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When an owner decides to sell a property it is necessary to check that they have all the necessary documentation and that it is up-to-date. It is advisable to have this package of documents ready to be given to each of the Real Estate Agents they have selected to represent their interests.

In the case of an Urban property the necessary documentation is as follows:

a) A photocopy of the Habitation License for property constructed after 1951 (Other documents may be required)
b) A photocopy of the Certificate of the insertion in the records of the Land Conservatory
c) A photocopy of the detailed "Caderneta Urbana" from the Tax Office
d) A photocopy of the "Escritura" when they originally purchased the property
e) A photocopy of the Plans of the property
f) A photocopy of any maintenance agreement, any regulations related to the re-sale or restrictions imposed by a developer
g) A photocopy of the last payment of the "Contribui��o Aut�rquica"
f) A photocopy of the ID and their "Contribui��o Fiscal" from the Tax office for each of the owners named in the "Escritura" document

In the case of a Rural property an extra document is necessary which is a detailed description of the rural part of the property. This is named a "Caderneta R�stica" and it is issued by the local Tax Office.

Selling Property Tips

The following tips are given in the hope they will prove to be of some assistance to sellers, especially when selling a home in which they have lived for many years.

a) Then a resale property is viewed by a potential buyer in the back of his mind will always be the question - "Why is the property for sale". The Agent will need a realistic answer.

b) Most sellers have a pre-conceived idea of the figure they wish to receive fro their property. This sum is mainly arrived at by using various sources such as their own value, comments from friends, general information from the marketplace and location. As there are many other factors which affect the value a more realistic view is to obtain some valuations from chosen Real Estate Agents. A good Agent will take into consideration the sellers point-of-view plus their professional local knowledge of similar properties and the current market trends. Discuss with each Agent the policy they use in regard to pricing.

c) The seller should always bear in mind that a buyer is only interested in paying what they consider to be a reasonable price in relation to what they have been shown elsewhere. Instructing the Agent to market the property at a price determined only by the seller often becomes an obstacle in achieving a sale.

d) Choose your Real Estate Agents carefully and we recommend that you do not use more than three as the buyers tend to think negatively about a property that is being handled by "everyone"! Agents often specialize in certain segments of the market and these should be considered in relation to the selling potential of a property. It is strongly recommended that you have the same market price for all Agents to avoid possible manipulation by prospective buyers.

e) Prepare a sales package for each Agent as listed in our "Selling Property - Legal Page", together with some photos.

f) Arrange for access to the property to be made as easy as possible. The buyers are normally viewing during a short visit to the Algarve and sales are often lost because of limitations created by the seller. Some Agents will refuse in the season to handle properties that are rented to holiday visitors. When the property is for sale and is at the same time used as a rental income, we suggest that the managing agents are made fully aware that the property is for sale and viewing is to be allowed with the cooperation of any holiday guests.

g) It's strongly recommend that a seller carefully thinks about the risks involved before considering handing the property to sell to any individual who is not a Real Estate Agent. If anything later goes wrong these individuals have no legal responsibility in your sale and you may have involved a neighbour or a very good friend in serious legal problems.

h) Any properties in the past were purchased through an Offshore Company. This method places a property in the ownership of a Company that is registered outside Portugal through a Share Purchase Agreement. If the property is already in an Offshore Company it is safe to assume that the buyers lawyer will explain to his client the advantages and disadvantages about this type of ownership may recommend to dispense with the Offshore ownership.