# Just found a new property at last minute.



## jonpaul314 (Jan 26, 2015)

Hi all,
i hope everyone had a merry Christmas.
My wife and i are due to fly to Portugal to look at a few properties on the 14th of January 2016.
The properties we have arranged to view all say they have habitation license, however only 3 days ago we have came accross a lovely property we found online just out from where we were seaching and it is by Fundao, it has thrown everything in the air, This property is different from the others as it is stated as T4 Farmhouse ready to live in and with a connected slate house which also with a new roof and with just over 2 hect of land.
It has power connected and a borehole, the property shows construction year 2006 so guessing the new added property was constructed 2006? (hoping this had planning permission) only just contacted the estate agent a few days ago but no reply yet and guessing there off from work because of the xmas period?
my 1st Question is do i need a solicitor to find out about land registry of the property or as like ive read in other posts that i contact the local camera to find out about its habitational register, and could this be just a walk in off the street for the information as we are only going to be in portugal for 5 days for this visit ( and 2 of those days is the weekend which i gather they would be closed). I dont want to instruct a solicitor which is going to start to syphon our cash when i could do it for free myself until we make our minds up if to buy the property.
Question 2 is it ok to live in the property if it is registered as a farm?
i know question 2 sounds dumb but really struggling with classifications of property and where and what we can and can't live in.
We are cash buyers so no mortgage required so would that make any difference.
Ive probably not explained things very well but if anyone has made any jist from my efforts we would really welcome yr response.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Don't sign anything or part with a cent until you've had your lawyer check everything out for you & he/she will check the situation regarding your 2nd question as well.

Don't be surprised if the house isn't as presented on the site you've seen....... it's not uncommon for pics to be several years old & property to have been neglected in the interim.

Oh and welcome to the forum!


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## robc (Jul 17, 2008)

+1 to TM above
And welcome as well

Rob


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## jonpaul314 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thanks guys,
I was just hoping that there might be a way of checking to see if a place had a habitation license before i instruct a solicitor to do so, as the other properties are not in that region and i didnt want to pay solicitor costs if not 100% required until buying process begins which i definatley will as i dont fancy losing our hard saved earnings.

Thanks again.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

The cost of a lawyer for the whole process is only a few hundred and the cost of just having him check the habitation thing is negligible so better to pay a little and be sure the job is done right. 

You might also consider having a builder look over the property as well because there's a lot of problems that might not be very evident at first glance here........ especially when it comes to things like wood eating insects of which there is no end of here.


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## jonpaul314 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thanks for the heads up Travelling-man.
Really appreciated.


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## TonyJ1 (May 20, 2014)

jonpaul314 said:


> Thanks guys,
> I was just hoping that there might be a way of checking to see if a place had a habitation license
> Thanks again.


Just ask for a copy of the habitation licence


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## jonpaul314 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thanks


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## jonpaul314 (Jan 26, 2015)

need a 5th post, but thanks again..


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## james2984 (Jan 19, 2016)

Hi Jon Paul,

The queries that you have should be easily answered by the relevant estate agent, when the vendor (seller) is listing their property with an estate agent they need to sign a contract that allows the estate agent to sell the property. In this contract a lot of the information is noted or at the very least the agent will have all this info in the file for this property.

You should not need to acquire the services of a solicitor until you have found the right property and are about to make an offer on it, your main priority would be a reputable estate agent and let them earn their commission by doing all the above for you. 

If you need any more info let me know as I have experience in this area.

James


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## jonpaul314 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thank you James, appreciate your time you made to reply to my post.
I didnt buy that property in the end, in fact i didnt even get a chance to view it !
we did arrange with the agent to meet up on the day we landed and after driving all the way towards Fundao, the agent then pulls out of the viewing at the last minute as we pulled up to the meeting point, we had, had conversations on the way there from the airport, then he wanted to reschedule the viewing for 2 days later.
you just couldnt make this **** up, you can imagine how we all felt having travelled so far.
I wasnt prepared to waste another minute on this fella so we viewed other properties on our list, and we found our dream property and hoping all goes well on Monday when i sign the deeds i will be an official Portugeeza.
I would love to name and shame the agent but dont wont to ruin our feel good factor we have at the moment, or at least until i have the deeds in my hand.

Thanks all for the advise everyone gave me, it really meant a lot to me.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Strongly suggest you don't sign anything or part with a cent before you've had it thoroughly checked out by a lawyer or YOUR choice & not one recommended by the agent or seller.

Also suggest you at least consider having it checked over by a reputable builder.


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## jonpaul314 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thanks Travelling man, our advogada has told us everything is in order and ok to go straight to completion of signing of the deed which i instructed as im happy to buy as it is and ive been a builder for almost 20 years so i find that comforting knowing what im looking at. only thing that can stop the deed signing is if a neighbour wants the property , where they get first offer.
Thanks for the heads up.


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## zbug (Feb 5, 2017)

travelling-man said:


> Don't sign anything or part with a cent until you've had your lawyer check everything out for you & he/she will check the situation regarding your 2nd question as well.
> 
> Don't be surprised if the house isn't as presented on the site you've seen....... it's not uncommon for pics to be several years old & property to have been neglected in the interim.
> 
> Oh and welcome to the forum!



Hello there Traveling man, would you kindly PM me ? as I'm new to this site i don't think i have access to PM yet.

Thanks!


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

zbug said:


> Hello there Traveling man, would you kindly PM me ? as I'm new to this site i don't think i have access to PM yet.
> 
> Thanks!


You can't send or receive PMs until you've clocked up a minimum of 5 posts so you need to do that & then you can send me a PM.


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## zbug (Feb 5, 2017)

travelling-man said:


> You can't send or receive PMs until you've clocked up a minimum of 5 posts so you need to do that & then you can send me a PM.


ah ok will try not to spam the forum then  thanks will pm you soon


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## zbug (Feb 5, 2017)

travelling-man said:


> You can't send or receive PMs until you've clocked up a minimum of 5 posts so you need to do that & then you can send me a PM.


not sure what i am doing wrong but i have 5 posts now and i still can't contact you  anything else i have to do?

thanks!


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

zbug said:


> not sure what i am doing wrong but i have 5 posts now and i still can't contact you  anything else i have to do?
> 
> thanks!


I just tried to send you a PM & it shows as not available so it could be that a moderator needs to do something but give it a little while & try again.........


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## zbug (Feb 5, 2017)

travelling-man said:


> I just tried to send you a PM & it shows as not available so it could be that a moderator needs to do something but give it a little while & try again.........


ok thank you so much


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

PM sent


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