In this case, buying an apartment in Portugal, including all related costs, came to nearly €289,000, even though the apartment itself was priced at €280,380.

In short

  • A 130.5 m² apartment, with all costs included, came to just under €289,000.
  • The youth tax break kicked in because of the wife’s age (under 35), even though the buyer himself was 41.
  • Before the purchase, the same apartment was rented for €1,000 a month, with a planned increase to €1,050.
  • The leaking roof repair was paid for not by the owner but by the building, out of the shared reserve fund contributions.
  • Financially, it would have made more sense to keep the money in stocks (+26% over the year), but the apartment was bought for comfort and to stay close to family.

What the Cost of Buying an Apartment in Portugal Includes

The apartment itself, including all fees and bank transfer costs, came to €280,380. The money for the purchase came from an investment portfolio built up through US stock investments.

On top of the apartment price, there were fees for a lawyer, a real estate agent, and property purchase taxes. The tax burden turned out to be partially reduced thanks to a tax break, which is explained separately below.

Accounting for all these costs, the total spent on the purchase came to just under €289,000.

What Made Up the €289,000 Spent on the Apartment

The total purchase amount includes the property price plus related costs.

  • Apartment including all fees and transfers€280,380
  • Total purchase costjust under €289,000including lawyer, real estate agent, and taxes

Portugal’s Youth Tax Break on Home Purchases

The property purchase tax wasn’t paid in full: part of the amount was covered by a tax break for young buyers. Eligibility is based on the age of one of the spouses — under 35 — which in this case applied to the wife. The break applies to the purchase of a first permanent primary residence and depends on the property’s price, so the conditions are worth checking against the date of the transaction. The buyer himself didn’t fall into that age bracket — he was 41 at the time of the deal — but it turned out to be enough that one spouse met the age requirement. Thanks to that, part of the tax tied specifically to the home purchase didn’t have to be paid.

Youth tax break

The purchase tax was reduced by a youth tax break: it was enough that one spouse (the wife) was under 35, even though the buyer himself was 41.

A T4 Apartment in Portugal: What That Actually Means

The T4 designation in Portugal’s housing classification system means an apartment with four bedrooms. In reality, this apartment has three bedrooms and one office — that’s exactly how it’s listed in the documents, but all the bedrooms are used as such, while the office occupies a separate room that isn’t formally classified as a bedroom.

In reality, this apartment has three bedrooms and one office — that’s exactly how it’s listed in the documents

Besides the bedrooms, the apartment has two bathrooms, two balconies, and a living room. Counting rooms the way it’s typically done in the former Soviet countries, that works out to a five-room apartment. The size is around 130.5 m².

The apartment is on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator. The building is relatively old, but space for an elevator shaft was planned in — one can be installed if every resident in the building agrees, and so far there’s no agreement. In the identical neighboring building with the same layout, the elevator shaft is already in use and the elevator runs.

Comparing to Renting: What It Cost to Rent This Same Apartment

Before buying, this same apartment was rented for €1,000 a month. The landlords were planning to raise the rent by another €50, so by the time of the purchase, the actual rent would have been €1,050 a month.

Rent on the Same Apartment Before the Purchase

The rent on this apartment was set to rise even before the deal happened.

  • Monthly rent
Rent was rising

The landlords were planning to raise the rent from €1,000 to €1,050 a month — by the time of the purchase, the rent would have already gone up.

A Leaking Roof: Who Pays for Repairs in an Apartment Building

Last winter, during heavy rains, the roof leaked — water seeped into two rooms on opposite ends of the apartment and dripped from the ceiling. The repair was put off until summer: fixing a roof during the rainy season doesn’t make sense.

The apartment owners didn’t pay separately for the repair. The cost was covered by the building out of the monthly reserve fund contributions that the whole building pays into — no extra payment was needed.

How well the roof was actually fixed will only become clear once the next rainy season starts — which should begin in about two weeks.

Reserve fund covered it

The leaking roof repair wasn’t paid for by the apartment owner but by the building — out of the monthly reserve fund contributions the whole building pays.

Renting vs. Buying in Portugal: Which Makes More Sense

From a purely financial standpoint, it would have made more sense not to buy the apartment and instead keep the money in stocks: the investment portfolio returned +26% in dollars over the year, while Portuguese real estate appreciates more slowly. By that logic, renting would have worked out cheaper than buying — but continuing to rent this particular apartment simply wasn’t an option.

So the decision to buy wasn’t made for financial gain, but for comfort. Buying made it possible to keep the same familiar location — something hard to put a price on, but worth it. Another non-financial upside was staying close to family, a value that, in the author’s view, also can’t be measured in money.

Buying made it possible to keep the same familiar location — something hard to put a price on, but worth it

Pitfalls to Watch For When Buying an Apartment in Portugal

Buying an apartment “blind,” without ever having lived in it or tested it out in practice, is risky — surprises in Portuguese real estate are common, and there are plenty of stories to prove it. In this case, that risk was eliminated ahead of time: the apartment had already been rented and lived in for a while before the purchase, meaning it was essentially “test-driven” — every quirk that usually surfaces only after a deal was already known in advance.

Buying an apartment “blind,” without ever having lived in it or tested it out in practice, is risky

After the purchase, new responsibilities appeared too — it’s now a owned property, and dealing with issues falls on the owner alone, unlike with a rental, where the landlord handles part of the problems.

During the closing process, questions came up about paperwork that needed to be sorted out to get everything done correctly. The real estate agent handling the transaction helped with that.

Rent before you buy

The apartment had already been rented and lived in for a while before the deal — every hidden issue with the place was known in advance, with no surprises after the purchase.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if hidden problems surface after buying the apartment that never showed up during the rental period

The risk is minimized but not completely ruled out: the apartment was rented and lived in for a while before the deal, so most quirks that usually surface only after a purchase were already known in advance. After the purchase, responsibility for the property and for fixing any issues falls on the owner alone, unlike with a rental, where the landlord handled part of those concerns.

Can you get the housing tax break if only one spouse meets the age requirement

Yes: it’s enough for just one spouse to meet the age criterion (under 35), even if the other has already aged out of that bracket. In the case discussed here, the husband was 41, but the break still applied because the wife was under 35.

Can you move in right after buying, or do you have to wait for repairs and other building work to finish

It depends on the specific condition of the building, but in the case discussed here, the buyers already knew the apartment well — they had rented and lived in it before the deal, so moving in had nothing to do with waiting for repairs. Building work, like fixing the roof, can proceed separately and doesn’t get in the way of living there.