American Family Buys a Home In Portugal// Our Experience Purchasing in the Silver Coast of Portugal

Good Afternoon Friends!
Well....we bought a house! I was going back and forth debating on whether or not I wanted to create a video about our experience with our house purchase. Mainly because....I feel like our experience isn't the norm, but I decided to share it anyway. I would rather have you learn from my experience and be aware of what isn't the norm!
A few short months after moving to Portugal, we decided to start looking at homes. We even looked at homes in Lagos! We absolutely love it there and put an offer on one home. Boy would this KZbin channel be so different had we moved there. Luckily, our offer wasn't accepted and the owner had countered. We took some time to explore the area some more; really narrowing down if it was a livable city for us (not just for vacation). We then realized that Lagos didn't fit our needs/want list. So back to Caldas some more!
We moved into our rental (in Foz do Arelho) which then gave us some time to find the perfect home. It was a mere two months after we moved into our rental that we found our new home. Can I tell you how hard it is to find a home with more than 4 bedrooms? I never thought having 3 kids would make home buying in Portugal difficult, but apparently, I have a "large" family 😂. Coming from a family of 7, I find that funny to say.
❤️ Reason Why We Bought in Caldas da Rainha ❤️
I've been asked why we chose to buy in Caldas versus staying in Foz. Although we loved living by the beach, we found that we rarely went there. My husband and I would have lunch at the beach every other week, but our daily activities are always in Caldas. So it just made sense for us to buy there.
🏦 Banks 🏦
We use Novo Banco with our home loan. Although our closing process was a bit lengthy and at times frustrating, we have been happy with their service so far. We have used the Caldas branch in a few different occasions and the manager and staff have gone out of their way to help us. So in the future, I would recommend going in person if you want to apply for a home loan with them. If we had done that initially, I believe the process would have been completely different 💕
Anyway, grab some popcorn, use the bathroom and get ready for a very long chat.
⭐️ Mortgage Info ⭐️
www.expatica.c...
www.idealista....
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ABOUT US:
Hi! My name is Josie. My husband and three kids decided to move to the Silver Coast of Portugal after living in the United States for our entire life. Follow us as we discover the amazing region of the Silver Coast.Hope you enjoy our journey.
#silvercoastportugal #portugal #movingtoportugal #caldasdarainha #familiesinportugal #livingincaldasdarainha #movingtocaldasdarainha

[@boramy_anaya606]

Great video! Our family of four is also planning the same move. Thanks for your insights.

[@johnhunter5899]

Bom dia Josie, I think you have made an excellent choice. Real estate is way more sensibly priced in the silver coast than in Lisbon, although it’s just a short drive on the A8 to the capital. And the beautiful thing about Caldas is that one has access to all the good stuff, shopping wise, in a very charming and charismatic city, just minutes away from some of the most wonderful and dramatic seascapes in the country. We are long time owners of properties in Caldas so welcome to the neighborhood :)

[@robynolney630]

Congratulations!! My husband and I just finished a purchase with Novo Banco and your rate and ours were identical! The closing was almost as harrowing. The only difference was we completed the purchase from the US with our lawyer as our proxy. She's very no nonsense and got it done with almost zero stress for us. We didn't even hear the whole story until the day after the deed and we're grateful for that. LOL!

[@josieinportugal6454]

Omg! Phew! I’m so happy that I’m not alone. Good call on hiring that lawyer. Money well spent ❤️

[@hongjiezhang6288]

Good for you. Congrats.Who is your lawyer? How much did he or she charge?

[@jachmd]

Well done! My salute to you guys for making this brave decision. We are planning to invest next year, we are saving for the down payment and closing costs.

[@stevensscrapbook7119]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Sounds like it was quite the ordeal. I’m glad to read that you love your new house!

[@miriammaru]

OMG! Congratulations Josie!!! 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿 This gives me hopes, I too can someday ❤️

[@Hello_Pri]

Congratulations on your new house! I'm glad it all worked out! Hoping to visit Portugal one day soon to see if it's a place we would want to live.

[@tonyspadaCATDAD]

Hi Josie. Congratulations on your new home. In June, my partner and I will be making our third trip to Portugal since October. We are scouting for our future home. Caldas da Rainha is on the list. We will be there the third week of June. This will be our first time in that area. Excited to see Caldas!

[@YvonneM125]

Hi Josie, thank you for such an informative video. Would you be willing to share details of the realtor and lawyer you used please; as I am interested in purchasing a holiday home in the Silver Coast. Is it possible to contact you via email if this is more appropriate? 🙂

[@JenShea]

Thank you for sharing your experience Josie,

[@dan_in_real_life]

Great video and insight! Thanks for sharing.

[@joemarques2617]

Congratulations Josie! 👏👏👏👏👏 Enjoy your lovely home!

[@patriciaa9372]

Wishing all the best for you and your familiy in the new house!

[@josieinportugal6454]

Thank you so much!

[@Lat41]

Congrats! I am envious. We may put an offer on a place up around Braga. Such a tough decision.

[@josieinportugal6454]

I feel you. Buying a home in a different country can be very daunting! Go with your gut feeling :)

[@JasonJFlippingLife]

Appreciate the video and congratulations.

[@yolandagonzalez-hansen1215]

Congratulations on your purchase of your first home. As someone planning on moving to Portugal and buying a home in Portugal your experience just confirms some of my fears as to the lack of professionalism and knowledge from realtors/banks/lawyers. I know that in the states we always recommend Word of mouth when finding a realtor lawyer etc. how about sharing that information for future homebuyers in Portugal to avoid?

[@bigslotjackpots]

Congratulations! I legit almost spit out my drink when you said the interest rate. I’ve never even heard of rates that low. I think rates here had hit 5.25% and are still expected to go up. That is insane. Could you also please share what the fixed rates would’ve been?

[@tamaramadelin4831]

For us 2.75 fuxed! Of course we locked that in as rates are only going up!

[@sherryburton7644]

Thank you

[@chadandalicehervey738]

Congratulations Josie, Sounds typical for what we have experienced as far as lagistics.It’s almost like a circus getting things done..lol!!!Anyway ,another great episode! Chad

[@josieinportugal6454]

Thanks Chad!

[@Goodlifexplorers]

Congrats on the new house, but it sounds like a nightmare of a process...

[@ninarosaphotography2039]

Congratulations!

[@speakingupforpointmolate4670]

I bought a condo in Sao Martinho do Porto. I had to pay cash, and the reason is the EU has an age limit on getting a mortgage. If you're 65 or over, good luck! It's ridiculous!

[@rainypelton1780]

Hi Josie, I love your videos. My husband and i will be traveling to Caldas this month. We are interested in moving to Portugal soon. We currently live near San Francisco, CA. Do you have a local real estate company you would recommend? Also, do you have a local attorney who could help us apply for our D7 visa? Thank you, Rainy

[@pedromiguel9202]

Josie, not having a life insurance is a mistake. Small monthly amount with a huge impact if you need it in the future.

[@josieinportugal6454]

Understandable, but we have life insurance from the states

[@langnguyen4249]

Very good job girl !!

[@edesouza2279]

Congratulations on your new home purchase! You survived!! Good on you for not falling into the life insurance trap for the mortgage. The life insurance is very costly for it is based on the size of the mortgage. Also, you could only benefit from the insurance if one spouse dies and the other cannot pay the monthly mortgage payments; or if the main income earner suffers a disability and is unable to make the payments. Mortgage insurance is a big ripoff. If you were to save or invest the amount of the added insurance cost over a period of 20 to 30 years you would end up with something tangible at your disposal.

[@josieinportugal6454]

I'm so happy that you mentioned that. Life insurance is something that can be beneficial if needed, but to most, a very costly service that can be avoided.

[@tessahugo1906]

Congratulations..I am new sub. Cape Town South Africa

[@a.castillo9752]

Hi Josie, I'm wondering if you think Millennium offering you a better rate was influenced at all by you guys being current customers or possibly trying to offer a slightly better rate from what they new you had gotten from Novo Bank. Just curious as I begin my journey at looking at Beja District.

[@josieinportugal6454]

I think a few things helped. Yes, being current customers helped along with the fact that we had already transferred over our downpayment into our Millennium account. Also, having a dedicated account manager helped because when they gave us the approved simulation, it wasn't nearly as competitive as when she requested an additional discount from her manager. That was when they removed the life insurance and reduced the interest rate. We believe that if we had worked with Novo Banco directly (not through a mortgage broker), we could have been offered better rates than what we received.

[@exliontamer]

congratulations :-)

[@manuelmachado1276]

i think closings are the same all over.

[@abiolaarrow4787]

Congrats Josie on your new home... Good video too... Will a life insurance policy from the US suffice? And also wanted to ask what the average going rate (per hour) for a lawyer? Thanks.

[@josieinportugal6454]

I'm not sure about life insurance from the states being accepted in Portugal. I know we have one (in the states) and I somewhat remember our mortgage broker saying it wouldn't be accepted, but I would recommend you asking the bank you choose if they will accept it. My lawyer charged us a flat rate of 1k to draft up the CPCV, review all documents, translate, change over utilities etc. I've heard of other lawyers charging less while others charge 1% of the sales price. So the price of a lawyer varies (especially in different cities).

[@abiolaarrow4787]

That's good to know... Thanks Josie...

[@naima8392]

When you refer to a lawyer is this an American lawyer in the US or one in Portugal. Would you recommend one? Thank you.

[@josieinportugal6454]

It’s a Portuguese lawyer named Carlos Tome

[@hongjiezhang6288]

In New Zealand neither me or my lawyer needs to meet the other side when buying a house. I don’t need to physically sign anything all online. It is like 3rd world all goes by ears. I wondered whether you May get the bank to appraise before making a final offer.

[@HEAVY1524]

Congrats nice video just alot of echo hard to hear

[@FoodHuntress00]

Are you Vietnamese or Filipino?

[@boramy_anaya606]

Would you be able to share your lawyer's contact information?

[@tamaramadelin4831]

Hi! Did you go through a reputable realty agency like ERA, Remax or Century 21? Don't the banks have lawyers, do an inspection, check the house documents? We've found that most banks come back with similar offers, but slightly different rates...Are you still happy choosing variable since rates are going up and it seems they will continue to do so! Could you use a mortgage broker at yhe sMe agency? We are finding NB very high and even checked with Millennium, but they were not competitive. I hope we are doing this right! We are going with fixed ant it's in the 2%. Thanks for your advice!

[@josieinportugal6454]

Hi. We went with a local real estate agency here in Caldas. From my knowledge, the banks don't have lawyers available for buyers (or at least I didn't ask). They do have an inspector come out, but only for the valuation. In fact, they didn't even enter our house. They viewed the house only by the exterior and made their valuation based on that. Regarding the variable rate and if we are happy, it's hard to say since we've only lived in the house for a couple of months. We did receive quotes for fixed rates to compare and we found the variable rate saved us a few hundred dollars a month. In the event the variable rate increases or exceeds the rate of the fixed, we do have an option to renegotiate with the banks. At 2%, it's still much better than the states where it's over 5%!

[@tamaramadelin4831]

Thanks for your response! Fixed is a little higher, but with inflation I just feel it is safer and yes, under 3%! Since November rates have gone up and are expected to continue!! Enjoy your home...It looks nice!

[@JasonJFlippingLife]

@@josieinportugal6454 Would love to know what a renegotiation of variable to fixed would entail.

[@terriblepainter7675]

@@josieinportugal6454 why not share the name of the agency if it was a good experience?

[@deanelder8110]

@@tamaramadelin4831 can you share how long your fixed tenor is for @ 2% ?

[@naima8392]

Disappointed! I wish she gave a tour of the house.

[@josieinportugal6454]

I have another video touring my house :)

[@syedmubashar8775]

Hi madam my name syed Mubashar UL Hasan and I am Dubai from 14years experience security and I am very hardworking and professional with my field skills and I have experience letter and others documents and wants to work in malta or portegal please help me.