Reputable agencies?

[Ady]

How do you sort out the reputable estate agencies from the rest, is there some Governmental control over standards in Portugal?

[omostra06]

there is a governing body called INCI, all estate agencies in Portugal must be registered with INCI, if they are not registered and have a valid AMI number then they are not legal. you should only use proper legal INCI agencies, much safer.
this is the link to INCI.
Consulta

you can check out an agent on the INCI website to see if they are legal and registered, watch out as there are a lot of people out there on the web pretending to be estate agents.


By clicking on an individual agent's name you can find out the validity dates of their AMI Nº and insurance cover.

give it a try with our AMI number 7856

just put the number in where it says No Licenca then hit the button that says pesquisar
then click on the Estate Agents name or AMI number to see details of them, if you are checking someone out and they are not listed, then they are not a proper INCI licensed agent, also check that the license, insurance dates are still valid.

you can also check details by putting in the company name or look under the town you are interested in, under councelho this will bring up all the agents listed.try putting in Tomar for our estate agency chavetejo

give it a try, you will find there are a lot of illegal agents out there that wont come up on the inci site.

[DAVID-S]

Hello Ady,
Sorry i´m( Ami-7084)
Have you thought about steel frame,
Basically same price per m2 many differences on standards,guarenteed 25 years sound/damp proofed,from scratch key ready in 4 months.
Compared to 10 months -15 months,
Plus you can make any changes through out the build.
We work with an American company also based in Lisbon,
If you need any advise on this can pass on their contacts.
Good luck

[Ady]

Originally Posted by omostra06

there is a governing body called INCI, all estate agencies in Portugal must be registered with INCI, if they are not registered and have a valid AMI number then they are not legal. you should only use proper legal INCI agencies, much safer.
this is the link to INCI.
Consulta

you can check out an agent on the INCI website to see if they are legal and registered, watch out as there are a lot of people out there on the web pretending to be estate agents.


By clicking on an individual agent's name you can find out the validity dates of their AMI Nº and insurance cover.

give it a try with our AMI number 7856

just put the number in where it says No Licenca then hit the button that says pesquisar
then click on the Estate Agents name or AMI number to see details of them, if you are checking someone out and they are not listed, then they are not a proper INCI licensed agent, also check that the license, insurance dates are still valid.

you can also check details by putting in the company name or look under the town you are interested in, under councelho this will bring up all the agents listed.try putting in Tomar for our estate agency chavetejo

give it a try, you will find there are a lot of illegal agents out there that wont come up on the inci site.

Thanks, I'll do that.

[Sooky]

Care is still needed - even with registered agents. There are so many horror stories and broken dreams over here. Good recommendations, estate agents which have been in business for a long time and don't assume your own countrymen are honest or trustworthy - they are often the worst. Do I sound cynical? I am and I've only been over here for 5 years.

[ppp]

Hi omostra is correct that is the best way to check that they are legal and reputable and covered by insurance you can also try the experiment with Ami8051 and look us up at Properties in Perfect Portugal.
Sarah

Originally Posted by Ady

How do you sort out the reputable estate agencies from the rest, is there some Governmental control over standards in Portugal?

[omostra06]

Hi Sarah,
yes, people are much safer using licensed inci registered agencies, gives people peace of mind that they will be looked after properly and that everything will be dealt with legally and correctly. much safer than taking a chance with someone illegal operating from thier back bedroom.

[ppp]

While I admit there are some rotten apples in the barrel I dont believe that ripping people off etc is indemic at least not in the central region, most of the agents I know are trying to do an honest job. One of the problems are that wildly different prices show up for the same property on different web-sites, this happens to me also and I have to be constantly vigilant that another web-site isn't showing a property with a massively different price even though the commision is similar its simply that the owner has given two different prices for whatever reason but people jump to the conclusion that the agent with the higher price is a crook and its not usualy the case if you look at my site and compare the price of others and find large differences do let me know.
Investment property overseas
sarah

Originally Posted by Sooky

Care is still needed - even with registered agents. There are so many horror stories and broken dreams over here. Good recommendations, estate agents which have been in business for a long time and don't assume your own countrymen are honest or trustworthy - they are often the worst. Do I sound cynical? I am and I've only been over here for 5 years.

[goisproperty]

We would like to add our support to a lot of the comments above - ALWAYS check whether the agent is licensed by INCI with a VALID AMI number. Very simply, if an agent has an AMI number the agent will display it, since it requires a lot of blood, sweat and tears to achieve one. If you are looking at a website which does not display an AMI number, then the agent will NOT be licensed. Even if an AMI number IS displayed, it is not necessarily valid, so needs to be checked on the INCI website. The best way to do this is to go to the link below, and insert the license number in question. You can try this with our number - 8433, in the box marked 'No. Licenca'

INCI CONSULTA

Then you can see if the company's license is still valid. Unfortunately, for some bizarre reason, INCI still lists agents whose validity has expired, so you must check this for yourself. If the license is no longer valid, you will receive none of the benefits or protections of INCI registration, as the agent will be acting illegally. TO BE A LEGALLY OPERATING AGENT IN PORTUGAL YOU MUST HAVE A CURRENTLY VALID INCI MEMBERSHIP.
One more thing - check that the name registered with INCI is the same as the name of the company displayed on the website. Some agents operate under several different company names, and this is also illegal.
All of this is in place to ensure that you have a level of protection within the Portuguese system. There are many good agents in Central Portugal - it is worth taking the time and effort to find one that you can trust.


Patricia

[James Glassbrook]

As has been said there are many illegal agents and not all the registered ones are as careful as they might be. Perhaps length of time in business could indicate something but then I am biased-we've been here since 1980.
Jim