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| Buying & Legal Issues |
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| Buying property here in the Algarve whether it is a villa, house, apartment, farm or plot of land is not a complicated process provided you are advised and represented only by competent and reputable specialists. |
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| ESTATE AGENTS |
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| We hope that you will choose to use First Reality to find your ideal property here in the Algarve, and we will do our utmost to meet your every requirement. However if you choose not to use our services or buy in an area that we do not cover then still consider the information as set out below to ensure that your purchase is trouble free. |
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| Deal only with estate agents who are government licensed ”mediador autorizado” They will have an AMI number and it must be displayed in their office, on all advertising material, including websites, business cards and signs. All Government Licensed Estate Agents, by law, must have at least one legitimate registered office and one fully qualified manager. Therefore do not deal with anyone who does not operate from a Bona Fide office, (visit it and judge for yourself), do not deal with agents who only have a website, operate from home, a restaurant or bar or out of a car. Beware of agents who claim to be selling a property on behalf of a friend or family, or claim to be ”property search agents”. They by law must have the same license, a registered office and fidelity insurance too! These people operate illegally without any concern for the associated consequences. Do not be afraid to ask for proof of their AMI number and ask to see their Licence and individual Licence cards. INCI formerly IMOPPI. |
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In addition to introducing you to properties some estate agents ”to save costs” may offer to handle the legal side of the purchase for you. Stay well clear of these agents. They may not have your best interests at heart when they could possibly lose their commission in the event that a problem arises. In any event it is illegal for an estate agent to act as a lawyer or solicitor.
Always use a solicitor or lawyer in Portugal to handle the legal side of your purchase transaction, they are the ones who understand and will apply the law in Portugal. You pay them to look after your interests and that is what they will do.
It is important, too, that you do not let your solicitor handle legal matters if he is doing the same for the seller. Deal only with solicitors who are fully qualified, advogados (barristers) or solicitadores (solicitors). We will only direct you to those who come with a high recommendation from satisfied clients. We also recommend you use a solicitor in the town or locality that you are buying. Solicitors that have to constantly travel to government departments in the area that you are buying will inevitably charge for this and may not have sufficient influence to get things done quickly and effectively. |
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| THE OFFER |
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| As your agent we will negotiate the best possible price on the property that you choose and also the time period in which the property purchase has to be completed, typically 3 months although this can be negotiable. |
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| PURCHASE COSTS |
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| Transfer taxes and notary fees are based on the value of the property being bought. These taxes and fees are paid by the buyer, as are land registry and your solicitors fees. We will calculate all of these for you so that you know in advance what all the extras will be. As a rule of thumb, depending on the type of property that you purchase add between 5% and 10% to the price of the property, this will include all costs including solicitors fees. |
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| POWER OF ATTORNEY |
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| To save you time and expense, and from traveling to and from Portugal, we recommend that you give to your solicitor power of attorney to sign documents on your behalf. This will be drawn up by your solicitor and will be signed in front of the Notary here in Portugal. A power of attorney is required for each person in whose name the property is to be registered. It can be done in your home country but can be costly as it will have to be officially translated and the chances of it being done with errors or omissions are high necessitating it to be redone and retranslated. |
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| SEARCHES |
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| Once you have chosen a property we will supply your solicitor with copies of all relevant documentation (we always have this on file for every property in our inventory). Your solicitor can then search the local land registry (Conservatório do Registo Predial) to check that the seller (vendedor) has clear title of ownership,that no one else has rights over it, that it is exactly described and that it is free of charges or mortgages. Your solicitor will then draw up the contract of purchase and sale. (Contrato de Promessa Compra e Venda). |
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