Selling Property in Portugal

Having listed many different types of properties in the Algarve and met many different kinds of owners, at Diamond we never cease to be amazed by the charm of both the properties and their owners.  Diamond staff have a real passion for meeting people, enjoying viewing lovely homes, selling owners homes to enable them to move on to the next chapter of their lives, finding buyers their dream homes, and living in the Algarve, our dream job in the sun.

Diamond offer advice to help prepare property owners for selling their property, whether it is a little house keeping preparation before hand, advice about papers required to help prevent any unnecessary delays or help considering the right price to ultimately sell your property.

Diamond are fully licensed with the Portuguese government. We are a family run, independent business and have a charming shop in the traditional village of Boliqueime where you can meet the staff, have a private conversation about selling your property and where buyers come to view the properties available at their leisure.

We do not get paid until we sell your property, what better incentive can we get to make us do our best to sell your property for you.  Some agents get paid just for listing your property and charge 7% commission, we do not receive any payments for listing your property and we offer a competitive commission of a maximum of 5% but we can offer less commission such as if you sign an exclusive agent contract, this controls the number of people having keys or access to your home and you will not be hassled by lots of different agents calling and can simply refer them to your exclusive agent.  Once we have established that your property is legal, that you are the legal owner and you have settled on an asking price, and have copies of all the required documents then we can prepare a sales contract for you to sign, from 6 to 12 months and we can visit your property and proceed with marketing your property for sale.

There are many companies advertising properties for sale on the internet and newspapers in the Algarve that charge owners in advance just for advertising their properties, do not offer a shop for you or your buyers for that personal service, do not telephone buyers looking for properties like yours, their office is miles away from your property.  Furthermore you are expected to deal with your own paperwork, own photographs, descriptions, selling price, negotiation and undertake buyer viewings alone without basic checks and this is especially difficult if you are living in the UK trying to sell your property in the Algarve.  Many of these companies are not insured and not registered to sell property.

With Diamond Properties you can rest assured you are dealing with a company that is long established and registered to sell properties, we can safely and securely retain your property keys, prepare your villa for viewings, escort viewers and secure your property upon departure.  We do not charge for advertising your property on the internet, newspapers and magazines or anywhere.  We advertise on the radio and attend exhibitions for a wider buyer audience.

We never miss an opportunity for you to see returns on your property investment.  We constantly have personal callers to our office and receive emails and telephone calls asking for long term lets and holiday lets and we can refer them to your property whilst you are waiting for that buyer, the tenant might even be that buyer.  Renting is an option to consider, having someone else paying for maintaining your property while you are waiting for it to sell while you are earning money in your sleep.

We also manage villas so can maintain your property including your swimming pool, garden, provide a maid and laundry service, pay your bills, offer project management, arrange redecoration, personal shopping, organise insurance, arrange buyer accommodation, arrange car hire, airport transfers and even deliver your own car to the airport ready for your arrival.  In fact everything you need to ensure you and your property are in the best position and condition to accept viewers. We even offer one off villa management for when you go on holiday.

We encourage owners to be in a position to supply copies of all the relevant information required before you decide to sell your property and our special administrative services include carrying out any research, photocopying, scanning, emails,  telephone calls and personal visits necessary to enable you to provide the required Portuguese documents easily. If you do not have a lawyer, we can recommend one or give you a selection for you to make your own decision.  We can also recommend companies that can give you free professional advice about what to do with the money earned from selling your property that offer better exchange rates than many UK high street banks for transferring your money from euros to sterling into your own UK bank account.

Under Decree Law 77/99 all Government Licensed Estate Agents are required to obtain the following documentation from the owner thus enabling us to establish that the property has a full legal status.  No Agent can officially list a property without receiving the necessary paperwork.  As all Licenced Estate Agents are liable to periodic inspections by our Governing body, IMOPPI, so we must ensure copies of the appropriate documents are in place. Some of the taxes and paperwork required by registered Portuguese Estate Agents may be subject to changes in the law.  The required documents at the time of uploading this information, are as follows:

DEEDS (ESCRITURA NOTARIAL DE COMPRA E VENDA)
This document indicates the title of acquisition of a property.  The originals are held by the Notary Office where they were signed.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT REGISTRATION (CADERNETA PREDIAL)
This document shows the description of the property in the Finance Department and it's fiscal value on which rates are charged.

REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE (CERTIDÂO DE TEOR REGISTRAL)
This document confirms as to whom the property is registered to and also gives a description of the property with the size of the land and the house and will show any existing charges on the property.  The description on the "caderneta predial", failing which one of the 2 is not correct and should be rectified.

HABITATION LICENCE (LICENÇA DE UTILIZAÇÃO)
This document confirms that the property was built according to the (Camara) Local Council plans and specifications and that the property has been inspected for habitation upon completion.

PLANS (PROJECTOS DE ARQUITECTURA)
It is worthwhile obtaining a set of approved plans from the Camara (Local Council) to check that what has been built is in accordance with the originally approved plans.  It is very easy to add on a bedroom or garage without permission!

BORE HOLE LICENCE (LICENÇA PARA CAPTAÇÃO DE AGUA)
This document confirms that the borehole is registered with the relevant authority.

PERSONAL IDENTITY PAPERS
Agents will require copies of your Fiscal Number, Passport or residencia.  We need to do these checks to establish legal ownership.

As most owners do not hold updated copies of these documents in their possession you can consult your lawyer to obtain  updated copies of these documents or for a smaller administrative fee Diamond can visit the Camara (Local Council Office) and Finance Departments to request the updated documents to be produced.  The registration certificate and caderneta predial should have be obtained or validated less than 6 months prior to listing your property for sale. The other documents do not have to have a validity date. It is important that your property has a Habitation Licence in place, especially for older properties. Recent changes in legislation has caused problems as to whether a Habitation Licence is required for a property. A house either has a Habitation Licence or a Certificate, issued by the local Camara, confirming that it does not require one. Only the Camara can certify this situation. The requirement of Habitation Licences was introduced by Decree - Lei 38/382 dated 7th August 1951 therefore houses built before that date are not required to have Habitation Licences.  However Government Laws can change at any time.

As the current building regulations became stricter the Notaries require an updated Certificate from the Camara to ascertain that there were no unlicensed alterations to the property being sold. The reason for the updated Certificate is that some purchaser's properties were still registered as old cottages which in fact had been improved, renovated and sometimes completely rebuilt without proper licences. By not reporting the alterations to the local authorities the property documents contained the original outdated description and the Notary would accept that an old cottage was being sold. A Certificate from the Tax Department stating that the property was inscribed before 1951 would have been accepted.

The Certificate from the Tax Department should no longer be accepted and it relies on the discretion of the Notary to accept a Certificate from the Tax Department in the case of properties without reported alterations. However, for the purchaser's own security, a Certificate from the Camara should always be obtained when in the presence of a property which does not have a habitation license.

Obtaining a Certificate from the Town Council (Camara) varies but may well involve the following:-

•Set of topographical plans
•Photographs
•Property documents
•Statement of two local witnesses.

However if the Camara Inspectors report that the property has suffered alterations, which require licensing, a very long and bureaucratic process will have to start in order to legalise such works.  In this case the sale of the house will, have to wait until the Habitation Licence is issued.

Please contact us to help check that all your property papers are in place before we market your property. Once checked you can proceed to list your property with us safe in the knowledge that once a buyer is found there should be no delays becaue of a problem with the papers.

We will visit your property so we are familiar with it, to enable us to answer any potential buyer questions, take measurements if required, complete a detailed property inspection checklist and take attractive photographs.  You can also take advantage of our special service where we take an objective view of your property, give constructive feedback and can put a team of maids, gardeners, handyman, builders and painters together to ensure your property is presented at its best ready for marketing and accepting the buyer viewings.  We can help with your decision to establish the best price to sell your property.  Please ask for further details.

We would like to thank Dra. Nelia Faisca for her legal advice and information.