# possible move to the Silver Coast



## jessica1

Hi everyone,
I've just joined the forum hoping it will give me lots of usual information from expats who have lived in the Silver Coast for some time. We are planning to make a trip out in the near future but at the moment we have been browsing the web and have been quite impressed with the properties on offer and the value for money. We have looked at a few in the Tomar area and were wondering if it's possible to haggle to try and reduce the price as we would be forced to do the same here in the UK due to the credit crunch. We wouldn't have a mortgage and have some savings but would be looking to try and get some sort of job to provide us with an income. I am aware that renting out part of the property would be an option and the property we liked on the web would give us this opportunity.
Can anyone tell me if there is enough demand to consider this? It would appear that long term rental is the most advantegeous. On the job prospects is there much on offer. My partner would be able to do general handyman jobs. It seems that the cost of living is quite cheap e.g. utility bills,food and eating out. Any replys
would be much appreciated.
Thanks


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## silvers

Hi Jessica,
there is a member on this board who is an agent in Tomar called Omostra, I am sure they could help you out finding a property and also advise you of the possibility of renting out part of it.
If you decide to look nearer to the coast, then i will help you as much as I possibly can.
James

p.s. It is generally regarded that 10,000 euros is the wriggle room on most prices. Obviously if the price is 55,000 then you won't get 10,000 off.


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## jessica1

Hi James,
Thanks for your reply. The property we were looking at was 172000euros. We will most likely contact the estate agent to find out more details. If we need any further info re property I will get in touch with you or contact Omostra as you mentioned.
Thanks again


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## silvers

No problem Jessica, good luck.


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## omostra06

Demand for holiday rentals and long term rentals is very good around our area of Tomar, we help rent lots of properties to locals and overseas clients, a very strong part of the medium term rental clients are made up from overseas clients looking to buy a house around Tomar, so they ask for a rental property first, so they can be here and take thier time looking around to find a suitable property to buy, these people normaly want to rent a place for about 3 to 5 months. More income can be achieved by letting a place short term for holiday makers, weekly rental income can be a lot more than you would get for a monthly income, although there is more work involved in this type of renting, it can be worth it as an alternative to finding employment, just use your property to give you an income. of coarse this only works if you buy the correct type of property, one that can easilly be rented out as a self contained unit or indeed a total seperate house, some people rent parts of thier house, but the more privacy and space that you give your renter the more rent you can get. take a look on our gekkoportugal website under rental properties and holliday lets to give you an idea of achievable income for different types of properties. dont forget that unless you rent out long term you may have parts of the year with no tennant.

As for work, a good handyman should always be able to keep busy, there are always people looking for someone to do work for them, especially the expat comunity as sometimes they dont like (or cant) speak to the local tradesmen and perfare to employ a English speaker. depending on what skills you both have, work can be found, but its much easier if you speak Portuguese at least to a basic level, if you dont speak the lingo it is still possible to find full time or part time work, for an example we employ English speakers in our office in Tomar, so its possible to find work if you need to.

our Estate agency is Chavetejo and is based in Tomar, most of our properties are within one hours drive of Tomar but we do have a rep on the silver coast at Figueira da Foz. we have 860 properties at the moment so there is something for everyones budget. let me know if you need any help or advice.


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## jessica1

Thanks Omostra for you valuable information. It really helps us to understand exactly what the situation is re. earning an income. We realise that we ourselves would be better renting for 3-5months to find out if it would be possible to live in the Silver Coast. We had already looked in your website and had infact contacted your office re. a property we had seen and we were quite impressed with it ( Ref no 540/07). We thought that it was the type of property that would be suitable for living in and renting out part. Would you agree with this? With regards to the job situation we are just looking for something that would provide us with an adequate income, basically enough to live on. My friend's partner although doesn't have a trade is good at DIY and my friend and I would be happy to get something part-time. I have some clerical experience. We do not speak any Portuguese at the moment but would certainly try to learn the basics. We have quite a comfortable life (financially) here in Scotland but feel that the quality of life isn't there anymore and material things don't mean as much. We all love the outdoors and we have 2 dogs who also love outside but unfortunately in Scotland the weather doesn't give us much opportunity to enjoy this and most of the winter is spent indoors with the central heating on. We are all in our mid forties and think that if we don't try something soon then we never will, bearing in mind that we are not going to be too hasty as this would be such a daunting, stressful experience. Any other useful information would be appreciated.
Thanks again
Moira


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## omostra06

Hi Moira

This type of property is indeed well suited to living in one part and renting out another part, this property also has several other rooms that have not yet been fully developed, so there is an opportunity to increase rental income by converting these other rooms for living in and renting out both 2 bedroom properties, creating more rental income.

A 2 bed rental unit of these types with swimming pool, in this area would give an income of 450 euros per month each (900euros per month if you let both) on a long term let or approx 300 euros per week on a short term holiday basis (2400 euros per month if you let both) of coarse these figures might not be all year round, a good mixture of summer season for short term and longer term rental for winter is a good way to do it. It would also depend on how much work you want to do and how much income you need to achieve, if you only need 450 per month then just let one unit on a long term basis, less clients to find, less change over and less hassle.
´
We sell a lot of properties that have a part of it that can be rented out, as this is a good way to make an income without having to find a full time job. You can rent it out on what ever basis you want, holiday market or long term market, as well as deciding when you want to rent, only summer, only winter or all year round.


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## jessica1

Hi Omostra,
We are certainly taking on board the information you are giving us. I am at the moment learning basic French as initially our plan was to think about a move to France. My friend and her partner bought a property in the South East of France a few years ago. They rented it out before selling it last year as it was purely for an investment. They also went on holiday to the Midi Pyrenees this year and liked the area. The only problem with finding a property there is most of them within the price range require some renovation work to be done and we think it may be harder to get them rented out. However they have a bit understanding of the French laws and along with some basic knowledge of the language this does make things easier. I know from looking through the forum that the expats living in the Silver Coast are very helpful and would probably guide us through all the legal details. We are contemplating coming out for a 4-5day break to see the area hopefully in the near future. There is no direct flight from Scotland so we would need to go London first then a flight to Lisbon. I will get in touch when we manage to get a trip arranged. Thanks for your help.
Moira


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## omostra06

Hi Moira
I agree parts of France are very nice, we spent a long time looking around Europe for the best place to move to and even after we decided Portugal was best for us we spent a further 6 months looking at different parts of the country before choosing The Tomar area. For us it was a number of things, having grown up in Scotland (and its weather) I wanted a better all year round climate than say France or Italy (both countries we really like) also the Airport at Lisbon is one hours drive from Tomar so its an easy journey to pick up visitors. Tha lake of castelo do Bode is 10 mins from Tomar and is a 40 mile long fresh water lake, great for waterskiing, sailing, swimming etc. that was a real draw for us.

The legal side of buying property in Portugal is quite straight forward, and has few problems, problems with the purchase of their house here is normally due to the paperwork not being upto date or inorder, most good agents will get the paperwork in order before offering a property for sale, so these types of problems should be solved before you look at a property offered for sale.
(SNIP)


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## jessica1

Hi Omostra,
So am I right to think you're a "Scottish lassie"?. The area you are staying in seems to be quite appealing. Do you believe yourself that the Silver Coast is going to be up and coming enough that demand for renting would be there for quite some time?. I am aware that nobody can guarentee this but obviously with you living there and working in the property business then you will have a better knowledge. I agree with you with regards to the climate and realise that the weather in Portugal is better than France in winter. I was checking the forum and it appears that there is a gap in the market for various tourist businesses e.g. pubs so obviously there are more people starting to relocate. I think our concern is that would pick up some sort of job over and above any rental income. We did love the house I mentioned to you but obviously we need to come out to see the area and if we liked it we would probably consider renting ourselves for a short time as this seems to be most common and best way to go about it. How far is the coast from Tomar?. 
Thanks and kind regards
Moira


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## silvers

http://www.cristobetanea.net/conteudos/Ft_Mapa_do_Festival-Capuchos-Alcobaca_Pt-x.jpg
This is a really useful map of the Silver coast. Click the link, let it load and then click the centre of the map to enlarge it. The red/yellow roads are the motorways.


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## omostra06

Hi Moira
"Scottish laddie" is more correct, but i have lived all over since leaving Scotland.

The coast is about 60 mins from Tomar, although there is a new road being built (ic9) which will go from Tomar to the coast at nazare and this will make the drive around 40 mins i would think. most people around Tomar dont go to the coast, they go to the lake, the water is fresh, clean and calm, so its good for all water sports and fishing, swimming etc. and only 10 mins from Tomar centre with plenty of sandy beach areas, marinas, and quite coves to find a quite spot, the shore line of the 40 mile long lake runs into hundreds of klms.

As for rental demand, I can only really speak for our area. Demand is very good, we get a lot of people from Lisbon coming here for their holidays and have done for years, there are lots of rental properties near the lake that are allways booked up, some lakefronted places are very expensive and are booked solid. we get a lot of overseas visitors for holidays too, as Tomar is a very famous city, with unesco world heritage listed Castle and convent, it attracts high numbers of visitors all year round, not just in the summer.


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## jessica1

Hi Omostra,
Sorry I must apologise that I got the gender wrong...no offence meant. The more info you give us the more appealling it becomes. At the moment we are trying to gather up as much details as possible about living in the Silver Coast and whether it is feasable to do it (hopefully it will be). We know it is a big step to take but it seems that there is alot of people who have done it and have a good quality of life.
If anyone out there has any advice for us we would be hear from you either through the forum or by e-mail.
Thanks
Moira


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## beverleyp

*rental prices*

Hi Osmostra and everyone else who wants to reply,

We are starting to think about moving to the Silver Coast and would rent for 3-6 months first from Sept. We were told Caldas da Rainha is a good area. What would it cost to rent a place? A 1/2 bedroom villa/house in a semi rural area but say no more than 20/30 minute drive to a town with reasonable amenities and healthcare facilities.


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## patsy

*patsy silver coast*



beverleyp said:


> Hi Osmostra and everyone else who wants to reply,
> 
> We are starting to think about moving to the Silver Coast and would rent for 3-6 months first from Sept. We were told Caldas da Rainha is a good area. What would it cost to rent a place? A 1/2 bedroom villa/house in a semi rural area but say no more than 20/30 minute drive to a town with reasonable amenities and healthcare facilities.


Hi beverly we live on the silver coast about 20 mins from caldas and 5 mins from a really nice town with good doc /dentist /shops ect 5 mins from m/ways ect .. with good cheap rentals patsy


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## silvers

You do not want to stay in Caldas da Rainha. Look at places like Foz do Arelho, Sao Martinho do Porto, Lago do Obidos. These places are much much nicer to stay in. If you are after cheaper places, then stay in places like Vidais or Rio Maior or Benedita. You will be within 30 mins of the coast at the last three, the first ones are at the coast.


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## Diane1

*diane 1*

Hi jessica i live just outside orbidos in a small town it has everything you need eg.. doc/supermarkets /dentist / there are a lots of places for coffee fresh cakes and bread it is a great place to live close to all the sites m/ways ect.. and some good cheap rentals if i can help drop me your email diane


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## beverleyp

Thanks very much for the info Silvers. We have noted your suggestions. Good luck for tonight's match!


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## jellybean

beverleyp said:


> Hi Osmostra and everyone else who wants to reply,
> 
> We are starting to think about moving to the Silver Coast and would rent for 3-6 months first from Sept. We were told Caldas da Rainha is a good area. What would it cost to rent a place? A 1/2 bedroom villa/house in a semi rural area but say no more than 20/30 minute drive to a town with reasonable amenities and healthcare facilities.


I agree with Silvers ''you don't wanna stay in Caldas''!!

Alcobaça is beautiful with all the amenities you need and a very impressive monastery slap in the middle! We're just 15 minutes from the beach resort of Nazare and 20 mins from the beach at Salgado with it's huge swath of golden sand which goes on for miles and is much quieter. It's 34 degrees C today and there were only 3 other couples on the beach and because it's so big, we hardly even noticed them. Bliss!


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## Mr.Blueskies

"I much prefer Caldas to Alcobaca! Caldas is more modern and vibrant
in my opinion. Alcobaca and the old monastery, just feels a bit too eerie and
creepy for me. It is all about horses for courses though.


:ranger:


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## bart n caz

Hello Jessica 1 and Beverleyp,

Welcome to the forum and hopefully soon we can say welcome to the Silver Coast!

I may be just be bias because i live in the area, but all around Caldas is a great area to base yourself for a property search.

BTW - U4it what where you doing editing your post at 04.09AM! Are you suffering from insomnia too?  LOL


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## jellybean

Mr.Blueskies said:


> "I much prefer Caldas to Alcobaca! Caldas is more modern and vibrant
> in my opinion. Alcobaca and the old monastery, just feels a bit too eerie and
> creepy for me. It is all about horses for courses though.
> 
> 
> :ranger:


Alcobaça feels 'creepy' to you and Caldas feels 'seedy' to me. Even my Advogado, who lives there, said there's a drug problem and that's the feel you get about the place. All the graffiti doesn't make it look too attractive either! I wouldn't feel safe walking around Caldas at night and that's coming from someone who's lived in East London for a few years!

As you say - 'horses for courses'!


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## mitz

I agree with you jellybean, Alcobaça beats Caldas for me.
We visit both regularly for shopping mainly, as we live between the two.
We also enjoy a relaxing snack opposite the monastery in Alcobaça and the kids enjoy a play in the park by the tennis courts.
The park in Caldas is nice and the new shopping centre too but the whole place seems plagued by parking touts.


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## mitz

I wouldn't warn against Caldas, I've had no real bad experiences there, I just think that Alcobaça is more tranquil and not much further away.
Only my opinion though!
Be sad if you don't post here again over an Avatar, why not go with the flow?
I know! Why should you?
Well.....
Helps us all !


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## Mr.Blueskies

We just like Caldas because there is a lot to see and do there and good
shopping also. We did not want to be right on the coast (too touristy) and when
it is misty and windy on the coast the weather a few kms inland can be much 
better. We also did not want to be too far out in the sticks (a bit too quiet and
boring) Because we are retired (early retirement) my wife wanted to be near to
a decent sized town to have a bit of an interest and distraction ie (shopping) lol

I do agree about the parking touts though and they do lower the tone of
the place, but they do seem to be pretty inoffensive in the main and there are 
plenty of other places that one can park without seeing any of them. I am not
trying to knock anywhere though and we will be living within easy reach of
Alcobaca also.
:eyebrows:


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## beverleyp

jessica1 said:


> Hi everyone,
> I've just joined the forum hoping it will give me lots of usual information from expats who have lived in the Silver Coast for some time. We are planning to make a trip out in the near future but at the moment we have been browsing the web and have been quite impressed with the properties on offer and the value for money. We have looked at a few in the Tomar area and were wondering if it's possible to haggle to try and reduce the price as we would be forced to do the same here in the UK due to the credit crunch. We wouldn't have a mortgage and have some savings but would be looking to try and get some sort of job to provide us with an income. I am aware that renting out part of the property would be an option and the property we liked on the web would give us this opportunity.
> Can anyone tell me if there is enough demand to consider this? It would appear that long term rental is the most advantegeous. On the job prospects is there much on offer. My partner would be able to do general handyman jobs. It seems that the cost of living is quite cheap e.g. utility bills,food and eating out. Any replys
> would be much appreciated.
> Thanks


Hi Jessica - was very interested in your thread and replies. Our plans/situation seem to mirror yours pretty much. We are a couple in our fifties considering emigrating to the Silver Coast too. Also planning to rent but for 6 months from Sept or Oct possibly in Sao Martino do Porto where it's sheltered/by the coast. Tomar looks nice, but 1 hr to the coast. Your idea of renting out part of a property to provide an income seems a very good one/perhaps viable. We have also got some savings but would like an income of some kind. People on the forum seem to suggest that it is difficult to find work esp if you don't speak Portuguese as we don't yet either. As we seem to have so much in common am wondering whether we can liaise/help each other and go forward together? What do you think? When are you planning to go out?


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## jellybean

mitz said:


> I agree with you jellybean, Alcobaça beats Caldas for me.
> We visit both regularly for shopping mainly, as we live between the two.
> We also enjoy a relaxing snack opposite the monastery in Alcobaça and the kids enjoy a play in the park by the tennis courts.
> The park in Caldas is nice and the new shopping centre too but the whole place seems plagued by parking touts.


Mitz, how old are your kids? The previous owners of our house left one of those huge swings in the garden - you know the kind of thing with 2 swings and a see-saw thing side-by-side and my 14yr old daughter says she'd prefer a hammock under the tree at the bottom of the garden  So we were going to dismantle it and throw it out but you're welcome to it if you're interested. 

Also sent this message to you by PM but I know PMs can be a bit hit and miss!


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## mitz

Hi Jellybean, I have sent you a pm.


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## debbie48

*house for rent or for sale*



jessica1 said:


> Hi everyone,
> I've just joined the forum hoping it will give me lots of usual information from expats who have lived in the Silver Coast for some time. We are planning to make a trip out in the near future but at the moment we have been browsing the web and have been quite impressed with the properties on offer and the value for money. We have looked at a few in the Tomar area and were wondering if it's possible to haggle to try and reduce the price as we would be forced to do the same here in the UK due to the credit crunch. We wouldn't have a mortgage and have some savings but would be looking to try and get some sort of job to provide us with an income. I am aware that renting out part of the property would be an option and the property we liked on the web would give us this opportunity.
> Can anyone tell me if there is enough demand to consider this? It would appear that long term rental is the most advantegeous. On the job prospects is there much on offer. My partner would be able to do general handyman jobs. It seems that the cost of living is quite cheap e.g. utility bills,food and eating out. Any replys
> would be much appreciated.
> Thanks


hya, i have a 3/4 bedroom house with pool for sale in serra del rei near peniche silver coast or can do long term rental if your interested Debbie


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## PETERFC

Hi jessica1

Have you worked out yet what it is you want to do?. If you look for rentals what is going to make you better that the rest. Or will you just wait because they will come because you are their. On the Silver Coast their are many who want/ need to rent out property/ rooms to earn a living. You can spend some time doing all you need to find what your market is.

1. Who will be your customers?
2. What do your customers want?
3. What are you prepared to do for your customers?
4. What are your pass times walking, bird watching etc?
5. Do you have a website in mind, what information will it have?

How are you going to get your customers? you first need to identify what type of customers you want by the questions above. Do you just want your customer to turn up show them in and let them get on with it themselves. 

Consider. Collect your customer from the airport 35 miles about, offer to take then for days out to do anything they want to do. Have a website with all the activities you can find. Have a garden full of organic fruit and veg and let them use what they need. 

If you intend to retire and sit and do nothing or you could create a job for yourself as your customers own tour guide. For painters find the best places to paint. The preparation is key list the questions above and answer as best you can. 

Unless you can offer a service better than every other property owner all you can expect is a slice of the rental cake. Or you can create your own market and specialize Disabled, Walkers, Outdoor types. The list goes on 

First spend some time to explore the area both by visiting and seeing as much as you can then start to collect from as many Forums as you can all the information you need find a geed website designer. Get your site listed as soon as you can so it can be ranked. 

My friend Mrblueskies is on the silver coast watch for his replies/ posts all ways good advice /help.

Below is a link to a website for the owners of rental properties. 

You do need a good plan of action or you could wait in case you may just find a customer. The level of success depends on the work put in. 

Good luck

Peter the 666 man

Lay My Hat - advice for rental owners, from rental owners


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## omostra06

I think for someone looking at the short term holliday market, the lay my hat site does offer good advice, most of the owners are based in France, but there are some good tips on there for anyone looking at a holliday rental business.

If you would prefare less work/hassle then the medium to long term rental market is easier, you need to find a lot less clients, one renter for a whole year is easier to find than 52 clients to find looking to rent for one week. although there is a big difference in the income from short term and long term, perhaps the long term rent say 400 or 500 per month might be enough of an income for you, without all the hassle of changeovers, tour guiding, cleaning , allways looking for clients, website costs, marketing costs etc.

perhaps finding one client happy to rent on a 6 month or 12 month contract would be better,

From our experiance around Tomar there is allways more people looking to rent than there are properties available, so as soon as someone has a place ready for rent we send clients. and there will also be no seasonal quite time if you rent all year long term, rather than holliday rent, busy in summer dead in winter!


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## Antonina

jessica1 said:


> Hi everyone,
> I've just joined the forum hoping it will give me lots of usual information from expats who have lived in the Silver Coast for some time. We are planning to make a trip out in the near future but at the moment we have been browsing the web and have been quite impressed with the properties on offer and the value for money. We have looked at a few in the Tomar area and were wondering if it's possible to haggle to try and reduce the price as we would be forced to do the same here in the UK due to the credit crunch. We wouldn't have a mortgage and have some savings but would be looking to try and get some sort of job to provide us with an income. I am aware that renting out part of the property would be an option and the property we liked on the web would give us this opportunity.
> Can anyone tell me if there is enough demand to consider this? It would appear that long term rental is the most advantegeous. On the job prospects is there much on offer. My partner would be able to do general handyman jobs. It seems that the cost of living is quite cheap e.g. utility bills,food and eating out. Any replys
> would be much appreciated.
> Thanks


Jessica

Just to reply to your mail we are in a simalar postion we have brought a property near Obidos and Penich and looking to be out perminanly in two years.If you want to send me a private mail I will gladly mail you ref what we had found out etc and give you my mail address.

Antonina


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