Portimao Property

property in Portimao There are still some relatively undiscovered areas in Portugal, with the outskirts of Portimao and some of the surrounding villages still offering some good deals.

Learning from Spain’s mistakes, Portugal (and the Algarve in particular) has a modern infrastructure with great thought and attention to detail being given to planning permission and protection of the environment. This means that it will retain its character and charm and not become overbuilt.

With the British still outnumbering all other foreign communities, the Germans, Swedes and Dutch are also very prevalent, bringing with them new skills (in particular architecture and building) and excellent international schools.

The Algarve offers a “safe” home for your money epitomising the old adage “location, location, location”. With the excellent motorway connection between Faro Airport and Portimao, and the ever popular Praia da Rocha resort, this area is an excellent place to purchase abroad. Also with improved road links to many of the smaller villages the developers are beginning to discover more out of the way places to ply their trade, and some of these off plan developments can be purchased at bargain prices.

Take care when making an offer as one thing that estate agents often fail to mention is the tax which property purchases attract. You should add 7% (known as IVA) to any figure that you are quoted for an apartment or villa which is a new build. There is no IVA on resale properties but there is a 7% property transfer tax. Also when buying off plan be very clear on when the instalments are due after you put down the 10% deposit, as you may be asked for anything between 30-40% of the purchase price to be paid for various materials such as tiles and roofing during the construction period.