Fate however had a different idea on what we would eventually purchase after we visited a beautiful piece of land without a single building on it, we had immediately fallen in love with it.

Our guide at the time a Mr Bert Snijder of Alentejo Home Real Estate offered us assurance that they could assist us with the building process and after weighing the pro's and con's over and over we decided to purchase it.

Bert was in total control he took care of all the paperwork and even assisted in finding an architect and a builder and we found the contracts were executed smoothly and without fuss despite the fact that we could not speak a word of portuguese, he of course spoke it fluently.

With each visit to Portugal we saw our dream come true bit by bit, being pleasantly surprised with the progress made time after time.

We found out that our builder worked very efficiently and we were (and still are) very satisfied with him. Alentejo Home kept us informed with pictures and reports so we had nothing to worry about in Holland.

The house was finished within the time span planned. The final result was even better then we could have dreamed.

would we advise anyone to build in Portugal..? The fact that we bought our second piece of land two weeks ago, says it all! On this land we will be building a few apartments for rent. We're building again with assistance of Alentejo Home of course.

A tip for aspirant buyers/builders: stick to the rules! Many people still think that in Portugal everything is permitted.

Those days are long past; Portugal is a EU member and has, like all other countries, building rules. Keep in mind that the paperwork can be a hassle and take a lot of time.

So just what is involved in building a house in Portugal..? there is quite a lot to be considered and the following is a check list we compiled of the services Mr Snijder and his company Alentejo Home real Estate offered to us.

Translation..If you don't speak Portuguese you'll definitely need this. Checking the properties paperwork..They ensured it was all correct. Assistance with the Notary...They accompanied us to his office Registration of the property..They provided the legal assistance Architect/Contractors..they found us reliable companies Mortgages..They offered professional Mortgage services. explanations..the ensured we fully understood what we were required to do and what was happening throughout the building process.

If your considering building then you need to find a company that can provide a complete service, one that will take the time to fully explain things to you one that is thorough when it comes to Checking paperwork of properties means checking important matters like mortgages or other debts still remaining on the property, how many owners there are etc. Building assistance to us means: You don't have to come to Portugal to follow the building progress, change building plans or check on building progress and furnish you with detailed reports and photo's or let you know when your presence is required.

Our final advice is to do as we did look up Mr Snijder and his company Alentejo Home Real Estate it will save you a lot of time and worry.