Choosing a Property in Portugal

The Algarve is a popular family holiday destination, which means that not only will you enjoy spending holidays there, but there is good potential for renting your property out to other holidaying couples, groups or families when you aren’t there.

So first of all decide how much of a priority the rentability factor is, as that will affect greatly your choice of property and location.
If buy-to-let is the – or one of the - main purposes of your investment, then proximity to a beach and/or golf course is likely to generate the highest rental income.

You are probably looking at apartments (or villas, if your budget allows it) in the most popular resorts such as the upmarket Vale do Lobo or Quinto da Lago or the more mid-range Lagos, Luz or Vilamoura.

Your property should be new or refurbished to a high standard, preferably on a service complex with high quality facilities such as a good terrace and swimming pool (private or communal) to ensure it catches the eye of holiday letters and stands out from the rest.

If you are looking to buy purely for your own use, then your choice will be dictated by location – frontline golf, beach or inland? – and budget.
While a four-bedroom villa within walking distance of the beach in the exclusive Quinta da Lago will cost you over €2million, you would pay a quarter of that for a four-bedroom house in Praia da Luz, in the western Algarve, or near Tavira in the east. Go a short way inland and prices are even lower.

If you hanker after a property to renovate, you won’t find much competition from Portuguese house-hunters as – like many Southern European nations – new is good, old means too much work. As these renovation projects are likely to be further inland, and something of a labour of love, you may not make such huge financial gains when you come to sell than if you had bought in a holiday resort.

But if a property with a plot of land and a lot of character, potential – and Portuguese neighbours – is what you are after, then a rural resale will suit you down to the ground (which hopefully you own… As always, make sure your lawyer checks all land ownership and title deeds are legitimate when buying rural properties).