Selling
A brief guide to selling in Portugal
The process of selling a property in Portugal is well organised and regulated, but every property sale is different, so be sure to employ the services of the experts to help assist you throughout the process.
When choosing an estate agent, make sure you only instruct a government-licensed agent. This means the agent is bound by the guidelines and documentation set by the Government. They will also hold compulsory liability insurance, which may cover you against certain situations that can arise during any property purchase, such as a dispute.
A Government license is awarded to an agent based on the number of relevant qualifications they have. You can be safe in the knowledge that Winkworth Portugal is Government-licensed.
You will also need to instruct a lawyer to act on your behalf during the sale of your property. Winkworth Portugal works closely with a number of English and Portuguese-speaking lawyers, who have dealt with many international property transactions. Just let us know if you would like us to arrange an introduction.
Selling your property with Winkworth
When you instruct Winkworth to sell your property, we will provide you with a targeted marketing and advertising package.
Before we can take your property to market, though, we will need to see and take copies of the following documents:
- Photographic identification, such as a passport
- Caderneta Predial – this document confirms the rateable value of the property, amongst other things.
- Certidão de Teor - this is the Land Registry document showing that there are no outstanding debts on the property. It also gives a description of the property.
- Licença de Utilização – a habitation licence for properties built after 1951, or a certificate that the property was in existence prior to 1951.
- Escritura Anterior – the last Escritura, or set of deeds, for resale properties.
- Ficha Técnica - this document provides technical details about the construction of the property. However, this only applies to properties built after March 30 2004.
- Floorplans of the property, if available.
- A full inventory of what will be included in the sale, including fixtures and fittings
- Building license – this is necessary for any property that is under construction, or being sold on the premise that building work will be required.
The process
Winkworth will market your property to our vast database of prospective buyers and target new ones both online and through press advertising. We will set up viewings for all interested buyers as soon as possible and these will all be accompanied unless you say otherwise. You will be kept in the loop at all times and we will give you feedback on all the viewings we conduct.
We will ensure any offers are put to you straight away and issue confirmation letters to both you and the potential buyer.
After you have accepted an offer
When you have accepted an offer for your property, the buyer’s lawyer will start the conveyancing process and work with your legal representative to draft the promissory contract. This is a legally binding contract and lists all the details of the sale. Ten days before you and the vendor sign the promissory contract, we will ask for 50% of the agreed commission fee to be paid. This will have been agreed in your terms of contract with us from the outset and is standard practise.
Both you and the buyer will sign the contract when the buyer’s lawyer is happy with the results of the checks, which normally takes anything from six to 28 days from the offer being accepted, but can be more in certain circumstances, like when the buyer has to arrange a mortgage.
At this stage, the buyer will be asked to pay a deposit of around 10%. It is important to note that you will have to pay twice the deposit back to the buyer, if you pull out of the sale once the promissory contract has been signed. If the buyer pulls out, they will lose their deposit.
You and the buyer will agree a date for the Escritura, or the signing of the deeds, which is effectively the same as the completion stage in the UK. Promissory contract to Escritura can take as little as seven days but it is normally 30 – 60 days.
Yours and the buyer’s lawyers will use this time to check all the details of the sale and purchase and ensure that all the conditions of the promissory are fulfilled.
Signing the deeds - Escritura
The Escritura will be signed by you and the vendor in the presence of a notary and your lawyers. All the funds will be transferred and distributed accordingly by the buyer’s lawyer to cover agent’s and lawyer’s fees and any taxes that may apply to the sale and purchase, amongst other possible costs. The notary will then register the sale with the Conservatória do Registo Predial (Land Registry), which records the sale price and grants full security of ownership. Once this is complete, the property is yours and you are free to move in.
Capital gains tax
You may have to pay capital gains tax on the proceeds from your property sale. However, you may be exempt if you plan to reinvest the money into another property in Portugal and you can prove that both properties (i.e. the one you sold and the one you are buying) are, and were, your main residence.
