[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN PORTUGAL]
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III.2. FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN REAL ESTATE The real estate investment market in Portugal came to notice by the foreign investors since the country joined the Euro in 1999. Several billion euros of foreign capital have been invested mostly by Germans, British, Dutch and Americans on the acquisition of several real properties since then. Recently, investors from China, Russia, Brazil, and France have also made a significant impact in Portuguese market. This value could have been higher as the Portuguese market was, on occasions, simply not large enough to supply enough products in terms of number, quality and/or scale, to fully meet the demand recorded at the time. Portugal remained present in the investment intentions of several of the most important European investment houses over the past 15 years, with buyers interested in effectively diversifying risk and achieving slightly higher income returns than those available from other markets, in a country offering security, transparency and less competition. Dramatic changes impacting on European economic situation and in particular on Portugal had driven away the attention of foreign institutional investors until 2013. However, the second half of 2015 brought back international investment into Portugal and, more particularly the last quarter of the year, showed signs of what may be considered an upturn of real estate investment activity. The successful outcome of the political crisis, continued improvement of economic indicators, greater public debt market stability and Portugal’s good performance in terms of the adjustment program, made important contributions to the market recovery.
IV. HOW TO MAKE A REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT Portugal, lined with other continental legal systems such as France (propriété), Germany (Voll Eigentum) and England (freehold), adopted the concept of “full ownership” which is defined by the full and exclusive rights of use, fruition, and disposal of the property.
IV.1. INDIVIDUAL (DIRECT ACQUISITION) The formalization of a real estate acquisition requires the compliance of some important steps, as follows: IV.1.1. INVESTIGATION Investigating the property intended to be acquired by checking its commercial, legal, tax, environmental and urban status i t’ s essential for a clean and structured execution of the sale and purchase agreement. Usually, it is done by commissioning due diligence procedures, which should ensure and guarantee that the property in question is not subject to any encumbrance, costs, or limitations (registered with the respective Land Registry Office), or that any impediments have been extinguished before or after the sale. If the intention is to acquire a plot of land, the buyer should also verify, with the competent entities, the urban planning in all its different forms, as well as any restrictions and licenses.
ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series
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