LEGAL DOCUMENTS RELATED WITH PROPERTIES

· Personal Fiscal Number (Número fiscal de contribuinte)
As a future owner of a Portuguese property you will need to have a Portuguese Fiscal Number which can be obtained immediately from a Local Tax Office.

· Property Registration Certificate. (Certidão de Teor)
On the local Land Registry (Conservatória do Registo Predial) check if the seller has the ownership of the property and no one else has those rights and also if it is free of charges and mortgages. A Registration Certificate should be issued and has a time limit. It describes the property's legal history. It is necessary to do the deed in the Notary as proof of ownership and power to sell.

· Property Tax document (Caderneta Predial)
From the local tax office, you are able to obtain an official tax document which certifies the inscription of the property for fiscal purposes and also identifies the owner and his/hers fiscal number, the description of the property (areas, number of rooms, area and type of plot, history etc) and it also identifies the property with a unique fiscal number. This document will also state how much the owner will pay in local annual taxes. This certificate is necessary in case of a transaction of the property. If the property is new this will be replaced for a form which until the certificate is not issue.

· Licence of Use (Licença de Utilização)
It is necessary to obtain a copy of the usage licence from the Local Town Hall. With this document you can check if the property is approved for the purposes of the original building permission. For a residential property it is necessary to have a habitation licence, for non residential it is necessary to have a commercial or industrial licence. This document must be produced when the Buying & Selling Contract is being signed in the presence of the Notary.

· Buying and selling contract (Contrato promessa compra e venda)
This document must obviously be signed by the buyer and seller, and as a promissory contract, it must indicate the reference to the documents explained before and also the terms in which the transaction will be done and conditions of sale. A deposit must be paid and it can vary between 10 and 30% .The Portuguese law protects both parties, if the buyer gives up in buying he will loose the deposit, if the seller change his mind he has to return the deposit in double. This contract should be signed in the presence of the Notary.

· Transfer Tax (IMT – IMPOSTO MUNICIPAL sobre TRANSMISSOES

This tax must be paid before the Final Deed and a document must be issued by the Local Tax Office which proves that it has been paid. It must be presented to the Notary on the day of the Final Deed. The tax to pay depends on the price of the property. The following table indicates the tax to be paid for the year 2009 on residential property. Rustic property is charged at a flat rate of 5% and commercial property or land for construction is charged at a flat rate of 6.5%. Offshore companies pay 15%

· Updated table of the Property Transfer Tax (IMT) for the year 2009

For permanent habitation, the taxes to apply are different.

· Final Deed (Escritura)
The title of the property is completed on the conveyance signed by a Public Notary. All the above mentioned documents are required.

· Registration (Registo)
Finally, but very importantly, is to register the property in your name with the Land office and also with the Local Tax Office. This procedure should be done with no delay.

· ANNUAL FEES after BUYING:

Annual tax on real estate property (Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis - IMI): this is an amount determined by the municipal tax authorithies which can go from 0,4% to 0,8% depending on the property and the location. Payment is divided into 2 installments; one in April and one in September.

Utilities fees: water, electricity, gas, telephone line, etc (variable, depends on usage)

Condominium fees (if applicable): variable