Comments Please

[seaurchin]

Hello all

I'm new to this forum and would really value your comments.

I am English and currently in the UK. I am thinking of moving to Portugal (Albuferia) but would like the advice of people that live there on the following :

What are the people like
Is it a safe place to live
What things are there to do after work
Is it a clean place
What are the attitudes regarding dogs
What would the cost of a one bed apartment be to rent
What are the apartments like, are they modern
Is the cost of gas/electricity/water expensive in this area

Please let me know what you feel are the pros and cons of living there. I want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly!!

I have lived in Greece, Northern Italy, Cyprus and didn't like any of those places. Is Portugal any different?

I know I can search here, there and everywhere for advice but would like everything in one place with all the answers.

I am planning to go out for a short time initially later this month but want to know what to expect first. By the way I am looking for an apartment to rent as well if anyone knows of one that isn't too expensive.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

[silvers]

Welcome to the forum. Ok, personal opinion alert. Albufeira? Dear Lord. How old are you? If you are over 30, find somewhere else. Albufeira is like Blackpool without the class. It is full of holidaymakers most of whom seem to be trying to drink the most without falling over, most fail. Tattoo parlours and full English breakfasts are prevalent.
Most apartments are modern and can be bought for around 100k, not sea view.
Gas, electric and water are no more expensive there than elsewhere.
Good luck.

[Mr.Blueskies]

Hi Silvers,

" I hope that you and not getting cranky and becoming a bit
of a kill joy in your old age ?

[silvers]

How are you doing Setanta? Have you moved in yet? Still waiting for my housewarming invite.
Oh and me and
Never.

[MrBife]

Reality check - I am reading this in disbelief and wondering if I am somehow part of a parallel universe. Are you for real seaurchin? Why do you not visit and see for yourself? If you 'didn't like Greece' (which part by the way, or do you just mean all of it?) then sure as hell you are gonna dislike Albufeira, which by the way is nothing like anywhere else in the world let alone Portugal.

What are the people like - Some are nice and some are horrid just like anywhere else
Is it a safe place to live - compared with ?
What things are there to do after work - What times do you work & what do you like to do?
Is it a clean place - as in gum on the streets, dog poo,graffiti, pornography free ?
What are the attitudes regarding dogs - Attitudes vary depending on the dog
What would the cost of a one bed apartment be to rent - 750 euros a month or less
What are the apartments like, are they modern - The modern ones are, the old ones are old
Is the cost of gas/electricity/water expensive in this area - Same as all other areas of Portugal


I know I can search here, there and everywhere for advice but would like everything in one place with all the answers.- You and me both !

[nelinha]

I agree with Silvers on Albufeira! If it's Monday, the restaurants will be serving bangers, mash and peas. If it's Wednesday it will be saur kraut and eisbein and so on. In summer it's overcrowded in winter... I don't know never been there in winter. I am sure there are nicer places to go and live in Algarve other than Albufeira, it depends on your personality, what you want to do, who you want to mix with (oh dear here comes a bad grammar construction) how flexible you are towards other people's idiosyncrasies. As for dogs, most people love them as long as they don't bite. Think twice before you move to Albufeira.
Mr Bife, I loved your comments, had a good laugh so early in the morning!
Nelinha

[Mr.Blueskies]

Hi Silvers,

I have pulled out of this house purchase. The whole thing just
dragged on and on and became something of a nightmare. When I paid a
deposit in March 09 i had still not sold my Irish house. In hindsight, this was
a bad move and by doing this I just put myself under pressure from day one.

What messed everything up though was that although I did ask
for a six month promessa, I did stress to the vendor that I did expect to sell
quickly and that in the light of this I did want to complete early. This he assured
me would be no problem for him at all.

Anyway, when I did sell early and had the money here in portugal
to complete in early June, he now moved the goal posts. First he said that he
just needed a few days to tie up his loose ends, next he needed two weeks more
and he also gave me a definate signing date in July which he next cancelled.

The trouble was that my wifes brother (he is a structural engineer)
was between work projects in Dubai and because the vendor had said that I
could complete early, he came here to do all of the work that needed doing on
this house for me. I know nothing about construction Silvers and he was going
to oversee everything and also ensure that I got it all done for cost price. He
was here for 12 weeks but could do nothing because of this guys stalling.

I was also renting a house 30km from the one that I was buying
and because I had enroled my daughter in a schoool close to the one I was
buying, I needed to have it purchased and all work done so that I could move
there at the end of August when I was due to leave the rented house.

My brother in law had returned to Dubai after wasting 12 weeks
here before this guy was eventually ready to sign. My lawyer and agent both
encouraged me to go ahead and do the work "before the signing" ????
This seemed like very bad advice to me to basically restore another guys house
before I had even purchased it ??? so I did not go for this.

Because legally I had asked for and signed a six month promessa
and because (I had not got it written into the promessa that I could complete
early) the vendor was still within the terms of the agreement even though he
pushed the signing day to one day before the contract was due to expire. By now
my project manager was gone and my schedule was shot to hell.

I had no option but to pull out and just take the hit on the deposit
and on the lawyers fee. Going through with it was no longer an option.

Perhaps someone will learn something from this ?

[silvers]

Jeez, that's bad news. If you need any help finding a new house let me know. I am not an agent nor do I charge anything and no I do not make any commission, I just do it because I enjoy helping people. Anyway the offer's there if you need it.
Good luck.

[Mr.Blueskies]

Thanks for you offer Silvers, but I am ok. I have a place to rent for a bit
while I sort myself out. It looks like I will be now buying a new build. After
wasting six months of my time already, I now just want something that is
quick, clean, easy and completed.

Luckily, the first place was not an expensive house. My lawyer had
encouraged me though to send the full balance of the purchase price to her
client account months ago. Had I done that, they would certainly have all
had the upper hand and I would be well screwed now. The fact is that also
taking into account what I was going to spend putting it right, I could have
purchased a new build for not a huge amount more.

I think that this must be the reason why the portuguese will only buy
new. Just too much grief and too many problems, ie debt, family disputes,
boundry disputes and not even considering the build and structural deficiencies
in the older places.

I have already found something good. Just need to get the price
knocked down a bit.

[silvers]

That is great news. I look forward to the invite in a few years time then.