The #1 nationality of foreign buyers
French buyers are very active in Portugal. Indeed, French people represented 1 in 5 foreign buyer in Portugal. Consequently, France is the #1 nationality of foreign buyers in Portugal, ahead of the British, the Brazilians or the Chinese.
As the French purchased 7,000 Portuguese properties, we can estimate that French people buy 19 Portuguese homes per day. However, how easy it is to buy in Portugal? What are the taxes and costs?
How can a French person buy in Portugal?
When you are French and want to buy a property in Portugal, many questions come to mind:
- Is it legal for French people to buy in Portugal ?
- What’s a NIF ?
- How does the RNH fiscal status work ?
- Can I find a good French real estate agent in Portugal
- Can I find a French lawyer ?
- What are the average property prices in the Algarve?
- Is it too late to buy in Lisbon?
- Should I buy in Porto or in Lisbon ?
- What are the property prices in Portugal?
- What are the costs of buying in Portugal?
- Should I take a mortgage with a bank in France, or in Portugal? What difference does it make?
For several topics including the NIF and the RNH, have a look at this article written by Figaro Immobilier. However there are 2 questions for which we need better answers:
- What are the taxes and costs when buying in Portugal?
- How can you get a mortgage to buy in Portugal?
Taxes and costs to buy in Portugal
Taxes and costs linked to the acquisition of a property in Portugal are usually below 10% of the property price. To learn more about IMT, IMI, IS, or notary fees, click on the link below.
Getting a mortgage in Portugal
How can you get a mortgage to buy in Portugal? Indeed, this is very important for French buyers in Portugal, as getting a loan might become the biggest difficulty for those who don’t have access to the right information.
Ask your usual banker, and you may be disappointed because most French banks will not finance an acquisition abroad.
To answer this question, we discussed with several bankers specialized in helping foreign buyers. First, know that you can either finance the acquisition with a bank in France, or with a bank in Portugal. Yet many things will be different:
- The percentage of the property value that the bank will finance will not be the same
- The interest rate will not be the same, and Portuguese banks do more variable interest rates than fixed interest rates
- The duration of the loan may not be the same either
Check our dedicated article on this topic by clicking on the link below.
French buyers need French contacts
As a French speaker, you would be more confident if you were put in touch with French speaking contacts. Indeed, we know this for a fact because we purchased properties abroad ourselves, and always tried to find contacts who spoke our native language. For that reason, even if you’re buying in Portugal, you will probably try to find:
- French real estate agents
- French lawyers
- French accountants
This is why we are building a directory of French speaking contacts abroad. Check it out!