Why I would think of buying property in Portugal

Hey – how are you today?

I am still racing around London showing off my ‘home town’ to my South African friend! The highlight of this week is going to be the Spitfire and Hurricane fly-past over Whitehall at 4pm, Friday 20th August 2010, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. The flyover is preceded by a reading of Winston Churchill's speech outside the Churchill War Rooms at 3.52pm.” Never in the field of human conflict...” and all that! I am really looking forward to it.

People often ask me why I would think of buying property in Portugal. It’s not as well known as Spain as a property destination but to me that’s half its charm! It's an inexpensive and fascinating country that is still catching up with the rest of Europe after forty years of dictatorship. This means that it has a far more rural, unspoilt feel and of course it often means that it costs less to live or holiday there.

Portugal, meaning ‘beautiful port’, has miles of unspoilt coastline coupled with a unique culture and a rich history. When I last travelled around I could not believe the beauty and the cultural heritage that I found in even the smallest towns and villages.

Many of the greatest seafarers and explorers were born in Portugal, and the Portuguese Empire once stretched from Brazil to the Indies, with Portuguese the most widely spoken language in the world. Today Portugal’s beaches and ports are far more likely to be catering to happy tourists. The long sandy beaches of the Algarve are well known, but all along the coastline there are opportunities to enjoy a whole selection of water sports in crystal clear waters, all to be enjoyed in the lovely warm climate, with temperatures of around 35°C in summer.

Inland, small towns and villages are surrounded with olive groves, vineyards and fruit trees. I went in spring and it was so delightful to walk through fields of spring flowers. There are also vast national parks, thickly forested and with an abundance of wildlife. To the north are snow-capped mountains, while to the south are the gently rolling plains where locals farm their lands.


Let’s not forget too the wonderful festivals with almost every town and village celebrating a regular saint’s day with a festival, usually in summer. There is also of course an endless selection of historic attractions plus many beautiful architectural gems. My especial favourite is the Palace of Pena at Sintra, which beautifully combines gothic, Islamic, and renaissance styles. I also love the ancient ramparts around towns like Ronda and Óbidos – one of the things I loved doing was walking around the whole of Óbidos along the walls – it’s a great way to see how the locals live!

To top it all off, there are also a number of excellent golf courses, plus other sporting facilities – but all pale into comparison with football, that Portuguese obsession, which you can watch from the many stadiums dotting the country. So…the question really is: why wouldn’t everyone think of buying property in Portugal? Do you feel the same? Please tell me of your experiences and why you are looking at moving to Portugal – or why you love the country so much.

Bye for now and happy summer days, Carol.

http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com

Know Your Credit Card...

Hello there.

I am so excited to have discovered the Canary Wharf free concerts here in London! Every Thursday evening throughout the summer they have something new: last week I saw a real blast from the past: Georgie Fame – yeah yeah! It was great – a clear, lovely evening, music and a few munchies – what could be better?

Enough about me…You are thinking of moving or buying property abroad, and I have no doubt that for those inspection trips etc you have a credit card. If you are like me, a credit card is a credit card...For years I had only one of these pesky little devils, but these days it pays to know the perfect card to pick. They have very different pros and cons and it could cost you a lot of money if you are using the wrong one.

You need to make sure that you are not making new purchases on cards charging expensive rates, paying huge APRs on old debts and missing out on benefits such as cashback.

Right – firstly, what’s APR?

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate and, under the Consumer Act 1974, it is required to be published for all regulated loans so consumers can quickly and easily compare products.
This means that when advertising any form of credit, the lender should ensure that the APR is more prominent than any other rate.

APR was introduced because the interest rate a lender charges for credit will not accurately reflect the cost to the borrower. For instance, on top of the interest rate, there are other costs to consider such as administration costs, acceptance fees, broker fees and so on. It would be next to impossible for consumers to compare all these costs for every loan. Because an APR takes in all of these extra costs, it will always be higher than the lender’s actual interest rate, but in effect it calculates all the costs for you.

It is important to bear in mind however that unless the loan is fixed, there is no guarantee that the APR won’t change during the duration of the loan. For example, if the Bank of England raises its interest rates, the APR on your credit card will also go up. On the other hand, you will benefit if the Bank cuts its rates.

Remember that any form of credit on today’s market will come with its own set of restrictions, fees, charges and penalties. As a general rule, if you keep up with repayments and settle the loan in the agreed term these will not be a factor. However, if you miss repayments, want to settle early, or deviate in any way from the original agreement it could end up being very expensive.

The 0% balance transfer card is one of the most useful credit cards out there - this card comes with a 0% balance transfer offer that lasts for a set period – sometimes up to 16 months. This means that for 16 months you will pay no interest but chip away at your debt. However, once your 0% period passes, interest is charged on the whole balance…The thing to remember here is that using one card for both paying off old debts and making new purchases is not usually a good idea.

Some credit cards come with 0% on new purchases. Here you need to pay the entire balance off before a certain date. If you don't, your credit card provider will apply a standard APR to your outstanding debt and this could mean sometimes up to 17%!

Then there is the long term, low rate credit card. These are a great option for someone with debts they are unable to clear within a short space of time. The advantage of these cards is that they offer borrowers an affordable interest rate for much longer than the average 0% card - in some cases, for as long as it takes an individual to clear their debt in full.

For instance, one of the banks are offering a long term, low rate credit card that comes with an interest rate of 6.8% APR, and if you transfer a balance to it within 60 days of opening your account your debt will remain at this low rate until every penny of it has been paid off.

Finally there is the Cashback Credit Card. These cards allow you to earn back a proportion of what you spend, potentially netting you a lot of money each year, depending on how much you spend. The most important thing to bear in mind when using a Cashback Card is that you must repay whatever you spend on it in full every month or you could end up not only not making money but paying very high interest rates. With these cards be aware that there is often a figure which you must spend annually to ‘qualify’ for your cashback option.

I hope this has been some help, if only to make you aware that there are choices out here and you need to ask about them before just accepting any credit card offered to you by your bank or financial institution.

Bye for now – I’ll chat next week!

Summer smiles,

Carol
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com/

What to do in Portugal?

Hello again.

Have you seen the Grace Kelly exhibition at the V & A recently? I haven’t, but I did go along to a talk by her friend and biographer Donald Spoto. He gave a fascinating insight into the real person behind the iconic image – it was so interesting. There’s always something to do in London isn’t there?

Are you going to Portugal to look at property this summer, or indeed just to holiday? I know when I used to take my kids on holiday I always used to like to plan it so that there was something to occupy their days – nothing like an exhausted child to ensure a good night’s sleep!

The possibilities are endless in Portugal really, both for families with kids and those without. There are endless World Heritage sites, natural wonders and cultural surprises and all are far quieter – and less expensive - than in neighbouring Spain. Plus of course you have the benefit of sandy beaches, traditional fishing villages and an expansive stretch of rugged coastline. Diving and swimming are of course popular and you could learn how to surf in the southern region or along the western coastline. Or what about deep sea fishing or a Douro river cruise exploring the river and nearby ancient ruins?

Many championship golf courses dot the country plus horseback riding is a fun activity. You could perhaps combine that with a visit to the quieter rural areas, staying at renovated farm houses and traditional homes that provide accommodation for tourists and allow a glimpse into a more tranquil way of life.

Northern Portugal is far more mountainous with many really lovely national parks that reveal the beauty of the mountainous region which borders Spain. If you are more interested in cultural activities then Porto is lovely and you may want to explore the many castles and cultural sites here or in cities like Lisbon, Sintra or Obidos. Personally I loved Tomar, which had connections to the Crusaders and Vila Viçosa with its lovely palace. Nearby is Evora with its breathtaking Roman ruin in the centre of the town – heaven!

And while you holiday you can be taking in what your area of choice looks like in the busy summer season. That lovely village that you first saw in spring or autumn may be simply too busy for you in summer. Or you may find that you enjoy a revived night life and having a few folk around…but for my money it really is best to see your chosen area at all times of the year before committing yourself.

I know for instance that the places I would chose to buy if I could are either Marvão or Castelo de Vide but I visited last in early May. What are they like in the middle of summer I wonder? Food for thought. Have lots of fun and do let me know your findings won’t you.

With all best wishes for happy summer days,

Carol.

Renovations

Hey there!

Even I, renowned as I am for a serious allergy to sport, have been caught up in the current sports mania. Okay I don’t actually watch it – that would be going too far – but I have become interested in the fate of Laura Robson, Andy Murray and those vastly overpaid soccer boys. On that subject however, dare I express a wish that Becks was there? It would make watching so much more enjoyable - even I might be tempted to do so…!

Moving on…literally! Chatting to a property expert a few days ago, she was commenting on how enthusiastically the Brits embrace a renovation project. And, in this day and age of concrete monstrosities, sometimes older properties have a very real charm that is hard to resist. This is all reinforced by movies (and I use the word ‘movie’ advisedly - it’s such a Hollywood concept somehow) such as Under the Tuscan Sun that make the whole process one long, romantic adventure…and of course it can be. In Under the Tuscan Sun a series of serendipitous events bring our heroine to a lovely yet dilapidated villa in beautiful Tuscany. Fast forward through a variety of interesting characters - Polish workers, Italian neighbors and an aging British actress - to the inevitable new love in her life…

Sounds great but let’s face it, the whole process usually entails a lot of hard work, more expense than one had at first budgeted for and a number of fraught, stress-inducing experiences along the way.

I have put together a few tips that may just help if you are thinking of going this route:

- One of the reasons often given for buying a renovation project is that it is ‘so much cheaper’ than a home in good condition. Stop right there – is it? And that’s tip 1: always do your sums – before you actually sign on the dotted line. Put together a separate renovation budget and then always factor in additional funding to cover those unexpected costs that almost always raise their ugly heads.

Knowing how much you’re able to spend on the renovation really helps when it comes to choosing a property. If a home needs major structural work and that’s not within your budget, the property may not be right no matter how low the asking price. Always know the full extent of the necessary renovations. Once you know what’s needed, determine the work you can handle and what you’ll need to contract out – then cost it

- Watch out for a suspiciously low priced properties, especially if they have been on the market for a while. There’s usually a reason for that low price…and you need to know what it is

- It is vital that you seek expert local advice. Unless you are able to do all the work yourself, obtain quotes from area professionals

- Check that you are allowed to make the changes that you require. Your idyllic property may just happen to fall within a conservation area that comes with stringent planning restrictions, and even more severe sanctions imposed for breaching them! Or your home might be within an area of significant archaeological interest - which could mean saying goodbye to your plans to built a pool for those scorching summer days

- Factor in to your calculations that renovation permits can add time delays as well as unexpected costs

- Also make sure of the safety aspects of your old property. Is it located in and around an earthquake zone? This could seriously affect your insurance premiums, not to mention the structural considerations and requirements you will need to adhere to when making changes to the building

Let me know if you decide to tackle a renovation project won’t you – I would be fascinated to hear all about it.

All for now: on Wednesday a friend has asked me to join her on a ‘makeover’ two-for - a renovation project of my very own! One paid (by her), one free (for me)! Wish me luck…

Best wishes,

Carol.
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com