How We Found Our Dream Rental in Portugal
It wasn't easy...
...but it can be done. We weren’t into shipping our household goods to Portugal, so our ultimate goal was to find a furnished rental in Portugal for our first year while we settled in and acclimate to our new country and figure out if we chose the best city to live in Portugal.
There were a lot of considerations along the way, including but not limited to, furnishings, budget, location, style, and the list goes on.
Keep reading to understand how we decided on the right house for our family and the process of how we secured the perfect modern villa in Cascais, Portugal.
If you missed our previous house hunting post, we talked about how we were starting the process and what to expect along the way.
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House Hunting in Portugal
Short-Term Booking vs. Long-Term Lease
The D7 residence visa application requires at least a 12-month rental contract. Since we have two small kids who will need some semblance of stability during this transition, we opted to secure a 1-year lease to avoid having to move so shortly after getting settled. This was after looking at everything from Airbnb to Idealista and beyond. We considered vacation rentals, holiday rentals, 3-year leases, and everything in between.
City Center vs. Suburbs
Originally, we strongly considered the Algarve. But ultimately, we wanted to be as close to Lisbon as possible without actually being in the city. We wanted suburb quality of life without sacrificing access to the beauty that is Lisbon.
Also, the Algarve is so far south, and even though Portugal is a small country, we wanted easier access to the north and south and the greater Lisbon area offered that.
That being said, we did gravitate toward homes near the center of Cascais in order to have easy access to great restaurants, bars, and so that we could have plenty of amenities within walking distance. This way we have a bit of both worlds, we're not in a big city, but we're also not secluded either.
We do plan to have a car, but I detest needing to get in the car for every outing. We need options in our sights.
View vs. No View
Having a view of the sea, or better yet, a beachfront location will up the ante quite a bit when it comes to budget. While neither of these was a must-have, in the end, the property we chose offered a rooftop terrace with a view of the sea. It would not have been a dealbreaker to be a little further from the water, but this was a nice bit of icing on the cake.
We were never really in the market for a beachfront property, mostly because of the price implications. But also, I love the beach, but I hate sand in my house! 🤣
Space for Guests vs. Just Enough Bedrooms
We love the idea of friends and family coming to visit and being able to welcome them into our home. The last thing I want someone to have to do is to pay to fly across the Atlantic on a Portugal vacation to see us and then also have to shell out extra cash on accommodations. But when it came time to buckle down on the budget, it didn't seem like a guest bedroom was in the cards.
Lo and behold, when the home we ended up loving had a hidden bedroom downstairs not mentioned in the listing, we were ecstatic. This is why it pays to see a house in person (virtually in our case) rather than simply relying on an online listing. Agencies and owners in Portugal are notorious for incomplete listings, so beware.
Private Garden vs. Terrace
Our #1 must-have when we originally spoke with Lee Ann was a private yard/garden. Living the last 11 years in NYC apartments, we felt we were due to have our own outdoor space and wanted the kids to be able to run around outside any time they need to burn off energy—AKA when they’re driving us crazy!
We considered a few properties that didn't have private gardens, including one that had an incredibly large sea-view terrace. After living the last year and a half with lockdowns and quarantines around every corner, we just couldn't lock in on a place that didn't have outdoor space for the kids to play.
We've been cooped up in a New York apartment long enough. We wanted an oasis that was just as amazing to be at as the country we were so excited to get to know.
Furnished vs. Unfurnished
If we're being totally honest, we've lived in the same apartment for the last six years (the longest I have personally ever lived in one home my entire life) and I'm sick of our "stuff". I'm ready for a fresh start. Plus I'm selfishly trying to avoid the hassle of dealing with shipping companies. We're going to do our best to pack our lives into 12 checked bags or less. Whether we'll succeed or not, we're not sure. But we're willing to try.
With that in mind, we were dead set on finding a furnished rental. When our initial search results yielded no viable furnished options within our budget, we panicked. Our real estate agent, Lee Ann Mumford (excellent btw), found us some really nice options in our budget, but the idea of furnishing a 3-4 bedroom home from scratch after just moving country made my brain bleed a little.
Knowing what it cost to furnish our 4-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, we had to reconsider our budget. For us, it made more sense to up the budget to find the furnished rental than to go with an unfurnished place and spend the same amount anyway (amortized over the 12-month lease) on making it feel like home—not to mention having to do that from over 3,000 miles away and/or within the first days/weeks of arriving.
Ultimately, we stretched our (possibly ill-informed) budget to find the perfect furnished rental. It was the right choice for us, but it's only for the first year until we solidify our long-term housing plan.
Pool vs. No Pool
This was definitely a "nice-to-have". It was more than a pleasant surprise that the house we already loved just so happened to have a private pool. Neither of us has ever had a pool. It's a bit intimidating, but I'm over-the-moon excited to have that little slice of luxury in our very own backyard.
Modern vs. Traditional Portuguese Style
Originally, I think we had a picture in our minds of the type of home we wanted. Ideally, if we could take a Lisbon penthouse and plop it in Cascais we would have been golden. Unfortunately, that cosmopolitan style is not so easily found outside of Lisbon, so we had to consider what was available in the area we were searching.
The idea of a traditional Portuguese villa took hold, but would the interior be modern enough for our liking?
Of the three houses we seriously considered, two were modern styles and one was a traditional Portuguese villa. While we loved the traditional villa, ultimately the kitchen just would not do.
So in the end, I guess we're more modern, although if I ever build a house in Portugal, I’d like to think it will have a traditional style with a modern cosmopolitan flare. 😉
How We Found Our Rental Home in Portugal
Early on, we secured a real estate agent, sometimes known as a buyer's or renter's agent. These types of agents are a wonderful asset when searching for a property to call home. Their services are completely free to you and their knowledge and expertise are invaluable, especially when you have to make such impactful decisions from so far away.
After seeing innumerable recommendations for Lee Ann Mumford, we decided to work with her. And she did not disappoint. She is sweet, caring, kind, and best of all, a consummate professional. She really knows her shit. 😆
The Timing
We left ourselves barely six weeks to search for a home, put in a proposal, negotiate the terms, and get a signed lease ready for our D7 application packet. We had planned on starting our search closer to eight weeks out, but eventually moved up our application date and were a bit under the gun to get this step of the process done.
In the beginning, it seemed like plenty of time, but when you factor in the time difference, bureaucracy, and everything and everyone running on “Portugal time,” we came in just under the wire. In the end, we had our signed lease a mere two days before our application interview. Cutting it close, don’t you think? 😬
Eight weeks seems like a better timeline, especially considering how lengthy the search process can be to find the perfect place and how long it can take to finalize the negotiations and secure the signed lease.
The Search
After having an exploratory call with Lee Ann, the search was on. We continued to do our due diligence in searching sites like Idealista and Imovirtual, but we were hoping Lee Ann would bring us a unicorn. Needless to say, when her first options were a bit underwhelming, we started having second thoughts. Would we be able to find what we wanted? Would we be able to afford it even if we did?
All that second-guessing had us searching even harder. We were back to considering short-term options, Airbnb, Flatio, and the like. Meanwhile, we scheduled virtual viewings of a few of Lee Ann's finds. It's not that they weren't nice houses, it just felt like maybe our expectations were unreasonable.
Here we were thinking we could spend a lot less than we currently do in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and yet, still get an amazing home up to our American standards. We quickly had to check back into reality and decide how to please our American sensibilities in a Portuguese world. How to find what we wanted without sacrificing the budget or our desire to immerse ourselves in Portuguese culture.
The Budget
Ultimately, the deciding factor was really feeling like we needed a furnished place. Not all furnished places are created equal. Many times furnishings are outdated and/or just not our style. So, when we found a furnished home on Idealista that ticked all our boxes, we fell in love. Only one problem. It was well over our original budget.
Knowing that it's often the case that you can negotiate the price down, we decided to send it to Lee Ann to schedule a viewing. We re-ran the numbers, and considering how much it would cost to furnish our next favorite property, it would add up to the same amount either way over the year.
In that moment, we decided to go for the furnished property. It really was everything we wanted. It would be impossible to beat and it embodied everything we imagined when we pictured our new life in Portugal.
The Viewing
Again, having an agent to work with us through this process added a level of comfort from afar. Lee Ann set up the viewing, she FaceTimed us after her initial walk-through and proceeded to walk us through every nook and cranny of the property, highlighting useful information along the way. I must say, I think even she was taken by this property. After having her show us several properties already, this one elicited the best response from her.
Now look, I know since the budget was higher she stood to make more, but she is very authentic and trustworthy, and I never for a moment thought she would push us into a property she didn't think would be a good fit for us. She genuinely thought the property would be great for our family and that went a long way in trusting that we could make this 1-year commitment without seeing the place with our own eyes.
At the end of the viewing, Lee Ann made a video of the entire house and called us back to discuss our options for moving forward. We were set on this being "the place", so after discussing what we would like to propose to the owner, she was off to do her thing.
The Proposal
If you read our previous post about house hunting in Portugal, your one takeaway should have been that "everything is negotiable". We took this to heart going into the proposal process. Since the asking price per month was above what we wanted to pay, we took a chance and aimed low. Too low.
Come to find out, the house rent price was not up for negotiation according to the owner. Since this house was typically a short-term rental, and the tourism market was on the verge of a resurgence, the owner did not want to entertain anything lower than the ask price for fear of missing out on possible (much higher) short-term rental income. This hurt. We were down but refused to be out. We loved this property and decided to negotiate in other ways.
Since the owner was worried about missing out on peak summer rental income, we offered to start the lease closer to our arrival date in late July. This would give her time to make as much vacation rental income as possible over the summer and we didn't have to pay rent for months we weren't actually going to be living there—a win-win situation.
The Negotiations
Originally, the owner requested two months' security deposit and one month's rent. We offered a month's security deposit and six months of rent upfront. This is a common practice for foreigners who do not have a Portuguese guarantor. We were willing to pay more upfront to put the owner at ease, and this they went for, so we're paid up until February. A large chunk of change, but not technically having to pay rent again until February will be nice as we settle in and get our day-to-day expenses settled.
We also worried about what might happen if we hand over so much money to secure the lease for our visa application and then the visa actually got denied. This is a very dim possibility, but considering the amount of money it felt necessary to cover our asses with some kind of penalty clause.
After a little back and forth, we agreed to a 3-month penalty in the case that our visa is denied and we can't actually move to Portugal. This gives us a little peace of mind. If for whatever reason we don't actually make it to Portugal, this monetary loss will not be what we mourn anyway.
The Contract
Once we had the terms agreed to by both parties, it was time to create the contract. This was done by the owner's lawyers and it took about a week. Much longer than we thought it would take. Fun fact: they write every lease/contract from scratch. No templates. Seems like a bit of a waste of energy and resources, but considering that this was the first time this property was being rented long-term, it kind of made sense.
The lease was sent to us in Portuguese and English and reviewed by the lawyers at Lee Ann's company, Coldwell Banker, free of charge. This gave us some reassurance that if we missed or didn't understand something we had people looking out for our interests. It took longer to get the lease than we had hoped but the revision process was quick and smooth and we had the lease signed and sent back to the owner for her signature within the day. By the next day, we had the dual-signed lease in our inbox and we were officially Portuguese property renters!
How to Be Prepared
The process will likely take longer than anticipated, so give yourself at least eight weeks if not more.
Be prepared to negotiate, but every owner is different so don't be surprised if negotiations don't all go your way.
Even if you're working with an agent be prepared to continue your own search. The property we ultimately rented was one we found ourselves and that wouldn’t have come up in Lee Ann’s search (based on our wishlist). We sent the listing to Lee Ann and she helped us through the rest of the process.
Patience will serve you well. We tried our hardest to keep this in mind, but as our appointment grew closer we may have had a few panicked calls with Lee Ann. 🤪
Don't settle for something you know won't work for you and/or your family. It's a year of your life in a time that will have many ups and downs. You'll want a haven to go home to at the end of a frustrating day as an expat. Make sure you find a property that will help you adjust during this transition.
Don’t miss these additional resources to help you prepare for your move abroad!
And Now…The House
All said and done, we are thrilled to be able to live in this gorgeous modern villa for our first year in Portugal. It’s everything and more than we need, exactly what we wanted, and will go a long way to make us comfortable during a period of transition that will, no doubt, be just as frustrating as it will be rewarding.
Take a look.
Renovating Life contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Links like this allow us to continue providing top-quality content at no cost to you.
Move to Portugal
