Hello Ana. Last year we lost 15,500 euros on a real estate negotiation. We deposited this amount on a house. The bank appraiser went out and found a minor problem with the property. Something about an annex not being part of the main building on the paper work and the camara. As a result the bank refused our loan. We informed the seller and their realtor that our CPCV stated that the seller promises that there was no problem with the house, and if there was, we had a right to our money back. The seller and realtor stated that there was no problem, and that it was the "Politica" do banco, so they would not return our deposit. I checked the CPCV, and noticed that our incompetent lawyer did not place a clause in it, stating that we could have our money returned to us if the bank refused the loan. We confronted our lawyer about this, and his response was, "You told me the bank approved the loan". What he should have known, if he was a good lawyer, was the a preliminary ok from the bank was not the final approval. To cover his mistake, he agreed with the seller and seller agent, that the problem was the "Politica" do banco. We checked with two other lawyers, and after reviewing the papers from the Camara, they said they couldn't see a problem. My wife and I were shocked at how incompetent these two were also, as they didn't even ask to see the Appraisal from the bank to see what the appraiser was talking about. They came across as lawyers who didn't want to deal with the problem. There was literally no one to help us. We were so distraught that we returned back to the states. We want to return, but this time we need a competent buyer broker who can hold our hand and really protect us with the buying process. We will arrive in PT in May. That 15,500 euros really put us back and can't afford to be taken advantage of again.

Thank you Ana for another informative and helpful video. While I don’t anticipate making a purchase in cash, I assume a high down payment (say 50%) is also favorable from a tax perspective. Correct?

The main question I have is the difference in tax costs of cash vs a loan? As an investor having significant cash tied up in an investment property doesn't make sense, when you can leverage the banks money.