Despite being a relatively small nation in Europe, with barely 10 million inhabitants, Portugal has always been a big draw for visitors from the UK. Almost 2 million people go there on holiday every year and about 200,000 actually own properties in Portugal, mostly on the Algarve. They are attracted by a combination of excellent weather, cheap living costs compared with many other parts of Europe and superb leisure facilities, particularly for golfers.

Portuguese banks will lend to someone in permanent residence in Portugal and offshore banks will usually finance only 65 per cent of the property. Mortgage periods are shorter and usually are no longer than 20 years.

The process of buying property in Portugal is different to that in the UK or elsewhere. First of all it involves signing a contract, running some cheques, signing the deed (which is deceptively familiar to UK and can lead to you making assumptions about the process and getting a nasty surprise when you discover your error later on). So you need to keep on asking questions as if you know nothing.

When you buy a property in Portugal, in addition to your property in your home country, you must consider the tax rules of both countries. This is because you’ll necessarily pay tax in both, but you want to limit the damage as much as possible whilst satisfying both systems. How you organise your taxation will be up to you and your advisor to decide, as every situation is different. Your main decision will be whether to stay resident in your home country or, once you’ve bought a property in Portugal, to switch to residency over there. Also, the timing of this switch has knock-on effects and so must be considered carefully.

Apart from tax, other costs to watch out for when buying property in Portugal include notary fees, which are non-negotiable as they are fixed by law; property transfer tax, which changes depending on the cost of your property; land registration fees of about 0.8 per cent of the property price; mortgage charges (if any); surveyor’s fees; connecting to electricity and water providers; and architect’s fees as applicable.