Moving to Portugal : what you need to know about real estate

<p>Portugal promises a paradise-like atmosphere under the sun on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean&amp;period; Many people want to live there&amp;comma; but realizing this dream requires real estate prices and various taxes&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h4>"Europe's Florida<&sol;h4>&amp;NewLine;<p>The Portuguese have dubbed their country "The Florida of Europe"&amp;period; Unlike other countries to the north of France, which average just 1,700 hours of sunshine a year&amp;comma; Portugal boasts between 2,900 and 3,300 hours of sunshine&amp;period; According to statistics from the Portuguese Association of Real Estate Professionals&amp;comma; the French are the country's biggest property buyers&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p>They alone account for around 25&amp;comma;5&amp;percnt; of the 13,064 sales to non-Portuguese buyers&amp;period; And this trend continues to grow, with purchases accelerating towards the west of the Iberian peninsula&amp;period; In fact&amp;comma; an Internet TV channel has been specially dedicated to all French residents there&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h4>How to buy a property in the country<&sol;h4>&amp;NewLine;<p>Foreigners wishing to move to Portugal will need to satisfy a number of important criteria if they are to settle in comfortably&amp;period; To do this&amp;comma; they will first need to obtain resident status, which requires fairly lengthy procedures&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p>Only after these steps can a foreigner purchase a home&amp;period; The procedure for acquiring this property is similar to that in France&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;