You are preparing for your retirement, your transition, but you don’t have the means to fully realize your ambitions. Or maybe this is your first investment and you want to minimize the risks before you do it again, or not. Whatever the case, you will know at the end of this article, everything you need to serenely manage the change and find a cheap house in Portugal.

Summary and explanations

Everyone knows: what counts in real estate is first the location, then the location and finally, the location. What are the most affordable areas in Portugal?

Real estate in Portugal is no exception to the rule, and unsurprisingly, the metropolitan area of Lisbon, the capital, remains the most expensive region in Portugal to buy a home, with each square meter costing around €4,200.

So if you are willing to give up the metropolis in favor of your budget, starting with the Center and Alentejo, the two cheapest areas, as well as the cities Evora, Elvas, Coimbra or Aveiro will be a good start.

Valuable Tips for Negotiating in Portugal

It’s probably a cliché, but don’t hesitate to negotiate the sale price of the property you want. You can consider a negotiation between 1% and 5% depending on the value of the property (% given as an indication).

Another obvious point: if you are taking out a loan, take the time to compare several banks in order to obtain the best proposal. The majority of Portuguese banks grant a loan of more or less 75% of the purchase price for non-residents, after that it also depends, obviously, on the profile and guarantees.

As a search agent, Casa Vergao can search and find for you the ideal property and especially negotiate important price reductions. Casa Vergo only pays itself a percentage of the price reduction obtained.

Scams and Traps to Avoid

Unfortunately, like everywhere else, real estate is a sector that attracts unscrupulous people and Portugal has its share of scams. So before you buy or invest in real estate in Portugal, there are a few precautions you should take.

First, make sure the seller is the owner of the house. The Real Estate Registry can help you find information about the owner of the property you want, the service is not free but worth it.

Also check that the property is not mortgaged or pledged. It is also recommended to find out if the desired property is not rented. For this purpose, it is necessary to go to the Tax Office.

Not only that, but you should also make sure that the property was built in accordance with the legislation and that it is registered on the urban plans, for this, the help of the City Council can be useful.

When buying a property, it is customary in Portugal to transfer all the seller’s debts to the buyer. This is not illegal in itself, but some sellers lie by omission in the hope of subtly getting rid of their arrears, so be careful.

Always taking advantage of naivety, some agents claim that there is a fee for viewing an apartment or house. Of course, this money may not actually be a “viewing fee”, but a “reserve fee”, which in this case is totally legal.

But of course, the agent can take advantage of his interlocutor’s lack of understanding to make him pay for many things: after all, it is easy to make him sign a paper that he only half understands or thinks he understands, whereas certain linguistic subtleties can radically change the meaning of the sentence.

Little “sneaky” trick

Another approach, more pragmatic for those who want to make a deal in stone, is to approach Portuguese banks as well as notaries and bailiffs, not to ask for a loan, but to identify homes that are subject to foreclosure.

Indeed, if the property has been seized by the Portuguese bank, you can be financed at 100%. In the opposite case, you will need to raise an average of 20 to 25% of contribution. A less conventional and more rational method, of course, but who knows: you may find your favorite property at a lower price!

Conclusion

Let’s hope that this summary has shown you that when it comes to finding a cheap house in Portugal, the possibilities of the French Eldorado are numerous and some of them can even be combined. Which of these will you use to buy your future home? Tell us all in the comments.