Finally the time had come: Thursday, October 25, 2018 we got the keys to our house in Arelho! The visit to the notary was special, as we are used to the Dutch situation. It started with the fact that we had to pay the transfer tax before signing the deed. Just at the bank’s ATM! Everything can be arranged there: from paying taxes to activating the toll badge. Very useful if you do not have a computer, like many (older) Portuguese.
After signing the deed and transferring the check with the purchase amount to the previous owner, we drove quickly to our new place! Especially since we were curious about the condition of the house and what was left behind. Because that is also different than in the Netherlands: we were used to an inspection before the transfer takes place, but they do not do that in Portugal. It may be that the owner has taken or scrapped everything in the end and then you are out of luck as a new owner. Fortunately that was not the case!
More about this subject? See these clips (sorry, they are in Dutch):