cristina Marcelino based in Lagos. She had good reviews online and offered a free 30 min consultation.
https://lawyeralgarve.com
We were confident that she would be professional and thorough. As we were overseas we did a power of attorney so that she could act on our behalf.
Then you need a Bank Account. Again there is many options , we chose Millennium. Millennium operate in many European countries and have many branches in Portugal. Most Banks charge a small monthly fee for banking eg 5-10 euros. Millennium have a online banking app (in English) and you can have all your statements sent to your UK address in English.
https://ind.millenniumbcp.pt/en/Particulares/Contas/Pages/Conta-Millennium.aspx
So once you have all these you are good to make offers on properties. Once we had our offer accepted Cristina did all the relevant checks on the house, The house is old (1800's) so therefore it automatically had a habitation license. All the other checks were ok. However the house came with two deeds, one for the house and outbuildings and one for the field. The field is classed as Rustic land, you can't do much with this apart from grow Fruit, Veg or have some animals. Historic laws in Portugal state that if rustic land is sold first refusal had to go to all the neighbours, Again Cristina managed this.
It was the time to pay the deposit and sign the promissory contract. The promissory contract is a legally binding commitment to buy and also a commitment for the vendor to sell. The buyer (us) paid a deposit (usually around 10%). If either party decides to pull out after this then the deposit is lost, if the vendor pulls out they have to pay the buyer the equivalent amount. Cristina drafted this in both Portuguese and English so we could understand and took care of all the monies once we had transferred it to her.
Once this has been complete its just a matter of waiting for your date at the notary office and sending over your funds. We transferred the rest of the funds to Cristina and she booked us a date and time at the notary.
One the day of the signing you attend the notary office with your Lawyer (in our case Cristina) the vendor attends with all the deeds and the keys, Cristina had two cheques , one for the vendor and one for the estate agent ( also present), you sign for the property and that's it. We were booked in at Lagoa notary office (Cartorio Notorial Teresa Frias 8400-384 , +351 282 381 291) on 27th June 2019 at 3pm.
Much easier than buying in the UK the process to 8 weeks from start to finish. , I would suggest getting a good lawyer though.
Cristina charges based on the amount of work involved and the cost of the property. for us it was fairly straightforward. Cristina cost around £4000 and for that she also did a Portuguese will (very important) and also sorted the electricity connection with EDP (electricity supplier). She was worth every penny.
Photo: The day before the final deed at Monchique Resort & Spa.
Photo: at the final deed.
Firstly before you can even offer on any property in Portugal you need to obtain a tax number (NIF) which is relatively straightforward. These are obtained by the local financas office (Tax office). These are in many local towns and its relatively straightforward for a small fee. Once you have this you can open a bank account.
https://www.idealista.pt/en/news/legal-advice-portugal/2018/06/22/114-how-get-your-nif-number-portugal
Then you need a lawyer. We used Cristina Marcelino based in Lagos. She had good reviews online and offered a free 30 min consultation.
https://lawyeralgarve.com
We were confident that she would be professional and thorough. As we were overseas we did a power of attorney so that she could act on our behalf.
Then you need a Bank Account. Again there is many options , we chose Millennium. Millennium operate in many European countries and have many branches in Portugal. Most Banks charge a small monthly fee for banking eg 5-10 euros. Millennium have a online banking app (in English) and you can have all your statements sent to your UK address in English.
https://ind.millenniumbcp.pt/en/Particulares/Contas/Pages/Conta-Millennium.aspx
So once you have all these you are good to make offers on properties. Once we had our offer accepted Cristina did all the relevant checks on the house, The house is old (1800's) so therefore it automatically had a habitation license. All the other checks were ok. However the house came with two deeds, one for the house and outbuildings and one for the field. The field is classed as Rustic land, you can't do much with this apart from grow Fruit, Veg or have some animals. Historic laws in Portugal state that if rustic land is sold first refusal had to go to all the neighbours, Again Cristina managed this.
It was the time to pay the deposit and sign the promissory contract. The promissory contract is a legally binding commitment to buy and also a commitment for the vendor to sell. The buyer (us) paid a deposit (usually around 10%). If either party decides to pull out after this then the deposit is lost, if the vendor pulls out they have to pay the buyer the equivalent amount. Cristina drafted this in both Portuguese and English so we could understand and took care of all the monies once we had transferred it to her.
Once this has been complete its just a matter of waiting for your date at the notary office and sending over your funds. We transferred the rest of the funds to Cristina and she booked us a date and time at the notary.
One the day of the signing you attend the notary office with your Lawyer (in our case Cristina) the vendor attends with all the deeds and the keys, Cristina had two cheques , one for the vendor and one for the estate agent ( also present), you sign for the property and that's it. We were booked in at Lagoa notary office (Cartorio Notorial Teresa Frias 8400-384 , +351 282 381 291) on 27th June 2019 at 3pm.
Much easier than buying in the UK the process to 8 weeks from start to finish. , I would suggest getting a good lawyer though.
Cristina charges based on the amount of work involved and the cost of the property. for us it was fairly straightforward. Cristina cost around £4000 and for that she also did a Portuguese will (very important) and also sorted the electricity connection with EDP (electricity supplier). She was worth every penny.
Photo: The day before the final deed at Monchique Resort & Spa.
Photo: at the final deed.
Comments
Post a Comment