ah207

Exactly three weeks to day when we first contacted the local estate agent about the possibility of selling our apartment, we received an offer close to the asking price. We accepted! A handful of buyers came around to view the property in those 3 weeks - but were glad that things moved very quickly. The "contrato promerssa de compra e venda" has been signed and countersigned by both parties - and I just deposited the down-payment cheque from the buyers in the bank this morning. We now have just 60 days to clear off!! (Fingers crossed though - wouldn't want anything to fall through at this stage - though if it did, the buyers forfeit a rather large sum of cash!). So now, its a case of packing and finding a delivery company to take a T3 worth of stuff back to the UK.

Anyway, looks as if the housing market (at in Lisbon) is fairly buoyant. Should be good news to anyone looking to sell (or buy).

rollermum83

Good luck with your move, and hope all goes well.

nigel.b

Best wishes for the future. Though I'm not a very active member here, I've always appreciated your comments.

A friend in the Algarve just sold an apartment in a similar time scale. It seems to me there's more money/economic activity in Portugal than is ever reflected in official figures.

ah207

I was thinking it might take anything from 6 months to a year to sell - in which case we would have had to give power of attorney to my (Portuguese) father-in-law to sell in our absence. But I was obviously in for a surprise! The Estate Agents (Era) didn't even bother to put the For Sale sign board - all interested buyers came through the Agent's own waiting list. So its very good to know that even young families can get mortgages approved - and importantly, want to buy a house, rather than continue renting (or living with their parents/grandparents!).

Anyway, it means we can leave with the cash from the sale and use it to put towards a new property in the UK. Big relief.

Funnily, it took less time to sell the apartment than it took for me to sell my first car that I bought here in 2007. THAT albatross-round-the-neck (which I drove for 3 years) took 9 months to get rid of eventually, at a sizable loss. We live and learn.

nigel.b

I did wonder if it was back to the UK for you. A couple of years ago, after 20+ years an expat, I bought a flat in Sussex to get all my tax affairs back in the UK, get access to the NHS and so on.

Initially it was almost a bureaucratic decision, but I've been genuinely surprised how much I've appreciated being in my own country. Small things: people say "Thank you" to the driver as they get off the bus - not the same in London obviously.

Secondhand bookshops, warm beer... Sorry I'm getting sentimental now!

One practical bit of advice: if you go into Financas/Camara and change your morada fiscal to a UK address, this alerts the system to the fact you are no longer PT resident, so it doesn't expect tax returns etc. I didn't believe it could be this simple, but so far it has worked.

macliam

Good luck on your move back, I hope all goes well.

Having just sold a place in the UK after almost a year, I'm sure the exchange was a relief!

GeniB

Well done Ah207 Altho sorry you have to leave this lovely country.

My YD is an Estate Agent here in the Algarve and yes indeed the market has gone a bit mad in the last year or so. She bought her own 3 bed apartment 18 months ago with the idea that she would do it up and sell in order to do the same again. Plenty on the market then with sea views. Not anymore. Properties are being snapped up. As the post Brexit /Trump world discovers the comparitive safety of Portugal it is going from strength to strength. The Americans have rated Portugal the best investment area in Europe. The best holiday destination. with the best beaches. It's looking good for this country which so deserves it

ah207

Well said! Portugal has suffered from emigration over the decades (with many unoccupied homes and partly dilapidated properties even in Lisbon). Give the great climate and the fantastic food culture, its the ideal place to retire to - or live in (if self-employed or self-sufficient). Many of anti-social issues that currently blight the UK (alcohol, burglaries, thefts, knife crime, hate crime etc) are almost unheard of in Portugal - or at least very much reduced.

MrBife

Quote:

Apartment sold in just 3 weeks!

Do agents under-value to get a quick sale? I have never known the answer to that one !

ah207

We made a small profit on our sale. The range between the asking price and the lowest price we would accept without incurring any loss was narrow - just 5K. And the offer was right in the middle of that range - hence we didn't haggle any further as we were happy for a quick sale. The Estate Agency (Era.pt) actually had a list of buyers waiting for something to show up in this area - which also helped to speed things up. The guy who dealt with us from the Agency was young (late 20's), very professional and punctual for every appointment and viewing. Their office is just 2 minute walk from us! He kept us informed by phone every day. So overall, it was a very smooth experience and we did not at any stage feel were being pushed to undersell, or devalue the estimate. Plus - the buyers had their representative from the Bank come over to value the property independently and he too was happy with the estimate.

EMR

When selling our first home in the UK we accepted the agents valuation.
When within 48 hours we had two offers we realised that they had certainly undervalued.
In Portugal , or certainly the Algarve offers of 10 - 20% below asking price are common so undervaluing is not in the agents favour.
It could cost them money.
However owners overvaluing is more than likely to be the case.

GeniB

Prices are usually agreed Mr Bife Its' the market that decides. in the end. If something isn't selling there is usually a reason. An Estate Agent can merely present a property to the market. The owner has the final say on what's acceptable on price. If however it's not selling within a reasonable period of time The agent might advise reducing the price. Again it all depends on the owner and how keen they are to sell.

captainflack

We've been in portugal three and a half years, and bought a place about two and a half years ago. Definitely the market seems to have changed a lot since then, we were really lucky to buy pretty much at the bottom. It was still a buyer's market, we had cash and so found agents falling over themselves to take us out to places and we could push a hard bargain. In the few months after we moved in, most of the other properties in the condo that had had been empty for years got sold and occupied.

Things do feel very different now in portugal, sometimes I think I just see more about the place because I am here and take notice, but there does seem to be a big buzz about the place especially over the last 6 months.

I hope it starts to feed through more to the general economy and the prospects, especially for the young here. I think portugal has so much going for it if it does things right.