All Forum Posts by: Henrique D.

This is great, thanks for adding your experience as well. If I get more info at some point in the future I'll update this thread

Hi @Jason Johnston, no I haven't done it at this time. If/once I do I'll update this post. If you happen to know more information on this topic it would be great you could share it as well. The more data points the better.

Hi, @Mike Lambert I've been talking to some credit intermediaries to get some clarification on the various financing options available. And one of the things I've been told is that there is no seasoning for refinancing which contradicts what you said about the two year period. Can you provide more info on where you got that information? Could this be specific to a bank you spoke to or the property?

I received wrong information from people in the Portugal RE industry before so I'm not super confident the person I talked to is correct I'm just trying to get more data points.

In case it's useful for others these are some other bits of info I've learned

• Refinancing is possible but it is more expensive than conventional (usually the spread is 1-2% higher) and it is necessary to explain to the bank what will be done with the money.
• It is not necessary to wait to own the property for a certain time to obtain mortgage credit. This credit can go up to 30 years.
  
• An alternative to refinancing is to take out a loan for purchase and renovation, which requires a 30% down payment. The renovation budget can be artificially inflated so you can have a "cash pillow" for maintenance or anything else really.
  
• The conventional loan for purchase and rehab is the most commonly used by investors
  
• If you have a company it is also possible to apply for loans but it is necessary to have at least 6 months of activity. The maximum duration of commercial loans is 15 years.

I'd be keen to join as well!

Thank you for the answer @Mike Lambert! Is this called "hipoteca" or "crédito hipotecário"? I've found this link (in Portuguese) which seems to describe the refinancing process.

Do you know if the major banks are usually happy to do this? So for the buy and rehab steps, is the best strategy is to find an alternative lender (or use cash)? Any advice or places you can point me to would be greatly appreciated!

I'd like to apply to BRRRR method in Portugal but I'm struggling to understand how to do the refinance part. Unlike the US banking in Portugal is consolidated in a few banks which means that things that are common in the US like credit unions or local lenders are not found there.

Has anyone had experience in doing BRRRR with Portuguese lenders?