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Hi @picart035, Welcome.

Many of your 1000 questions can be answered here, or have already been answered, since you're not the only one who has made this move.... Many US expats have done this process by themselves.

We can't give you references for realtors here, but they're not that difficult to find if you do a good search on the internet.

While a realtor will be able to provide the most up-to-date and specific information, here are some general points to be aware of as you begin your search:

1. No Restrictions for Foreigners: As a U.S. citizen, you have the same rights to buy and own property in Portugal as a Portuguese citizen.

1. NIF is Required: You will need a Portuguese tax identification number (Número de Identificação Fiscal, or NIF) to complete any property transaction. You'll also need it to open a bank account in a Bank in Portugal. But these are some of the basic requirements for you to apply for a visa / residency permit.

You have some support here:

Real State Agencies/Websites/Portals in Portugal

/forum/viewtopic.php?id=904388

/forum/viewtopic.php?id=908693

Experience sharing about Visas to Portugal (D7 & others)

/forum/viewtopic.php?id=971460

Portugal - Type of Visas

/forum/viewtopic.php?id=950421

Documents to be aware of when buying a Property in Portugal

/forum/viewtopic.php?id=910754

Regards

Hello,
I am planning on moving to Portugal in January and would really like to speak with a realtor to get my 1,000 questions answered. (kidding, but I do have lots of questions.) We are looking to move to Porto/Vila Nova de Gaia. - @picart035

Hi and welcome.

             Realtor is   quote  "a real estate agent who is a member of the  USofA  National Association of Realtors"  and  additionally  " they perform a very comprehensive range of duties when compared to the typical Portuguese property agent". So you may ask questions which are not within their professional experience.

          Shirly if you have questions to ask them then you could just search the interweb,  find some and their contact details and ask away.  A site like  OXL PT has, presently, nearly 200.000 listings under their "property" category which you find many have a link to the property agent who listed them so you can ask questions.

Hello,

One of my questions has to do with appliances. If I am viewing a property to rent online and it does not have appliances. Do I have to purchase appliances or will they be supplied?

That is just one question. My questions are not generic questions.

Thank you

Renting a property can have furniture and appliances included in the rent or be empty and you have to buy what you need. Nowadays there are two options. For rentals of up to one year, the property is usually already furnished. This is usually stated in the ads (eg. "Imóvel pronto a habitar", "imóvel com eletrodomésticos e móveis incluidos", etc), but you'll have to check this with the real estate agent.

@JohnnyPT

Thank you Johnny. We are looking for an annual lease.

Maybe a reality check.   In addition to ^^° above.

  If you can't be bothered to view a potential rental property in person and ask your own pertinent questions to satisfy your your own needs then almist decide then you'll struggle to get any "EstateAgent" etc. to take you seriously. As there is a general lack of rental property available it's sort of first viewer gets first choice. Random questions from "foreign" random people will be treated as such.  The only strength you may have is paying a lot more rent than the actual people viewing.

You obvious have the ability to do your interweb online stuff so maybe try to find some rentals and engage with the agents/owners.

Good Luck.

@Strontium

Thanks for your comments Strontium. I prefer to be educated about the ins and outs of renting property in Portugal. Unless of course I am going to be dealing with multiple agents to make sure all my questions are answered.

Thanks

@picart035

Renting online without seeing the property is not a good option because there may be people who want to scam you. In one of the previous links you'll find some precautions to take when renting.

Thanks for your comments Strontium. I prefer to be educated about the ins and outs of renting property in Portugal. Unless of course I am going to be dealing with multiple agents to make sure all my questions are answered.
Thanks - @picart035

OK

Who is paying for the info??? If you are not willing to pay for agent's time then expect to get the unpaid results. Few serious professional agents will give you free advice unless it is biased to their agendas. The real way to engage with the property market here is by being here in person. A lot if stuff here is NOT interweb based so it's your money - your choice.

That's exciting you're considering a move! One option to have a one-stop-shop for questions and answers is to find a relocation support agency, that helps take you around to properties or organises virtual visits if you can't visit in person. They will be able to handle questions, and won't have a vested interest per property, so you'll be able to trust the answers a bit more. If you Google something like 'portugal relocation support agency' you'll find some various options. A good agency will have agents for different regions of Portugal, so you can explore beyond just Porto, Lisbon and the Algarve, but also get to know more rural regions, such as the Alentejo, Tras-os-Montes, etc. We know various people who have used companies like this, from our experience renting out properties and offering relocation support to our tenants. They can be of great assistance! Hope this helps :-)

@picart035

Hello!

If the pictures of a property online shows the property unfurnished, then it's likely rented unfurnished. You could send a message to the owner/ agent to ask whether there is the option to rent it furnished (but this could change the rental price that it's advertised at).

Likewise when a property is furnished, and if you view it in-person (very important - please do not rent without seeing it in person are unfortunately there are scammers out there taking advantage of people looking to rent whilst overseas), you will still want to check the rental contract to ensure that it's the landlord's responsibility to replace or fix any key appliances such as white goods (if they are due to wear and tear and not damage caused by negligence by you).

It's often in both parties interest to have an inventory, but I've had several rentals where I did not recieve one, and so it's not standard. My personal advice in this scenario is to document all appliances (and any damages you see) within the first few days of moving in, and send this to your landlord to give notice properly. It may be that they do not rectify any of the issues but at least you have a clear record that the property was in this state (good or bad) when you first moved in so no issues upon move out - as they have your security deposit.

Hope this helps!