10 Tips on Buying Property in Portugal

QUARTEIRA, Portugal - Aug. 25, 2017 - PRLog -- 1 - Financing your property purchase.
The exchange rate has dropped by 20%, but there are two possible ways to combat this. Firstly, find a property that has been sold by someone from the UK and agree to a price in sterling, this way you are not subject to making your purchase in euros. Secondly, take a mortgage out in Portugal, interest rates are at an all-time low (1.75%) and can be fixed for up to 35 years.

2 - Location, Location...
If you choose the Algarve, there are over 90 daily flights in the summer and over 60 in the winter, compared to Lisbon where there are just 8 flights a day. This is important if looking at investing with rental income in mind. The Algarve is well established for short term rentals, where as Lisbon is more long term rentals.

3 - Investor residency & tax liability.
The Portuguese Non-Habitual Residency Programme - enables those who become tax residents in Portugal, and are accepted under the NHR, the opportunity to receive qualifying income tax free, both in Portugal and in the country of where the income is sourced. Qualifying incomes include pension, dividend, royalty and interest income.

4 - New build or resale?
The benefits of a new property are that it will have a high build standard and will come with a 5 year guarantee. The downside of buying new is sometimes the locations are not as favourable, and you may pay a high premium (E.g. currently 2 bedroom apartments on the beach in Porto do Mós are over 300,000€, but in town you can find resales for 200,000€, usually needing restoration and may not come with a pool).

5 - Healthy retirement plan.
There are so many reasons to retire in the Algarve. The weather, the quality of life, the low cost of living, beaches, up to 10 years tax free on your pension, and many more… Then there are the reasons not to; miss the family, fear of change and the unknown, health care, what if it all goes wrong? These are all valid questions that should be considered when moving, particularly when contemplating retirement. If however, you are well informed to make a decision that feels right for you, then there needs to be the question of - how wonderful could life be if it goes right?!

Retirement in the Algarve offers peace and serenity, but it also provides a plethora of opportunities for a healthy and active retirement with year round events, sports, entertainment, socialising and ways to stay young at heart regardless of your age.

6 - What's hard and what's easy?
Cars - the biggest shock I had when moving across was how expensive cars are to buy in Portugal compared to the UK. One way around this is to bring your own, you are allowed one free car plate change when you become a resident.

Shopping - on arriving it's fun finding local shopping centres, but after a while you may miss your favourites from home. I order online from Amazon, Next and Asda, these are shipped to the Algarve Freight Center in the UK, they provide a weekly delivery service and I pick up from their local collection centre in Almancil.

7 - Social life.
Expect a few changes. Firstly, everyone eats much later in Portugal, it's also a very social culture, so expect to go out more often. Food is very important to the Portuguese and 'prato do dia' (plate of the day) is served almost everywhere. Popular dishes like grilled fish and Portuguese piri piri chicken, salad and chips can often be found for 5€ / 6€. Wine selection is vast and of good quality. Both beer and wine are enjoyed reasonably, a good bottle of wine can start at 5€, a beer for 2€. Coffee is a ritual and of excellent quality, a 'Bica' (expresso) will cost approximately 1€.

8 - Rental income.
Holidays - important to keep in mind if you will be occupying your property during busy periods; summer season, school holidays, etc. you may lose out on prime bookings. Planning around these times will help increase your bookings.

Pool - the number one request of holiday makers is a pool, so when investing to rent keep this in mind, and when advertising your property this should be the key feature of your advert.

Location - a property close to the beach or with a sea view, you will command a higher fee and gain more booking weeks in a calendar year.

9 - Where to research.
Becoming informed is key. Talk to as many people and companies possible to get the information you need. A great TV program to watch is A Place in the Sun, on Channel 4, and More 4. They also have a website to view properties online and a great hot tip is to contact them directly, nothing beats having an informative chat.

10 - Best way to view properties.
The only way to get a real feel for the properties and locations that interest you is to be on the ground in Portugal, so book a flight! Skyscanner.com saves you time and finds the best flights to suit. Next, choosing a real estate agent, on this subject I own Ideal Homes Portugal and started this company 8 years ago. i wanted to create a company that helped clients find their ideal property and had excellent services. My goal is to keep clients for life so ensuring they are confident in their investments and that they have the support they need to buy in Portugal is key to what we do.

Need more info? We're here to help. Get in touch!

Chris White
CEO, Ideal Homes
www.idealhomesportugal.com
(00351) 289 513 434 | 0800 133 7644