A bit about Portugal:

• Good choice of areas
• Cosmopolitan
• English widely spoken
• Good job opportunities
• Cost effective and easy to get to
• Varied investment possibilities
• Good mix of ages with both young and old choosing Portugal
• Excellent medical and educational support

Property prices:

• Coastal apartments from 75,000 GBP
• Costal villas from 165,000 GBP
• Inland village houses from 60,000 GBP
• Inland houses from 95,000 GBP

Property purchase costs and procedure.

• Allow 8% to 10% of purchase price to cover costs
• Initial reservation deposit of between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds required
• 10% to 30% should be paid after lawyer has carried out searches
• Once you have paid the 10% to 30% you will enter a private purchase contract (Exchange of contracts)
• If buying a new development stage payments may be required
• From offer to completion usually takes around six to eight weeks

Can I take a mortgage?

• Mortgages available from both UK and Portuguese banks
• Equity release schemes from UK property
• Low euro borrowing rates
• Up to 75% loans available

Getting there:

• Many low cost airlines fly to Portugal
• Wide choice of departure airports
• Option to Drive to all parts Portugal
• Ferry service to northern Spain which then allows you to drive into Portugal

What about Jobs?

• No work permit required
• Lots of employment opportunities in coastal areas
• Opportunities to start new business ventures
• Easy access to job adverts (local press and internet)

Can I take my Pet?

• Pet passport scheme in place to allow the import and export of your pet.

Transferring money

• Best rates available through money transfer specialists.

Driving licenses.

• You can use your UK license whilst a non resident
• Residents (UK nationals based in Portugal) must register their license with the Portuguese department of transport.

What about schools?

• Good local Portuguese schools
• Network of private English schools around Faro and Lisbon

Some Key points

• Always use a lawyer represented in Portugal when purchasing property.
• Portuguese developers generally now offer bank guarantees for all amounts paid prior to hand over
• New developments must now offer 10 year structural guarantees