Originally posted by @Thomas Musser:
@Account Closed You have a very valid concern. Much of the construction world currently operates off of the IBC (international building code). I imagine that M.A.Di. and other prefab companies comply with IBC regulations but every country, county, city, and township have their own codes and its important to check with local officials before building. I will say that because the M.A.Di. home can be assembled and deconstructed in such a short time that in some places it may fall under a non-permanent building designation which is typically exempt from many codes. Obviously, this is a gray area and you would be wise to dig into the matter deeper.
I am very interested in your land in Portugal. I just did a motorcycle tour of the country and absolutely loved it. Where in the country is your property located? What was the international purchasing process like?
Thanks and sorry for the late reply. That's cool that you just toured Portugal. I'm going back in a week for two weeks! I'm meeting with an architect and going to the city to find out more about what I can actually build on the lot. It's in Central Portugal, if you went to Tomar it's about 20 minutes from there or 35 minutes from Coimbra. That's 1.5 hours to both Lisbon and Porto. I'm going to Porto and the Douro Valley for the first time this trip!
The buying process was a little crazy and included me in a panic grabbing a Brazilian Uber driver to register me in the right office for a Fiscal Number which is required in person to buy. Thankfully, I befriended a seller of land in the town I'll be in and she was able to communicate with the Uber guy, attorney's office to certify my passport and signature and also she signed for me locally and assisted with the money transfer! Without her, it wouldn't have happened. The "agent" was all but useless, aside from showing me the property itself. I suppose that's all they do there, so maybe that's nasty to say!? The land was inherited by the kids of the lady who passed away and nothing is built there or has been, but it does have power and water to the lot. It's approved for a certain size home already, although where on the lot and configuration is really what I want to find out now. I'd like to fully design it and basically have it approved. It may be ten years before it's build time, but at least that will be out of the way and speed things up when I do have the funds!
