When David and Lalita from Hertfordshire bought a holiday home in the Algarve it was not as completely straightforward.
The four-bedroom villa in Guia, near Albufeira, looked just what they were after – perfect for using with their family and for spending longer periods in Portugal whilst doing some remote working – and relaxation, of course. “We wanted somewhere that might be our permanent residence one day, and that we could leave to the children,” says David, 59, who works in risk management. “And we needed sunshine.”
But after rejecting Cyprus and France as possible locations they were out in the Algarve when they found the property and put in an offer. After ‘lots of negotiation’ it was theirs but it became apparent that the 1990s property was not fully legalised.
“But it was fortunate that we’d met Paula Meireles at A Place in the Sun Live in London in 2021, and we were able to call on her expertise to sort out the situation.” Paula, an English-speaking abogado (lawyer) based in the Algarve was able to help look into the planning documents at the town hall and find out the paperwork was not in order.
“The property has been built by a family and the final stage of the building work had not been legalled. We think the widow had lost track of things after her husband died,” says David. “So Paula got hold of the old drawings and ensured it was fully legal.” Again, with her help he arranged for a full building survey and also an electrical survey so they knew what they needed to do to the property – they planned to modernise it anyway.
“Paula also sorted out our tax number (NIF), advised us on how best to buy the property by putting it jointly in their two children’s names [to help mitigate inheritance tax] and was able to complete it with Power of Attorney so we didn’t have to keep going to Portugal.”
This whole process took over five months and David said they did have concerns along the way as they were sat at home in the UK. “It look a long time. But Paula kept reassuring us that all would be OK, we just had to be patient. In the end we completed in summer last year.” Now the property is fully theirs they plan to make a few adjustments to make it work better for them, including moving the swimming pool and opening up the back to a large terrace and BBQ area!
“Next we are also planning to apply for a D7 or D8 visa. The D8 – digital nomad visa – seems like it will be the best fit as I will need to go back and forth between the UK and Portugal for work – I need that flexibility,” says David. Lalita, 52, who works in transformation programmes, can also carry out some work remotely.
But Paula can also advise on visas too. “She really was so calm and supportive throughout the whole process,” he says. “It was fortuitous we found her at A Place in the Sun.”
