|
Whether
you are looking to buy or rent property in Portugal either
one can be as stressful as the other. No matter which one
you will choose it is a necessity that you have a Fiscal
number and a residents number as even landlords won't accept
you without it.
You can obtain both of them from the local council offices
and even though you should expect a card to keep in your
wallet you will be waiting a long time for it. There is a
huge backlog with the fiscal number and many people that got
their number a year ago still haven't received their card.
A fiscal number is just like your tax number and you need it
for everything you do. Even if you do something simple like
do a car boot you will still be expected to produce it by
law. For someone from England this will take a while to get
used to but is just one of the things to expect living in
Portugal. It only takes an hour to sort out and is another
thing to cross of your list of to do jobs.
If you want to
buy a house and get a mortgage in Portugal expect to have to
put a minimum deposit of 10% down. Plus you will have to
have worked in Portugal for a year before you will be
allowed one. Unlike with England they are not driven by
money and you will get a wonderful service from them if you
go down this route.
If any of your property details are in Portuguese or you
don't understand them go and visit a solicitor to put your
mind at rest. This will save you signing a contract that you
don't understand that costs you more money later on.
Here are some points you should consider before renting or
buying in Portugal:
When moving to Portugal many people jump straight in and
purchase a property that they have seen at one of these
property exhibitions that they have visited in the UK.
I would advise against this because once you have moved to
Portugal you will come across many private property sales
where you will get a much better deal.
So to start with I would advise that you rent a property
whist you are getting your bearings so to speak. You will
find that there are plenty of short term lets available and
if you are looking to buy a property this kind of thing
should ideally suit your needs.
Make sure that you have a signed lease agreement that
details everything and you will usually find that a months
rent is required in advance with a months rent also required
as deposit.
The easiest way to find a property to rent is to use a
property rental agent but you must be aware that as a rule
you will have to pay a little more. An alternative is to
look in the classified section of any of the English
speaking newspapers and you should be able to come up with
something that suits your needs.
When you are settled you may want to start looking for a
property to purchase but you must make sure that you are
well prepared as the buying system differs somewhat from the
UK.
When buying a property in Portugal it is obviously very
important that you are aware of the correct procedure to
take. When purchasing a property the contract is known as
the contrato de promessa de compra e venda.
|
