Illegal Real Estate Agents in Portugal.

There is currently a wind of change blowing through the Real Estate industry in Portugal, there are no shortage of illegal companies- especially companies hiding behind European laws concerning advertising on the internet. These companies are not paying taxes and also are not helping the country that they live in, often by choice. They are parasitical in a country that can ill afford parasites so need to be stamped out and frowned upon for their behaviour.

If a real estate portal is in fact a genuine advertising portal then there are a number of things to take into account;

1.       They will pass you onto another agent who has a licence and you will be able to view their Ami number.

2.       You will not meet anyone representing that company; if they do meet you and act as a go between then they are mediating on your behalf and breaking several laws.

3.       They cannot pass judgement or comment on the paperwork pertaining to the purchase of your home- that is also against the law, also they have no training to understand the documents correctly.

4.       They cannot show you the property or comment on its value, in fact they cannot express an opinion that may influence a sale- this is also against the law.

All an advertising portal is allowed to do is advertise, any contract concerning the purchase of property in Portugal that is completed with these agencies has no legal standing in Portugal. Also you- the buyer should know that by law a licensed company must have 'civil responsibility insurance' this covers against any mishap that may happen to either party during a sale, by dealing with an illegal agent you put yourself as risk of  financial loss should anything go wrong.

If you are considering buying property in Portugal then please don’t use one of these illegal real estate agents, use a company that has an AMI number that can be checked via INCI; one thing is for certain if a company has an AMI number they are pround of the work that went into obtaining it and the number will be displayed on their website as well as on their wall.