Maintaining or increasing your home value in Portugal
Home value ?
Maintaining or increasing your home value in Portugal is a very important issue for everyone interested in buying here or who have already invested in a Portuguese property.
Often for some it can come as a shock that they own a property that is currently worth less than they paid for it. It is these people who often moan and grumble the loudest. I am not talking about price changes caused by international bank stupidity or dumb political decisions.
What I am talking about is homes that were bought for 60,000 E are now worth 40,000 or a’ home costing 200,000 E now worth 140,000 can you imagine the anguish anger and blame games that these home owners go through.
So how do I maintain or preferably increase my home value in Portugal.
We have the answer and we are willing to share it with you.
First some Irrefutable Property Facts
Internationally property values are based upon supply and demand. Obviously when there is excess supply prices stagnate or decline for most properties.
You have heard this a million times its still true Location, Location, Location also pays a major part in the value of a home. But what does this actually mean.
Paying too much when you bought or built *including renovation* the property will also make it harder to realize an increase in the short term.
Maintaining or increasing your home value in Portugal
Here’s what you can do to increase your Portuguese home value.
Buying
For every house there is a value band that it falls into. This is based on size, amount of useful living space, amount of outside space and land, what similar properties are selling for in the area.
Don’t build or buy your fairy-tale castle with all of the features of your dreams. Those dreams are your personal dreams and it unreasonable to expect your buyers to have the same dreams or aspirations.
Size matters, Don’t build or buy too big 7 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms is great when the extended family come to stay on the occasional holiday but the number of people who would think that a huge house was cosy and low-cost to run would be limited indeed. I know of one such house that has not sold for 5 years and as you will have already guessed the asking price has tumbled. It still hasn’t reached its real price band yet because the owners can’t yet face the truth.
Location,Location,Location, Don’t build or buy too remote. What’s too remote ? more to than 500 meters from the nearest other home.
Style of home. You may have seen too many grand design programs or some other modern make over program that has convinced you that a spire and ramparts are quite the thing for a sophisticated home. The truth is the more that you stray from the mainstream of design and materials the more you will reduce the eventual sale value and number of people looking to buy your property.
This includes renovations which keep a property as it was a hundred years ago, dodgy plumbing, inadequate insulation and small windows.
Location,Location,Location River or water side properties have some negative perceptions which are probably based upon old TV reports and experiences of recent appalling British winters and regular flooding rather than the actuality of what happens in Portugal. These perceptions also have a knock on negative effect on property values.
Maintaining or increasing your home value in Portugal
Location,Location,Location Road noise people don’t come to Portugal to live next to noisy roads, mobile phone masts or discos so don’t build or buy next to nuisances. You may have lived in a major city so are acclimatised to the background noise. It will be hard to find a buyer who is noise tolerant. Even constantly barking dogs are enough to lower your home value.
Maintaining or increasing your home value in Portugal
