Portimao Apartments

Becoming more and more disillusioned with the British summers, larger numbers of holidaymakers and golfers are flocking to the Algarve every year. Apartments as a second home or holiday let are a particularly good investment as often they are part of a community which has its own established management company to organise the rental, linen changes, cleaning, etc, of your apartment while also employing a team of workmen to maintain the communal gardens and swimming pools. You can therefore own a second home in Portimao while living elsewhere and not having to worry about the day to day running and maintenance of it.

A very rough guide on prices in Portimao is that you can expect to pay anything between €125,000-€220,000 for a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment in a secure complex. Apartments are sold on freehold basis with the owners electing a president who is elected at the annual AGM. It is their responsibility to ensure the smooth running of the urbanisation and that the rules are adhered to. It is therefore worth meeting the president of any complex on which you are buying a property before you finally do the deal. You should then check the monthly maintenance charges you will be expected to pay and that there are no “hidden extras” like the whole complex being due for a repaint and for which a one off charge is due to be made to all the owners.

Also check when buying a resale property that there is no debt attached to it, ie: non payment of council tax, utility bills, etc. You can do this by ensuring that your lawyer has carried out this exercise – do not assume this will be done automatically as some lawyers need to be instructed. If you do purchase an apartment with a debt attached to it you will be liable for payment as the cost is discharged against the owner of the apartment at the current time and not at the time when the bill was incurred.

Having been a bit of a killjoy by outlining some of the pitfalls above, please be assured that the joy of owning your apartment in Portimao is something that many people experience and from which they receive a good income from holiday or long term lets.