All Forum Posts by: Bernardo Bento

@Joao Guimaraes thanks for the reply. We shall discuss this further.

Hello @Cameron Tope thank you for the quick reply.

I know that I want to mostly buy & hold properties for some time and eventually sell them for capital gains, in order to reinvest and continuously grow my personal assets. Not really a fan of house flipping, but who knows what future brings me, right? I always keep and eye open for opportunities and if they also present themselves that way, I won’t miss them.

I’m a fan of letting because that will provide me with some passive income so I can focus on what matters the most to me which is providing value to society through whatever ways I can. But that’s another story.

Hello people,

I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I’ve got some spare money but not enough to buy my first house as that will still take up some time. How would you start investing in my case? REITs just got licensed in Portugal and I’ve also read about real estate crowdfunding. Do you guys think I should look further into it? Also I’ve been thinking about renting out some apartments in student’s towns for subleasing each room individually.

I’m open for discussions and tips. Thank you people, this is such a great community.

Bernardo Bento

I replied to you but wasn't able to mention you for some reason. My reply is like 2 answers above this one. 

Joe, you can also buy a property for 350k and they will give you a Golden Visa. It has some special requirements though such as being older than 30 years and in need of a requalification OR in an urban regeneration zone. Needless to say, it will be more expensive than 350k, but at least it won't be 500k. 🤷‍♂️😎

@Ryan Knoetze As far as I know, these are the areas (in red) https://cdn2-img.pressreader.c...
I just read some news saying they are now allowing new AL licenses BUT only for 5 years, after that they will re-evaluate them and decide wether you can keep them or not.

Also, regarding taxes, if you apply for an AL license you should declare your rental income under category B, this type of activity receives a special treatment under the IRS and tax is calculated on sales, in other words you are only taxable on 15% or 35% of your invoiced income, depending on the way your business is structured.

Capital gains are not charged if the property is more than 30 years and you refurbished it or if it is located on an urban rehabilitation zone. Also, if the capital gains are reinvested in real estate inside the country you won't have to pay any tax. Imagine that you have a capital gain of 20k, if you invest those 20k as a down payment for another property in the following 2 years you won't have to pay tax on them. If you choose not to invest them, you'll have to pay tax (28%) on 50% of that, which would be 2.8k €. Also, since you're living outside the country I think that there are some special laws in your favour and you won't have to pay as much. Not sure though I would have to look more into it.

Hello @Joe Crupi, nice to meet you. There are no restrictions on foreign property ownership in Portugal and transaction costs are generally low.

Portugal will grant a 5-year residency permit to non-EU citizens through Real estate investment (the program is called Golden Visas, look it up). The permit allows holders to work or study, as well as to travel in Schengen countries. You can apply for permanent residency after five years. I would say rental yields are now between 4-6% in Lisbon and it’s property market is now reasonably priced. Tourist interest in the centre of Lisbon is enormous, so the option of letting via Airbnb is a viable one though they aren’t giving more licenses in these areas. Short-term rentals may earn higher returns. Capital gains realized by nonresidents on the sale of Portuguese property are taxed at a flat rate of 28%. For capital gains realized from fixed assets such as real property, only 50% of the capital gains will be taxable if the capital gains are reinvested in fixed assets such as real property during the year the sale occurred, the previous year, or within two years after the sale.

Hello everyone,

It's funny how I was just surfing google on my vacations, came across all theses messages from you guys and thought that I could actually provide you with some good info about the Portuguese market. I quickly signed up and here I am. So a brief summary about myself:

my name is Bernardo Bento and I'm a real estate agent in Portugal, mostly focused around Lisbon, but I can help all around the country. I've always liked real estate (I actually have family with long connections to construction) and after reading a lot about real estate investing, I decided to start working as an agent in order to get the most firsthand experience possible, so when my time comes -first investment deal- I'll be more than ready and acknowledged in this market. I'm also a marketer, so I understand how business works and really try to provide the maximum value to the people that get in touch with me. I'm a firm believer that we can't ask for anything without giving A LOT first. I really try to stand out from the remaining agents that only seem to care about their gut and their money being made, whereas I care about the service I'm providing. Money is a side effect. Also, as I love REI I try to focus on that as well and would love to work with some investors in order to share knowledge and learn from each other.

Also, I try to provide free content to my followers on my social networks about real estate, but it's everything in Portuguese though... shame :/ 

Feel free to ask whatever, if I can help, I will. No BS around here :)

Hello Kathleen,

I might be able to help you out. I just sent you a message :)