Originally Posted by wellinever

hi
Yes I have just finished building a house in the Algarve, having purchased an `urban` piece of flat land on an existing urbanisation. That was in late 2016.
This was a piece of land with no prior plans for it, other than it could be a single/double storey property up to T3, and with max 115m/2 footprint plus 50% more on first floor.
Thats a pretty normal situatoin, and in addition there are the limits of construction to all of the boundaries. But all of these are clearly written on the original `Planeamento` of the urbanisation. so its important before buying to check all of this with the council planners, an appointment will be needed and they are all very busy. (do not forget boundary walls as these can give problems if not correct on the project approved by the council). Can you have a swimming pool on the plot, if so what is the max size etc
Things were very different then, builders had no work, so easy to find and cheap, council had no projects they were looking at so could pass plans etc pretty quickly.
In the area that I am that has all changed since then. Now builders are like rocking horse **it, made even worse by CV-19. Councils are now taking months and months to give a building license, even an alteration to a plan will take months to go through. And dont even think about changing a build during construction even a change of window/door to the outside if an approval for an alteration has not been given.. So if you did go ahead one word of advice to save you a lot of money and time, s to ensure that your architect has done it exactly as you want, after approval only way to change is by alteration, and and that has a big cost to it (regardless of what the architect might say), and could hold you up for months.
All builders, in order to build a new house must have an Alvara, that means that they have all of the necessary qualifications/insurances to actually build. A project must contain their names and the names of the engineers and architects for all of the individual aspects of construction (gas/water/ electrics/engineering etc) . Similarly the architect.
So you cannot just get any old expat builder to build for you unless he has an up to date alvara.

Building in Portugal in my experience is no more or less frustrating thatn it would be in the UK, aprt from the fact that all builders thatg I nkow of take on too many houses and have virtually no retained staff, apart from general blokes, and the cheaper you get the less competent they tend to be. Today I reckon at the cheapest the cost is e1000/2m+IVA at 23% and that would not include a kitchen but would include all tiling up to about e15/2m for floor and wall.....but that goes a long way in Portugal. DOnt forget that any small changes inside that you make will be added to the final bill (all builders have a little notebook that they will produce at the end and say, ah, remember you wanted this moving or that changing....) but no different.to anywhere else.
So in short my own experiences with building in Portugal is that you get what you want where you want within reason, you get a new house, and you know what is in it and how it was built., modern specs in Portugal are now significantly higher than in the UK. You know the score from the minute you design the house and find a plot. My suggestion is to think about what sort of house you want, how big, and design something that you like......then calculate a price based on that, then hope hat you can find a piece of urban land that can accommodate your design and falls within your total budget. A builder and architect that speak good English of course is the best, but most important is that you can chat with the architect as they do all of the speaking with the town halls.
But you will have to have a lot of patience. Is it worth it? Yes and no, now its finished yes but during lost all of my hair, but you should end up with a property that costs much less than if you bought finished (but remember Capital gain when you come to sell it.)
Well thats my lot, any questions just ask

Originally Posted by bons

Sorry, I've only just seen this. I didn't get my usual email to say somebody had posted. It does sound like a bit of a job. Why is there cappitla gains when you sell it, is it not the same as in the UK that if it's your home, and you've lived there for a while, you don't have to pay?

Originally Posted by macliam

As a taxpayer in Portugal, tax is levied on your worldwide assets....

Originally Posted by Red Eric

This is probably going to come across as terribly pedantic but it's worldwide income (as opposed to assets) which is potentially subject to tax if you're resident.

Assets per se are not, although if they generate income, that income may be taxed in Portugal or have an influence on the rate at which other income is taxed.

I expect it was just casual phrasing but it would be an important distinction for many.

Originally Posted by macliam

Yes, OK, it;s not a property tax, just a tax raised on the income from any property..... best to clarify.

Originally Posted by Red Eric

Yes, especially as some countries do levy a tax on assets over a certain value. Like the neighbours, for example.

Originally Posted by macliam

Never assume that tax laws are the same... or any other law for that matter. In the UK you have a "capital gains allowance"..... not so elsewhere.
In the UK ISAs are tax-free... but it's a UK thing, in Portugal, the interest is taxable.
As a taxpayer in Portugal, tax is levied on your worldwide assets....
Best worth checking......

Originally Posted by macliam

Welllllll, if you want to be pedantic - so does Portugal - the AIMI is an extra tax on the "book value" of property above a certain value.

Originally Posted by liveaboard

My understanding is that if you have capital gains when you sell your primary residence, and you spend the principle + gains on a another primary residence in Europe, you're exempt from capital gains on it..