The estate agents will be very keen to get the deal concluded so as they can recognise the commission for themselves and ours however nice and helpful they are were the same. If you are happy to go with the flow then that’s fine, but don’t let them push you into doing anything before you are ready.
We also started to understand a little more about what will happen on the day, basically everyone, buyers, sellers, estate agents, lawyers and anyone else that might be involved all turn up at the Notary, a official legal office, sign various papers and hand over the cash, simple!
There was no doubt in our minds that we were going to go through with the deal, but as I said in an earlier blog, the airfares before and around the Christmas period were ridiculous. Whilst we weren’t going to do everything on the cheap, we weren’t going to throw away our hard earnt money and after investigating we concluded that the best time was actually the first week back at school for Teresa, so I would go alone, we could still do everything in joint names but a single return flight at this time was far more reasonable.
Most evenings during December we were emailing one party or another just getting everything in line. Everyone was very helpful and willing to fall in line, with the exception of the sellers, not the old man who actually was selling but with one of his sons. Let me explain, in Portugal when a property is owned by partners (e.g. a man and his wife) if they have children, when one of then die the 50% passes to the children not the spouse, unless superseded by a will. Mr. Antonio and his wife had owned the property we were buying, but the wife had died some years earlier and they had 2 sons, both of the sons were married and one has a son of his own, so whilst the old man was selling, both the sons and their wives and the grandson had to agree and in fact would share the proceeds from the sale. They were all in agreement but one son was being a bit awkward about the date. In reality I was later to find out that whilst he didn’t want the land, he didn’t want his father to sell either, so whilst not blocking the sale, he was being deliberately awkward.
After a number of emails with the estate agent and our lawyer and the estate agent working with the family and the notary, the date was set for Tuesday 10th January 2012. I will fly out on the Monday 9th January, do the deed on the Tuesday and fly back on the Wednesday.
5th December – Flights booked – Easyjet.
7th December – Hotel Booked – Booking.com – Hotel Idanha Natura.
9th December – My birthday – Just thought I would throw that in, presents always welcome. :- ) .
15th December – Euros ordered.
16th December – Euros with Lawyer.
So that’s it for 2011, time to get on with the Christmas present buying.