BeElszaBub

toots sweet

Hello,
Not sure what sort of advice you're looking for .Your solicitor if they're good should give you all the help.
We completed our purchase last Feb. sale agreed and completed in just less than 3 weeks. (a relatively new property)
You will need to get your money transferred in good time to your bank.I would say at least 10 days in advance. There will be some delay if you are transferring a largish amount(money laundering etc).Notary will accept cash or bankers check.(payable to vendor) You will need all the vendors details for this. You will also need quite a bit extra for notary fees. Again cash or bank cheque. Get these details in advance. On completion day you will have an appointment at the notary where the vendor will also be,go through the papework, sign pay your money ,and get all the deeds etc.
Anything else you might think of ,just ask.

BeElszaBub

Dear Toots Sweet. Thank you so much for your reply. I’m confused as to whether I have to employ the services of both a Solicitor and Notary, to enable the house purchase. This is what I have been quoted by a Solicitor in Tomar for a ‘package’ including:-

1. All required services towards the purchase and final registration in my name;
2. Checking of documents;
3. Searches relating to debts and mortgages;
4. Preparing of the Promissory Contract, if required, both in Portuguese and English;
5. Preparing the final Deed, its’ verbal translation on the act just before signing; and
6. Final registration.

Questions:

1) I have been quoted a cost of €861 (inclusive of VAT at 23%) for the solicitor’s fees. There may be an additional fee if the solicitor has to travel outside the perimeter of Tomar to sign the final Deed. I have asked whether the solicitor’s fee includes the services of a Notary or whether the solicitor actually provides the services himself (as Conveyancers do in the UK). In your recent experience do you think the fee is fair?
2) If the final Deed does have to be signed in the presence of a Notary am I in a good position (simply because I’m paying cash and the property has been on the market for over a year) to request the Seller attends my appointed Notary in Tomar?
3) If I need to employ both a Solicitor and Notary why?
4) If I only need the solicitor, due to the full and complete services he appears to be offering, will I deposit the deposit monies, completion monies and his fee directly into his Bank account from mine in the UK or into my own Pt. Bank account then transfer it to him? If I do it via my UK account into my Pt. account then into his am I incurring unnecessary transfer fees?

I’m sure I’ll have loads more questions so will apologise now for bombarding you with them but your help is very much appreciated.

toots sweet

Not sure of all the legal stuff and fees.Get another quote from another solicitor and compare. The estate agents do a lot of what he is offering you in the package.
I'm pretty sure you need a notary. They do all the legal/monetary exhange on day of completion. We had an appt at his office,took our bank cheques for our vendor and his fees. He went through all the paperwork with us ,we signed the papers(along with our vendor,so I'm presuming they had to be there) gave or cheques and got the legal papers of ownership and deeds of the house. Can you speak /understand Portuguese.?It will save paying for an English translation.
We preferred to put our money into our own account and take the money on the day.there will only be a small charge for the bankers cheques. It is up to you. we just preferred to have the money sitting in our account,than in someone else's!

BeElszaBub

Hi. Thanks for a super-fast response. I'll definitely get another quote from a different firm of solicitors for comparison purposes. The one that provided this quote speaks, and writes, fluent English and has helped quite a few Brits with their property purchases which is why I found his services so helpful and attractive. Ah, I'm with you now about the Banking process - I need to open a Pt. Bank Account and have enough monies ready and waiting in the account for paying the deposit and completion monies by effectively what would be the UK equivalent of a Bankers' draft. Thank you. I'm trying to get 'all my ducks in a row' so to speak; so that if the house I'm viewing in November is my 'dream' holiday/retirement home I have the 'administrative' side in place. My folder is filling up nicely wthl everyone's help and advice. I'm so pleased I found this Forum. Keep your eyes peeled for the next Thread.

coleio

You do not "employ" a Notary, they are an official and neither represent the vendor nor purchaser but oversee the paperwork with their official "rubber stamp". Usually you go to their office with your Lawyer and official documents are signed and Notarised (is that the word?) and a fee is paid for this service. This is a common practice in many countries but not the UK.

Also get the Promissory beforehand as this will state what exactly you are buying and any conditions the vendor or purchaser see fit to include, it is legally binding when signed and deposit paid. You can include things like "front wall will have any missing stones replaced before sale" and they can include "swimming pool will be kept in good condition and may be used by anyone from the village with the surname Da Silver". Also if you default they keep the usually 10% deposit and all the property, default includes you faffing about with bank accounts and finding the limit is 10,000 euro per transaction day due to some money money transfer laws and not being allowed to put cash into a third party's account so make sure you have understood all the Portuguese (or others) banking rules beforehand.

toots sweet

The transfer of funds from your UK bank to your Portuguese one can be a bit of a pain. As coleio said, there is a £10,000 limit. This isn't per day(maybe different for different banks) ,but when transferring from our account i had to do multiple transfers of 10k to my transfer company,so it took some time. this obviously caught the eye of my bank,so be prepared for a phone call from them just to check who you are and not some criminal type trying to launder money. It also took a day longer than promised so get it there in time.

We are also in Santarem district, though in the south near the Tejo. 6 weeks and we're back for the winter.!!

BeElszaBub

dingg

My bank the daily limit is 75k
A phone call needed to authorise, santander bank uk

toots sweet

Sorry if I didn't explain correctly. I was able to transfer over 100k the same day but had to do it a no of times at 10k a time .Wouldn't let me transfer more than 10k at one time online. Bank didn't tell me that bit ,just said i could do it all on one day.

coleio

Also.

Portuguese banks have offices in London (NOT a bank branch) Millenium BCP being one (other banks are available) and you may open a Portuguese Euro bank account from there - make an appointment and take your usual bank paperwork - You can choose the branch - possibly the Millenium BCP branch next to your Lawyer in Tomar. The London Bank office will also give you a temporary NIF, you may need to deposit a small sum ie 20 euro and all the account paperwork + ATM card will go to your UK address.

If you pop over to Dublin on some cheap day trip Irish Airlines with your paperwork you can open Euro accounts at Banks in Dublin airport using your UK address. The bank staff speak your English, answer the phone in English do online banking in English and all the usual overseas transfers (in English). You'll not get any interest on you deposit as you are (probably) not an Irish Tax payer.

If you are changing a wad money you can open an online account with a FX (foreign exchange dealer) then when you are ready deposit your Pounds with them and follow the exchange rate going up and down every few minutes to pick the time to exchange.

Diddion

1. It is common practise for bills to be paid partly in cash and partly through the bank, with invoices reflecting only the bank payment. This is to save tax, which is high (VAT at 23%, for example) but, of course, it hardly helps the Portuguese economy. As far as house purchase is concerned, you may well be offered a similar scheme by the solicitor, which would reduce what duties you would have to pay, and might help the vendor cheat other financially interested parties of their fair share, and might also save them some money. Moral issues aside, though, it could come back to bite you if you eventually sell, because your eventual gain would be greater than the reality and, depending on what you did with the proceeds, there could be a hefty capital gains tax bill. Do make sure that the recorded purchase price is the actual one.
2. secondly, do you know about NHR (non-habitual residency)? If not, do check out this important tax concession.

BeElszaBub

Hi All. Just wanted to say thanks for all the help you've given me. Gutted to say that the house I was hoping to buy has sold. This has happened twice now. I wouldn't mind but both had been on the market with no interest for over a year. I find them, they've everything I want and within weeks they sell. I cannot believe my luck

Diddion

dingg

In my experience the agents leave lots of properties that have been sold quite a while ago still on their books as for sale.
Lazy, incompetent, lackadaisical, take your pick, but it's very frustrating for buyers..