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We Decided to Purchase a Property!
After living in Portugal for about 8 months we decided it was time to start looking at buying a property. We had originally signed a 1 year lease, so we had a few months to find something before having to renew.
What This Post Covers
- Why we chose Tavira
- Our plan to buy a home here
- What to buy
- Finding a place
- How buying a property here works; it’s different from the US:
- What made our offer move forward
- Why complications started before closing
Why We Chose Tavira
When we first moved to Portugal, we didn’t know anything about anywhere. We had never been here and just had a vague idea of the towns we had researched. We had never even heard of Tavira until our landlord told us he found us an apartment there. So we had no idea if we would like it or if we would stay. Our initial plan was to explore more of the country during our first year, basically like a scouting year to decide where we wanted to settle. After a while, though, we fell in love with this town. We met great friends, and it had most of what we wanted; the weather was mild, it was walkable, affordable to live in, close to Spain, close to the beach, and it was charming. We liked other cities too, but none of them had everything we wanted, and Tavira had most of it. I wish it were a bigger city, I am more of a big city girl, but to get that, we would lose almost everything else we were looking for, so we decided we would stay in Tavira!
Our Plan to Buy a Home Here
Our plan for selling our home was always to buy something here, so we decided to start looking at properties. When we first started researching Portugal, prices to buy were much lower. They had risen a significant amount in those couple of years, so we would no longer be able to afford to buy a place outright. We decided we could still put a significant down payment, though, and set our budget.
What to Buy
We debated on buying new versus pre-owned. And we contemplated a house or an apartment. There were positives and negatives to all. Both of the other properties we had bought in Vegas had both been new, bought from the builder. Our first place was an apartment, and then later we bought a bigger house. We loved customizing both of them and making them ours. We would be able to do that here, but the problem was that building here takes significantly longer. There weren’t any in our budget that were almost completed or that we liked. They all seemed to be much smaller as well. And it looked like waiting for something we did like would take 1-2 years. We really didn’t want to keep renting for all that time, so we decided we would try to find something pre-owned. I also liked the idea of staying in an apartment because I liked how easy our rental was to clean, compared to our 4 BR house.
Finding a Place:
I started searching listings. I searched on Idealista.pt, looked at Facebook Marketplace, and found some real estate companies with listings on Facebook. Within a couple weeks I came across one that looked great. It was a T2 apartment (2 bedroom), it was not very old, it was a decent size, seemed well maintained, had a garage, and had a huge balcony! It also stated that it had an additional rooftop terrace. My house in Vegas had a rooftop deck, and it was my favorite place. I spent so much time up there, both alone and with Karl, friends, and family. It was my happy spot. We had so many great memories there, and when I saw that a lot of places here had similar I knew I wanted one. I contacted the real estate agent and arranged to view the property.
We went by a couple of days later and checked it out. We saw it for about a total of 5 minutes. It looked nice, there were some things we really liked about it; the fireplace, the large kitchen, 2 bathrooms, the huge patio, and of course the rooftop deck. Pretty sure that sold it for us. We also liked the location. It was just a few minutes’ walk away from where we had been living, which meant it was close to the Centro. It was important for us to live within walking distance from the Centro because we don’t like to drive if we don’t need to, and with my health issues, I don’t want to have to walk far. We pretty much decided on the spot that we wanted to make an offer.
What Made Our Offer Move Forward
We told the agent, and he informed us that there was an offer on it already, but it hadn’t been put under contract because they were waiting to hear about the approval of the mortgage. That was also something we were concerned about, so we talked to the mortgage broker from the real estate office and explained our current situation. We had money saved and had started a company, but it wasn’t profitable ye,t so we couldn’t show income. She told us that we could apply based on our credit report and income from the previous year. So we submitted that paperwork, and she assured us we would have no problem.
How Buying a Property Here Works; It’s Different from the US:
The first thing was to get a lawyer. We had one recommended to us, so we set up an appointment and met with him to help us through the process. In Portugal, when you are buying a property, you put down some money up front when you sign the promissory contract. The percentage can vary; they asked for 20%, but we offered 10%. They actually agreed. The money gets wired directly to the sellers. There is no escrow or anything. You sign the contract and agree to pay the rest by cash or through a bank if you are getting a mortgage at the signing of the deed. That usually happens within 60 days or so. However, the sellers asked if we could wait to sign the deed until the end of November. It was currently the beginning of May. We had time left on our lease, so we agreed. We signed the contract and sent over the money. It was a little scary because it’s a large amount of money, and it feels a little insecure. But we were excited!
Complications Started Before Closing
We immediately sent our paperwork to the bank for official approval. During this time, the sellers reached out to our lawyer and asked if we would be willing to sign in the middle of June instead because their situation had changed. We told them we were still waiting to hear from the bank so we had to wait but we would love to sign early. After a couple of weeks, they told us nevermind, they were going to leave town for a few months, and we could sign in October. Soon after, we got the approval from the bank, but they had already left….
This is where shit started to get complicated…. Stay tuned for part 2
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @vegas.to.portugal for more content and more pics and videos of the new place. Spoiler alert, it all worked out, and we are in our apartmen,t but it was a rocky road to get here. So many headaches came up along the way. Part 2 coming soon!💙
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