Sponsored Content
The climate, food, hospitality, low cost of living and tax benefits make Portugal a destination of choice for foreigners who consider the country not only a great holiday destination, but also a good place to live.
If you are thinking about buying a home in Portugal, and maybe even applying for a mortgage with a Portuguese bank, you should know what’s most important.
Why buy a home in Portugal?
Having doubts is understandable when you are thinking about buying a house outside your home country. After all, you are dealing with the unknown, which implies a degree of uncertainty.
However, we are happy to give you 8 good reasons to buy a home in Portugal:
- The Portuguese people are frequently praised for being welcoming and helpful, and generally speak other languages such as English, French and Spanish.
- Portugal is a very safe destination, both for living and investing.
- The country can be crossed from north to south in a few hours and has vibrant cities, culture, fine cuisine, breathtaking landscapes, a coastline of white sandy beaches and a hinterland of dense forests, mountains with unforgettable views and villages that retain the charm of the past.
- The climate has hot, sunny summers and winters that tend to be mild.
- Portugal is a short flight away from most European capitals and has frequent connections to the world’s major cities.
- The cost of living is lower in comparison to other European countries.
- The real estate market offers excellent opportunities and high quality at a much lower cost than most competing destinations.
- Portugal has a tax regime with some benefits for non-residents, which allows them to pay less taxes than in their country of origin.
So why not take the next step?
Decide what to buy
Before deciding which home to buy, there are some important questions to be asked that can help you at this stage.
Why are you buying a home?
How will you use it?
Will it be a home for the whole family, or for hosting friends occasionally?
These questions will help you define important aspects for selecting properties such as location, square metres, number of rooms, distance from the city centre, key services, and airports. They’ll also help you understand, when visiting properties, what your home needs.
How much can you spend?
Another important aspect is defining the limits of the investment you can make when purchasing your property in Portugal. Where will the money required come from? Will you need financing? If so, will financing be obtained in your country of origin or in Portugal? And how do home loans work in Portugal?
If you do not have your own funds for the purchase, the good news is that there are mortgage solutions for foreigners in Portugal with very attractive conditions and interest rates.
How to pay for your home in Portugal
Nationality influences the conditions of home loans in Portugal because the credit profile of a foreign citizen may be deemed of higher risk compared to Portuguese nationals.
Not all credit institutions approve financing to non-residents. In other cases, loans are subject to certain limitations and conditions, particularly regarding the maximum amount of credit that can be financed, the percentage of financing versus the property value, and the maximum term.
However, despite some limitations, interest rates are quite low in Portugal and the financial system is very secure, which makes buying in Portugal particularly desirable.
In Portugal, banks can give you a credit decision without any initial cost. So have the following documentation ready:
- Passport or Identity Card
- Income tax declaration
- Bank statements
- Payroll or other proof of income
- Credit report
- A statement of assets and liabilities
Here you can find a list of all the required documents
Talk to an expert
If you are looking for a specialist in mortgage solutions in Portugal, UCI (União de créditos imobiliários), a financial institution belonging to the groups BNP Paribas and Santander, offers the solution you need to finance your home. With a wide range of mortgage solutions and competitive rates, UCI provides a team of highly experienced advisers who will accompany you throughout the process and give you all the information you need to move forward with confidence, making the purchase of home easy and secure.
If you’re thinking of buying a home in Portugal, talk to us!
