Selling property in Madeira

Valuation from achieved prices, not asking prices

We value from completed transactions in your municipality and altitude band, then adjust for the factors that move money on Madeira: condition of the roof and terraces, the width and gradient of the access road, orientation, and whether the view is protected by the terrain or by a plot someone could still build on.

You get a range rather than a single number, with the reasoning written out, plus what each end of the range implies for time on the market. An overpriced start is expensive in a way that is hard to see: the buyers who would have paid a fair price look in the first four weeks, and they do not come back to a listing that has been sitting for six months.

The document set, assembled before the first viewing

Caderneta predial, certidão permanente, licença de utilização, ficha técnica de habitação where the build date requires it, condominium minutes and accounts for an apartment, and a valid certificado energético — which is a legal requirement to advertise, not a formality. We order the energy certificate and chase the câmara municipal for licence copies.

Where the built and the registered area differ, we establish that now. Almost every buyer's lawyer will find it, and finding it yourself three weeks before a deed costs far less leverage than having it found for you. If a legalisation is needed, we tell you what it involves and what it is likely to take.

Presentation and reach

Photography is shot at the hour the property looks like itself, which on Madeira is rarely midday. Floor plans, plot boundaries and the honest description of the access road go in from the start, because a viewing that ends in surprise is a wasted flight for everyone.

From there the property goes either to the open market with the reach that entails, or quietly to a named shortlist of registered buyers — most of ours are buying from Germany, the UK and Scandinavia and already have their financing and their NIF in place. Both routes are handled by the same two people, and you get a written record of every enquiry, every viewing and every reason a viewer declined.

Offers, promissory contract and completion

Offers are presented with the buyer's position attached: funds, timetable, whether a mortgage is involved and whether they have a lawyer instructed. A slightly lower offer from a buyer who can complete in eight weeks is often the better one, and we say which we would take.

From acceptance we co-ordinate with your lawyer and the buyer's side through the contrato de promessa to the escritura pública, keep the deposit terms and completion date realistic, and attend the deed. Selling one property to buy another on the island is a common sequence, and the purchase side runs as its own mandate.