Buy a Home in Lisbon

Buying in Lisbon or Greater Lisbon is easier when someone who works the market every day narrows the list before you spend weekends on viewings. I am Catarina Henriques, AMI 16282, an independent consultant affiliated with Century 21 RealtyArt. I help first-time buyers, people moving again, and investors looking at apartments, houses, land or commercial property.

If you are selling as well as buying, the free valuation of your current home is the right first step, with no obligation. For the purchase itself I shortlist on-market and off-market options that match your budget, book the viewings, and stay through the offer, the promissory contract and completion.

This page is general guidance from a licensed mediator. It is not legal advice. Contracts are checked with the lawyer or solicitor instructed on your file, and a mortgage is arranged with a bank, not by me.

How a purchase is organised

1. 01 Budget and brief

   We fix a ceiling that includes the price and the usual purchase taxes and fees, in general terms, before any viewing. You tell me the area, the typology and what is essential. Greater Lisbon is in scope as well as the city.

2. 02 Shortlist and viewings

   I select properties that fit, including ones not publicly listed when I am instructed on them. On a viewing I look at condition, light, noise and the condominium with the same technical eye I bring from civil engineering.

3. 03 Offer

   If you want to proceed I submit a written offer: price, timing and any condition, such as finance. I negotiate. I do not invent a 'market discount' or promise a result.

4. 04 Promissory contract

   An accepted offer moves to a promissory purchase contract. The deposit, the deadline and the conditions belong in that document. I recommend you have it read by your lawyer or solicitor before you sign. I coordinate the practical questions around it.

5. 05 Finance, when you need it

   I can refer a mortgage partner. Pre-approval, the bank's own valuation and the paperwork the bank asks for are the bank's process. My commercial opinion of a home is not a bank valuation.

6. 06 Completion

   The deed transfers ownership once the funds and the taxes due on the purchase are in place. I help you prepare the handover: keys, meters and the documents the seller should deliver. AMI 16282 is the licence for this mediation.

What buyers are usually asked to have

Residents and non-residents alike are normally asked for identification and a Portuguese tax number. If you are financing, the bank adds income documents and its own property valuation. On the property, ask to see the land-registry certificate, the energy certificate, the floor plan and the habitation licence where one applies.

Foreign buyers follow the same purchase steps. A power of attorney is sometimes used when you cannot be at the deed. I explain the sequence. Your lawyer confirms what you must sign.

Fees, in general terms

On many instructions the seller pays the agency commission. I confirm that in writing before the search starts, because it is not a rule you should assume. Purchase taxes and notary or registry costs are separate and depend on the price and the buyer. I will not quote a tax figure on this page. Ask a tax adviser for your case. If you want a sense of your own home's value first, the valuation is free.

How long it tends to take

A search can be short when the brief is clear, and longer when the right home is not listed yet. After an accepted offer, finance and the deed follow the bank and the notary, not a slogan on a portal. I work Lisbon and Greater Lisbon, Monday to Friday 09:00–18:00 and Saturday 09:00–13:00.

Catarina chose this property as if it were for herself — besides the special area and incredible renovation, it had great energy, truly a home.