How Much to Spend on Retirement Home in Portugal?

[JohnYaker]

I'm 12 years retired in Fiji and agree with the earlier replies suggesting that Eric rent for a year or more before buying. During that year one learns about about the advantages and disadvantages of each area, the costs, and confirmation that it's the right place to live.


My first year was spent like a long vacation in Fiji. Local people helped me find the perfect seaside farm that I never would have found if buying shortly after relocating.

 

[Crosscarver]

Hi a european here

I also suggest you first rent before you buy. House Prices outside the cities in Portugal are quite cheap. So you don't have to spend much. If you would spend the amount of your current home you could have a castle.

Also remember that health care/ health insurance in europe generally is much cheaper. So your capital will last longer/ you can withdraw a little bit more.

cheers

 

[HarveyS]

I'll chime in with my thought: 25% of net worth maximum for housing. In my case that leaves plenty of cash flow from investments for living well, traveling often, giving to charitable causes, etc. As others have said, your spending priorities will shift this up or down.
PS - though you didn't ask, I am in the camp with a strong suggestion to rent for 2-3 years in various spots to see what you really want. You also get time to learn the local issues related to home buying/selling as well as ownership costs and repair/service standards.

 

[boatfishandnature]

We moved to the Algarve, in Portugal, nearly two years ago. If you do not need to buy a house in order to get your Golden Visa (we did), it is always a good idea to rent first, make sure that you get to understand the country, the lifestyle and the area that best fit your needs and then buy with greater confidence. In our case, we carefully selected a house for a short-term rent as a base from which to choose a property to buy. After seeing over 30 houses, we progressively fell in love with the one that we had rented, bought it, had it reformed, and have been very happy here ever since.
Great weather, great views, welcoming people, good food. What is not to like? Well, if you have not moved internationally before... the bureaucracy. We have lived in 5 countries. Moving anywhere (even to the U.S., as we did, three times) requires dealing with quite a bit of bureaucracy, as documentation that you had in your home country (and took for granted and did not even think about - simple things like proof of residence, for instance) will have to be patiently obtained in your new country. But, fear not, it can be done, you just have to consider it part of the challenge.
A tip: you have 90 days after you move here to be able to get your driver’s license by just exchanging the one from the U.S.. Don’t miss this window, as it will take several months to get it via the normal route (taking a required course, scheduling a test - takes a few months- and then taking it). Some local “DMV” offices count the 90 days from the day that you got the visa, rather than the day you actually arrive.
As other posters already mentioned, Lisbon (and Cascais, a gorgeous place nearby) is quite expensive. The countryside away from the coast is very, very inexpensive, but you may not enjoy the lifestyle. Housing costs in the Algarve are in-between and the place is well-developed, with a large expat community as well. You can get by without speaking Portuguese, though of course learning it will make for a richer experience.
Enjoy the process, it is exciting!

 

[Lagniappe]

We moved to the Algarve, in Portugal, nearly two years ago. If you do not need to buy a house in order to get your Golden Visa (we did), it is always a good idea to rent first, make sure that you get to understand the country, the lifestyle and the area that best fit your needs and then buy with greater confidence. In our case, we carefully selected a house for a short-term rent as a base from which to choose a property to buy. After seeing over 30 houses, we progressively fell in love with the one that we had rented, bought it, had it reformed, and have been very happy here ever since.
Great weather, great views, welcoming people, good food. What is not to like? Well, if you have not moved internationally before... the bureaucracy. We have lived in 5 countries. Moving anywhere (even to the U.S., as we did, three times) requires dealing with quite a bit of bureaucracy, as documentation that you had in your home country (and took for granted and did not even think about - simple things like proof of residence, for instance) will have to be patiently obtained in your new country. But, fear not, it can be done, you just have to consider it part of the challenge.
A tip: you have 90 days after you move here to be able to get your driver’s license by just exchanging the one from the U.S.. Don’t miss this window, as it will take several months to get it via the normal route (taking a required course, scheduling a test - takes a few months- and then taking it). Some local “DMV” offices count the 90 days from the day that you got the visa, rather than the day you actually arrive.
As other posters already mentioned, Lisbon (and Cascais, a gorgeous place nearby) is quite expensive. The countryside away from the coast is very, very inexpensive, but you may not enjoy the lifestyle. Housing costs in the Algarve are in-between and the place is well-developed, with a large expat community as well. You can get by without speaking Portuguese, though of course learning it will make for a richer experience.
Enjoy the process, it is exciting!

Boatfishandnature,

I am in the middle of applying for a Golden Visa. I am going the investment fund route, since I don't want to commit to a location yet.

Please share (PM) any advice you have about the process.

So far my big takeaway is everything takes longer than you think it will, by a lot!

 

[Brat]

I would rent. Maybe high end, maybe moderate range and get the lay of the land. Unless you've already spent months and months continuously there and are certain 1) the area is right for you 2) how much indoor vice outdoor space you need. This would be too big of a variable to want to screw up.

I agree with this comment.

You need to know if the community is stable in terms of population and the economy. Then study their housing and if you buy do not spend more than the 70th % of prices. Spend too much and the home won't be marketable when it comes time to sell. This would be the same advice I would give when finding a home in the US.

Also, in many places in Europe when you buy a home you buy only the structural elements. The buyer supplies the flooring, closets, etc and takes them when they move.

 

[boatfishandnature]

Boatfishandnature,

I am in the middle of applying for a Golden Visa. I am going the investment fund route, since I don't want to commit to a location yet.

Please share (PM) any advice you have about the process.

So far my big takeaway is everything takes longer than you think it will, by a lot!

Yes, you got that right! In our case, the lawyers said that it would take about 8 months to get the visa after the application was filed. It took 10 months for the SEF to notify us that our application had been approved and that we could now pay the fees to get the visas issued for both of us. We did that, and the visas were issued two months afterwards. So, 12 months in total.

Perhaps in your case it could take less time, because (a)you are going with the investment fund route, which much fewer people use and (b) there are fewer people applying this year than in 2017, when we applied.

The process was
1. Engage the lawyers.
2. Open an account in a Portuguese bank (this was a quick process, with the help of the lawyers) but had to be done in person.
3. Pay for the house (and the reform, in our case) with funds from our Portuguese bank account. When we were in a position to demonstrate that more than 500K euros had been paid to the previous owner of the house, the bank issued a standard letter to the lawyers to that effect. The letter became part of the application.
4. Fly to Portugal again in order to file the application, prepared by the lawyers, personally at the SEF office.
5. 10 months later, got the notification that the application had been approved and that we could pay the fee, which we immediately did.
6. Layer got the visas (in the form of resident cards valid for 1yr)
7. We moved to Portugal
8. Lawyer made an appointment with the SEF (need to book several months ahead of time) for us to go (with the lawyer) and renew our resident cards
9. Two months later, got the new cards, valid for two years.
10. Will need to repeat (8) and (9) next year.
11. Five years after moving here, can apply for permanent residency or citizenship, as you prefer.

It is important to get a reliable and competent lawyer. Since, as a foreigner, you probably don’t know one, it pays to use a large, well-established law firm. PM me if you need recommendations.

The process was slow, but worked just as advertised, so, no complaints.

 

[Rex]

I'd rent for a year.

 

[Rambler]

If I were single and expected to stay that way, I’d have a rather small, inexpensive place. I just prefer simplicity, and I like to travel. So the home base doesn’t need to be big. That said, I’m married, and my wife prefers a large home...and, I have no intent to move overseas. Someone mentioned an RV. That’s more my style. I’d love to explore in a small RV.

 

[NW-Bound]

It may not be a simple thing for a non-citizen to wander about with an RV and have no permanent address. Even here in the US, RV full-timers have to establish a pseudo permanent address and state residency in either Florida, Texas, and South Dakota. As I remember reading about this, South Dakota is especially lax in allowing anyone to claim residency in the state and to get a driver license.

I wonder how it would work in Portugal, or another European nation. Years ago, I researched about owning an RV in Europe, and it turned out to be not so simple. One couple found a loophole by owning their motorhome through a German dealership somehow, but then after leaving the vehicle with them through the winter, came back the next summer and found the dealership had closed shop and sold off their vehicle.

The above couple was on a tourist visa. Perhaps having retirement residency opens up some privileges that tourists do not have.

 

[Amy T]

I am also targeting Portugal in 2022. I will rent and travel for a while before buying. You really need to live in an area for a while before buying. How is your Portugese coming along?

 

[moneyequalstime]

As an overseas expat for the last 5-6 years I whole heartedly advise you to rent for atleast a year and see if you cant live in a half dozen or so places there for atleast a month before settling into anyone place. You have lots of money... you can stay in nice guesthouses/ short term rentals, get your feet wet and the lay of the land.

Foreigners also get ripped off quite easily when it comes to real estate.

 

[Jerseytunahunter]

I would also rent unless you're heart s set on living in one area and getting socially established. Travel is so easy there with the high speed trains! BTW we loved Porto, did not like Lisbon.