AURA News Real Estate
Just about all of the Portuguese banks will lend to non-residents of Portugal now what differs is the products they provide. You might also find the interest rate you'll be paying is higher than what you would pay if you borrowed in Portugal, where interest rates are very competitive. Virtually all mortgages are principal plus interest loans, though banks offer both fixed and variable rate mortgages.
Depending on circumstances, we may or may not be able to offer you the exact loan amount and interest rate requested. The Financial Services Authority does not regulate loans secured on overseas properties. Once the property and mortgage deeds are signed in front of the Portuguese Notary and all the associated fees and taxes have been paid you become the official new owner of the property.
In addition, the company is extremely experienced in arranging loans on Touristic property. Mortgages for acquisition purposes are offered by all the major Portuguese lenders to private individuals purchasing Mortgage interest rates in Portugal a property with a habitation license. To make things worse, the US taxpayers' exposure to the market is growing, not reducing; last year they bought or guaranteed three-quarters of all U.S. home loans.
Despite much economic uncertainty in recent years, not to mention an unstable housing market, all the major Portuguese lenders continue to provide mortgages to suitable individuals, including overseas nationals, purchasing property in Portugal. The amount of housing loans that were granted this year is the highest since the beginning of the financial crisis.
Some banks in Portugal offer a maximum term of 25 years for non-residents and 30 years for residents. You can also arrange a guarantor, which can be beneficial in terms of inheritance tax if they are also a part-owner of the property. There are also some banks that require you to take out life insurance, which can really add on to the costs of a mortgage.
In fact in some cases you can get a better deal from another bank, when buying bank owned properties. The competitive UK mortgage market provides several advantageous deals on sterling loans. However, many banks don't lend for international properties or restrict their lending to particular types of property or locations.
Financing example for a Mixed Rate Mortgage (25 year Fixed Rate) for a total amount of €100,000.00, a purchase price of €150.000.00 and a mortgage term of 360 months, corresponding to 300 monthly repayments of €395.12 and 60 monthly repayments of €270,99.
Rates now start at 3.3 per cent for a variable rate of up to 30 per cent loan to value, 3.4 per cent for a variable rate of up to 60 per cent loan to value, and 4.1 per cent for a five-year fixed rate of up to 80 per cent loan to value. The mortgage loans terms vary from 1 to 50 years.
A typical fixed rate for a 5-year term could be 2.5%, depending on the bank. In Portugal Banco Santander Totta operates as a universal bank, offering retail, private, corporate and investment banking products and services. Remortgaging is possible in Portugal but the rates are higher and there is more scrutiny in the process.
