Spanish Vs. Portuguse Property

Thinking of buying property in either Spain or Portugal? If you do not trust US realtors or English estate agents, you really should be very careful about Spanish Inmobiliaria and Portuguese Imobiliário agencies!

In general you will find more horror stories and pay more taxes for Spanish real estate, just do a search for Spanish Real Estate Warnings on Google. For an excellent side-by side comparison between Portugal and Spain regarding real estate taxes, visit Spain Vs Portugal Property Taxes.

Be warned, they have an expression in Portugal: "Everyone has trouble with their neighbours", though this is probably true in any country, it is prudent to do your research first. In Spain the saying is "Everyone has trouble with their developers"! Buying off-plan is an extremely risky business. It is far better to buy an existing property which has its neighbourhood sorted out already. Horror stories of huge lumps of concrete appearing outside people's windows is common. Be aware of the thousands of horror stories in Spain where people have bought and paid only to see the developer go bust before their home is built, or where developments right outside people's homes stop and remain ugly, unfinished concrete eyesores.

A good alternative to jumping in the deep end is to rent a property in the general area first and get to know local reactions to foreigners first hand. If you are planning to work, especially conduct your own business, it is vital you enquire before buying property with the relevant authorities to make sure there are no nasty surprises down the line. Get everything in writing.

Check for the essentials, how good they are; food supply, water supply, electricity supply, sewerage, telephone access, health care, schools (quality and availability), fire risk, risks from global warming, corruption risk, road access, etc. Do not take these things for granted.

Make sure any property and land you buy has been fully approved and licensed. If the land title for the house is not Urbano, do not buy it, it is too great a risk; houses bought on agricultural title land with the correct building permits have been torn down afterwards, leaving the new owners homeless and penniless, because the building permit was obtained unlawfully.

Check you are not buying in a former river bed. Check to see what the local flood levels are. Check to see what the crime rates are. Check to see if there is any possible charge / lien on the property or land. Check and make sure of your access rights. Both Spain and Portugal have a nasty habit of catching out unwary foreigners.

Vigo Real Estate - Luxury Villas

The Spanish port city of Vigo is densely populated and offers excellent shopping plus some of the best seafood in Europe. Property prices even in the hilly suburbs of Vigo have risen significantly despite the property problems elsewhere; this is because Vigo is a commercial, not tourist or expatriate area so much. In fact Vigo is literally bursting at the seams, so much so they have enlarged the port a few kilometres away and linked both the sea and "dry" port with rail links and expressways, rather than try to expand Vigo itself.

This port expansion is on top of the massive industrial area just to the south of Vigo called Porriño, where the highly successful French car maker Peugeot has a massive manufacturing plant. Such high levels of commerce means there are a lot of Spanish million and even billionaires in the area.

Local wealth, quality department stores, fashionable boutique shopping areas, four International standard hospitals, superb dining, excellent night life, low crime rates and some of the best air quality in Europe do come at a price though, so many people buy their Vigo real estate outside the city limits. The Atlantic Ocean towns of Cangas, Moana, Palmas, Samil, Fontenlas, Coruxo, Os Abestos and Nigran are all popular and often expensive choices for many during the summer, but it can get very bleak and blustery in these coastal areas during the winter.

Only 20 minutes from Vigo are a host of better priced luxury villas. Along the immediate coast itself can be a bit expensive (local businessmen having pushed prices up), but travel just 20 minutes north and you reach the large town of Pontevedra, while 20 minutes south gets you to Valença in Portugal (see North Portugal Properties) where the taxes / property rates are lower, and where regulations prohibiting close proximity and high density buildings provide more guarantees regarding your window views!

North Portugal Properties / Real Estate

One of the steadiest property markets in Portugal is in the very north, past Porto even. With the massive expansion of Vigo, one of the largest ports in Europe, plus the huge industrialisation of nearby Porriño, the area both sides of the River Minho / Mino is enjoying prosperity not common in other areas of Portugal or Spain. The new "Vigo dry port" will be completed soon almost doubling the capacity of the original "wet" port, escalating house prices in Portugal where many Spanish prefer to live for tax and building regulation reasons.

North Portuguese properties in the Costa Verde (Viana do Castelo) municipality are projected by some to rise as much as 40% in the next two years, especially real estate around Valença which will soon have its EU funded high speed rail link connections to Porto, Lisbon, Madrid and of course Vigo. With a journey time of just 30 minutes to Porto, many affluent Portuguese who work there will be able to commute quickly and economically from Valença. Being on the border with Spain, Valença is popular anyway not least because of immediate access to Spanish supermarkets and hospitals / health care; Vigo has 4 International standard hospitals and is just a 20 minute motorway drive away, while the nearest full service Portuguese hospital is 40 minutes away (Porto and / or Viana do Castelo) and not to the same standard as Vigo. With several Spanish paramedic ambulance services covering Valença (by arrangement), this makes a 40 minute drive in a basic Portuguese ambulance very unappealing. Poor Portuguese health care and emergency services being one of the biggest issues nationwide, it pays to live near to a bridge / entry road into Spain!

For a list of villa / property agents click this link below;

North Portugal Properties / Real Estate agent list

Please let me know of any others I have missed / I should include