The Lawyer
On our first trip we met with Dra. Paula Mierles, of Carvoeiro Advogados. We got her info via Rightmove. She specializes in property acquisition and immigration for ex-pats. Mainly Brits.
She took time to outline the processes at her office one afternoon:
Acquiring property is no different than E. Coast US, where lawyers get involved (as opposed to CA where it is real estate agent and title company). It might take a few months but at the end you own a freehold outright. You can combine multiple properties (say, a primary residence and a rental) to reach the 500K Euro needed for the Golden Visa. Property taxes in Portugal are an order of magnitude lower than California, a big consideration on a fixed retirement budget.
Then once you start buying, there is a year to complete and reach the total for a Golden Visa application. The minimum residence to maintain the application is only 2 weeks per year. Doable! No language requirements!
Lawyer Paula can do everything with a power of attorney. Everything includes a tax number, tax payment and utility set up. We don't have to be there for closing, but she suggested it.
We just met with her the second time, cleared up questions, and granted her the right to be our agent. And she is a super nice person.
Dra Mierles also recommended a real estate agent and a banker - at BankInter - familiar with expat account setup. We get all the stuff - ATM card, checks, online banking, transfers- for no annual fee. First year 5% interest! (Which will cover some of the currency exchange).
Thanks to the internet, we can do almost everything via email.
The kicker: Two 2-hour consults and a notarized power of attorney. Zero bill. Well, so far.
Footnote: some of my more cynical friends may think that this is too good to be true and we're playing into the hands of con men. They all check out.
She took time to outline the processes at her office one afternoon:
Acquiring property is no different than E. Coast US, where lawyers get involved (as opposed to CA where it is real estate agent and title company). It might take a few months but at the end you own a freehold outright. You can combine multiple properties (say, a primary residence and a rental) to reach the 500K Euro needed for the Golden Visa. Property taxes in Portugal are an order of magnitude lower than California, a big consideration on a fixed retirement budget.
Then once you start buying, there is a year to complete and reach the total for a Golden Visa application. The minimum residence to maintain the application is only 2 weeks per year. Doable! No language requirements!
Lawyer Paula can do everything with a power of attorney. Everything includes a tax number, tax payment and utility set up. We don't have to be there for closing, but she suggested it.
We just met with her the second time, cleared up questions, and granted her the right to be our agent. And she is a super nice person.
Dra Mierles also recommended a real estate agent and a banker - at BankInter - familiar with expat account setup. We get all the stuff - ATM card, checks, online banking, transfers- for no annual fee. First year 5% interest! (Which will cover some of the currency exchange).
Thanks to the internet, we can do almost everything via email.
The kicker: Two 2-hour consults and a notarized power of attorney. Zero bill. Well, so far.
Footnote: some of my more cynical friends may think that this is too good to be true and we're playing into the hands of con men. They all check out.
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