Product Description

Around 50,000 British people buy second homes abroad each year. Among the popular destinations are France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. This book on buying a property in Portugal has been written by someone who has already done it themselves. Use their experience to learn about the mistakes you can avoid.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #890715 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
'a most informative book with plenty of useful tips.' Hispanic Council 'Anyone thinking of taking up residence in Portugal will find this book an important companion.' Anglo-Portuguese Society

About the Author
Sue Tyson-Ward's association with Portugal goes back some 19 years, when she first stayed in Portugal before reading Portuguese at University. Between bouts of living and working there, she has spent the last ten years promoting Portugal through her language and culture classes and books, her Portuguese Circle and her work for the BBC series Talk Portuguese.

Customer Reviews

Catchy title, good cover, not enough
The saying that you must never choose a book by its cover is entirely applicable in this case. For an insider guide, as claimed on the cover, this book is too superficial. It does not come to grips with the key issues of buying your property. The summaries at the end of each chapter are a good measure of the poor level of information. In the chapter on the Purchasing Process the summary has nothing more substantial to say than it is a good idea to give Power of Attorney to a Portuguese lawyer if you are buying from the UK.

An annoying characteristic in this book is that common place statements are delivered with great solemnity. What the book lacks in useful information it exceeds in platitudes.

I fell for the title and the cover. It served me right. I had to spend more money getting another book. I am pleased I have now found a couple of excellent books on buying property in Portugal. I hope my experience can help others.

Light reading
This book takes you through the different regions of Portugal, their places of interest, food, life style and types of property. It does so in an easy-to-read, chatty way. The author travels with her husband. 'My husband and I' are often mentioned. They do a three-week train journey in northern Portugal and are invited to the Portwine Institute in Lisbon. The personal touch extends to socialising with the locals and expats.
How to go about buying property is explained, but advice can be a bit basic. Some is just common sense, like to find your property you look for it in local newspapers or the Sunday Times property supplement for places abroad. There are vocabulary lists with Portuguese words. On page 87 there is an overview of the purchasing process. This is useful, but it can also be found in other books. The thing is that we are spoilt for choice with so many books coming out on buying property and living in Portugal, some very good indeed.