Looking for Real Estate Agents Lisbon, Portugal? Don't Go With Just Anyone

There are some pretty awful stories I've heard about working with bad real estate agents in Portugal.

I for one have my own hellish scenario result from trying to buy my primary residence in the greater Lisbon area. It was a nightmare I could never have imagined possible, and sadly that caused months upon months of headache and stress.

That's a story for another day, however. In the meantime I'd like to address some of the potential pitfalls - some small nuisances, but many of which are much larger issues - that you can come across working with the wrong real estate agent in the Lisbon, Portugal area.

These issues sadly cannot easily be avoided unless you know exactly who to work with. And in Portugal, practically the only way you can find good recommendations for real estate agents (as well as lawyers, construction workers, and so many other things) is by knowing someone who knows someone.

Essentially, having them vetted first by an individual having personal experience with not just a Real Estate agency in general, but a particular agent.

No, you cannot merely walk into a RE/MAX or other real estate agency and expect to have a wonderful real estate agent working quickly, efficiently, and optimally to get you what you need in terms of real estate.

It's far more complicated than that because the range of quality of work varies considerably from agent to agent. And yes, again, I know this from personal experience.

That being said, if you're new to Portugal and have no friends or family living there - there's no way you could possibly benefit from the contacts and personal experience of others living in Portugal.

So if you need a recommendation for a Lisbon, Portugal real estate agent, and don't have anyone local to turn to to ask, please take a moment to quickly email me by filling out the contact form here - I'm more than happy to help because I don't want anyone dealing with the horror stories I've dealt with firsthand or heard (through real estate agents I trust!) regularly take place when buying property in Portugal.

Without further ado, here's why you shouldn't just go with any old real estate agent when you're trying to buy property in Portugal, and specifically Lisbon the city, or somewhere in the province of Lisbon, although this type of stuff definitely happens other places, too...

Why You Shouldn't Go With Just Any Real Estate Agent in Lisbon, Portugal

1. You could get scammed.

Now, I'm really not saying this to scare you, just to make you aware, but there are a number of horror story situations I've heard of when people put down a lot of money - hundreds of thousands of dollars - buying a property they haven't seen (because not everyone can afford or has the liberty of going to visit the real estate they are trying to invest in firsthand) where what's advertised is you getting some really hot real estate deal in the center of Lisbon and what you actually get is essentially a garage or small warehouse space that's worth practically nothing.

It's not uncommon. Honestly. And obviously if you go to see the places you're trying to buy it's not such a likely scenario, but even if you do see the places in person a lot of times - what you see is not what you get.

2. You could end up buying a property with add-ons that are illegal.

This is one of those what you see is not what you get type of situation. In Portugal, property add ons - expansions to rooms, construction of an entire second floor - are commonly done without getting legal permission to do so.

And if you're unaware of this and buying a property in cash, with no mortgage, often these properties seem perfectly fine to purchase. Until that is - you have to sell them.

If you're buying a property with a mortgage in Portugal, the only parts of the property that are considered when the valuation of the property is done are those that are legal.

So if you have a property that has 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, but 3 of those bedrooms and one of those bathrooms are on an upstairs floor that was built without getting legal permission, you'll likely only be able to get a mortgage that can cover roughly half of the price of the house you want to buy.

This is obviously not an issue if you're a cash buyer. But if you're the one selling, this becomes a massive problem because the only people who can essentially afford your house are those that can pay the amount in cash, with no mortgage, because those who need a mortgage will not be able to get one that covers the full price of the house.

A good real estate agent will know this and make you aware of the potential selling issues down the line if you're interested in buying a property like this. And if you really want to buy the property that has an illegal add on, they should be negotiating the price of that property down, so if you decide to sell up in the future, the mortgage issue is essentially accounted for in your purchase price in advance.

And if you're thinking, "Getting illegal add-ons and renovations to properties can't be that common," - you'd be very wrong in your conjecture. I can't possibly estimate how many properties have had this kind of construction done in the past, but it's a very large percentage of properties. So beware.

3. Many listing agents are hard to reach and when they don't bother to respond, real estate agents often just say those properties are unavailable.

If you're after a particular property and have a half-decent real estate agent, they will keep on top of constantly calling the real estate agents listing the property you're after.

But because of how unresponsive listing agents can be, many real estate agents just give up on trying to book a showing for a property and tell their buyers that that property is no longer available or sold.

This is a huge problem if you're trying to find just the right property to invest in or buy to live in as your main residence. You want to be shown every potential good fit that exists, and you won't be if you don't have a good real estate agent.

4. Some real estate agencies won't work with other agencies, and so they will tell you certain listings are unavailable when they really are.

Being unable to see a property you are interested in goes a step further when - which is often the case in Portugal - certain real estate agencies refuse to work with other agencies, thus leaving you in a situation where you're missing out on a wonderful property because your particular agency refuses to work with the agency that the property you like the look of is listed with.

Of course, real estate agents are not often transparent about this so you can go work with another agency that is willing to help you buy a property from any real estate agency's listings - they will just tell you the property is no longer available and call it a day.

Again, huge problem if what you're after is the best possible property investment or home for yourself at the time of buying. You can absolutely miss out on the perfect home this way.

5. Bad real estate agents won't help you haggle the price down and just want to make a quick sale.

To a bad real estate agent, a sale is a sale, and if you're a buyer working with them, they don't care if you get a good price on the property you're after, they just want the purchase to be made as quickly as possible so that they can get their paycheck.

But of course, some properties are not worth their listing price, and some properties (like in the case of properties that have illegal add ons, or need a lot of construction or fixes that may or may not be easy to spot) are way over valued and need negotiating to bring their price down.

You need a real estate agent who not only knows the value of a property with regards to what area it is and how big it is, but also knows how to negotiate for a fair price with additional information about the property that may make its listing price over what anyone should reasonably pay for it.

It's not easy to find real estate agents like this - but they do exist.

6. Showings can take ages to book, and without a good real estate agent, you can take too long and have your ideal property bought out from under you.

Listing agents being hard to reach is a massive problem for you if you are buying because bad real estate agents will often give up trying to reach listing agents entirely - or try in bouts and not hard enough, leading properties you're interested in to sell out from under you before you even get a chance to see the property.

This might mean you miss out on your ideal home, leaving you to settle for properties in ideal locations or that are smaller and less desirable because your agent wasn't proactive enough in terms of being able to book a showing with the listing agent.

And this can happen again and again with other properties you're interested in seeing, leaving you needing to settle for something less than ideal.

The Only Real Solution: Knowing Your Real Estate Agent Is Good

The only real solution to all of this is finding a good real estate agent and then using them to help you find the ideal property.

But of course, this is easier said than done, and because Portugal is the type of place where it's very hard to find reliable, high quality services by doing something like searching online (those who are good have so much business that they don't need to advertise online), unless you know someone who has personal experience with a good agent that you can ask for a referral from, it's almost impossible to land a good real estate agent through your own efforts trying to find one.

This is an absolutely awful position to be in when you are new to the country, and have no friends or family to ask - and because I was in that situation myself and ended up in such horrifying situations, I do my best to make other expats or would-be expats who are living or moving to Portugal aware of this.

And, as I said earlier, I'm very happy to help those in this situation by recommending good people to work with - as I don't want anyone ending up in similar situations to my own. So absolutely don't hesitate to contact me if you need any help. I will do my best to find you the information you need through friends I've made in Portugal along the way if I don't know the answer myself.

Good luck with your real estate hunting, and stay safe!