Foreign Buyers
Explore our guides on foreign buyers: essential information for anyone buying, selling or renovating property in Portugal.
Buying land or a ruin in Portugal: what has to exist on paper before you pay (2026)
Buying land or a ruin in Portugal: the PDM class, the registers and a pedido de informação prévia decide what you can build. What to confirm before you pay.
Buying from abroad: what you cannot verify from photographs
A listing photograph records surface, framing and one moment. Which Portuguese property defects stay outside all three, and what to ask for instead.
Portugal vs Europe: Mandatory Property Diagnostics Compared (2026)
France's DDT and Spain's ITE force a technical check of the building before sale. Portugal mandates no condition diagnostic, so the one technical check is the one you commission.
Direito de preferência: how a third party can legally claim the property you agreed to buy
In Portugal, tenants, municipalities and heritage bodies can buy a property at your agreed price. How the right works and how to guard against it.
Lawyer, notary, agent: who actually protects the buyer in Portugal?
Three professionals are present in every Portuguese property purchase. None of them is responsible for the physical condition of the building. Here is what each one does, and does not do.
CPCV vs. reserva: how Portugal's pre-contract structure differs from Spain
Portugal uses a CPCV with a 10–20% deposit at risk from signing. Spain uses a reserva followed by arras. Here is what each system means for buyers, and which protects more.
Buyer protection in Portugal: why the system works against you
Portugal's property market has no MLS, no buyer's agent profession and no mandatory inspection. How each gap exposes buyers, and what to do about it.
Portugal real estate agents: AMI, fees, mandates
In Portugal the seller pays the agent. How the AMI licence, the usual 5% plus IVA commission and open mandates work, and what no agent checks for you.
Why Portugal has no buyer's agents: what that means for your purchase
Portugal has no licensed buyer's agent profession. The mediador works for the seller. Here's why the profession never developed and what fills the gap.
Buying Property in Portugal: Risks and Pitfalls
The 7.5% non-resident IMT now in force, the four documents to verify before signing, and the pitfalls that no document reveals. Updated September 2026.