PURCHASE PROCEDURE IN PORTUGAL

Purchase procedure for buying property in Portugal The Portuguese legal system is very different from the British and Irish. However, provided that the appropriate procedures are followed and precautions are taken, buying a property in Portugal is quite safe. First of all choose a reputable estate agent, one used to dealing with international property and one which can provide comprehensive and understandable information about the property you are thinking of buying. This is at the heart of the Prime way of doing business. If you decide to purchase you will sign a simple reservation contract (contrato de reserva) in Portugal, which reserves your property for you.

A reservation contract (contrato de reserva) takes the property off the market for around two to four weeks, during which time your lawyer can make all the necessary checks on the property. You pay a Reservation Deposit of, typically, £2,000/€3,000. After all the necessary checks have been carried out and providing you are satisfied, you then sign the preliminary contract (contrato promessa) and, usually, pay over a deposit of 10% of the price (on a resale property) or a down-payment of, perhaps, 30% (on a new or 'off plan' property). There then usually follows a series of stage payments as the construction process progresses.

Once the property has been finished (or, in the case of a resale property, as soon as everyone is ready to proceed) your lawyer will arrange for payment of the taxes on your behalf and the Final Contract of Sale/Title Deed (escritura) is signed. This is the document transferring the right to ownership to you. (Do resist any pressure for you to sign this document before the licence to occupy the building has been issued.) Once the Deed of Sale (escritura) has been signed, your lawyer will arrange for the taxes due to be paid and for the deed to be registered at the Land Registry. This must be done without delay. In the case of a resale property with no mortgage, the whole process will typically take about 16 weeks.

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