Real Estate Glossary

In this Glossary of Real Estate you can find explanations about the main terms and concepts associated with this activity, which are the result of my professional experience as a Real Estate Consultant. Its reading does not exempt the consultation of legal and notarial professionals. (just click on the letters below)

Additional to IMI

The AIMI (Additional to the Municipal Property Tax) is a new additional tax to the IMI (Municipal Property Tax), the payment of which is annual, and which is charged to all individual and collective taxpayers, who are holders of real estate assets whose value total exceeds €600,000. Read more

ADENE

The Energy Agency (ADENE) is a Portuguese institution responsible for regulating and supervising the energy sector in the country. Read more

Adverse possession

By adverse possession is understood the right of possession over a movable or immovable property, due to having used it for a given period of time, continuously, as if it were the real owner of that property. Read more

Apartment

Apartment is the designation for an independent fraction of a building, intended for private housing, thus residing several families in the same building. Read more

Assignment of Contractual Position

The assignment of the contractual position is a legal instrument that allows the transfer of the rights and obligations of one of the parties to a contract to another person or company. Read more

Autonomous Fraction

It is an independent, distinct and isolated unit, with its own exit to a common part of the building or to the public road. They are normally apartments, garages, shops or offices inserted in buildings with areas of common use. Read more

Building Booklet

The Land Book is an essential document for buying or selling your home, but not only. It has the same importance as your citizen card: without it you cannot carry out certain legal procedures. Find out everything about what the Caderneta Predial is, what it contains, why it is needed, where to obtain it and how to change it. Read more

Capper

In a given year, a real estate consultant belonging to Keller Williams upon reaching a certain limit in commissions received (in Portugal this value is € 50,000) joins Clube Capper . From that moment and until the end of the year, you will receive 95% of the commission charged to customers. Read more

common parts

Common parts are generally considered to be parts of a building that are not for the exclusive use of one of the joint owners: floors, foundations, roofs, entrances, stairs, patios and gardens, elevators, garages, etc. Read more

Condomínio

Condominium is the name used for a set of apartments that make up a building, in case they belong to different owners. Read more

Condominium Assembly

The Condominium Assembly's function is to manage a condominium and is made up of all co-owners of the condominium and the Administrator appointed by the assembly. Read more

Consolidated Credit

Consolidated credit aims to reduce monthly charges for multiple loans, through negotiation, aiming to reduce credit costs (a single interest rate and a more favorable maturity). In short, credit consolidation involves renegotiating a portfolio of several credits and converting them into one, with better conditions. Read more

Constitutive Title of Horizontal Property

Constitutive Title of Horizontal Property is the notarial deed that instituted the building in horizontal property, that is, that divided it into autonomous fractions as independent units and common parts. Read more

Construction Permit

The construction permit is a document that enables the holder to carry out a construction work, in the manner described in the said permit. Read more

Dependent Gross Area

The Dependent Gross Area refers to covered and closed areas for the exclusive use of the owner , whose use is ancillary to the use for which the building or fraction is intended, and which are not included in the calculation of the Private Gross Area (eg garage , storeroom, annexes, attic, etc.). Read more

Deployment Area

The Deployment Area is the area located within the perimeter of the building's attachment to the ground measured from the outside, including the area occupied by porches and sheds with pillars fixed to the ground. Read more

Deployment Polygon

The implantation polygon is the closed polygonal line that delimits an area of the ground within which it is possible to build. Read more

Distrate

In the case of a contract related to home loans, the Mortgage Cancellation is a document issued by the bank and which proves the extinction of the debt and the termination of the associated mortgage. Read more

Duplex

This designation is usually used to classify a house that is spread over two floors , with an interior staircase that connects them. Read more

Effort Rate

The effort rate is an indicator that measures the weight of financial expenses in the household's total income and is used in risk analysis. Read more

Energetic certificate

This document aims to inform the potential buyer of a property about the overall energy performance of the building, improvement measures that increase energy efficiency, comfort and the eventual reduction of energy consumption. Read more

Eviction lawsuit

An eviction action is a legal process in which the owner, or holder of a property, requests the forced eviction of the occupant(s) and the cancellation of the contractual relationship between landlord and tenant. Read more

Exchange

An exchange, in the real estate sector, occurs when two owners enter into a contractual agreement to exchange one immovable property for another, of equal or different value . Read more

Exclusivity contract

An exclusivity contract is a Real Estate Mediation Contract that provides for the promotion and sale of a property, during a given period, inhibiting the owner from entering into similar contracts with other mediators, during the contractual period. Read more

FINE

The FINE (European Standardized Information Sheet) is a mandatory document that emanates from Banco de Portugal and that banks have to provide whoever contracts a credit, namely the mortgage credit, where information is provided on the main characteristics of the loan Read more

Free Land Area

The free land area corresponds to land not occupied by buildings (outdoor spaces) and includes gardens, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, backyards and other areas. Read more

Golden Visa Portugal

The Golden Visa (usually called Golden Visa), has the technical name of Residence for Investment Activity (ARI), and it is a regime that allows foreign citizens to obtain a temporary residence permit for investment activity. Read more

Gross Area

It is the total surface of the building or fraction, and represents the sum of the gross areas of all floors of a building, above and below ground, and is measured considering the exterior of the walls that delimit or separate the dwellings. Read more

Gross Building Area

The Gross Construction Area (GCA) corresponds to the sum of the Gross Private Area and the Gross Dependent Area and corresponds to the sum (m2) of the gross areas of all floors of a property, measured by the outer perimeter and axes of the walls or other separating elements of the building or fraction. Read more

Growth Share

The Growth Share is an extra income that Keller Williams consultants can receive if they help recruit other consultants for this real estate franchising company, in Portugal or anywhere in the world. Read more

Home

This is a common designation for an independent house, with or without a garden, and it is also common to use the word villa instead of housing. Read more

Home Automation

Home automation refers to the use of advanced technologies and automation for the control and management of home devices and residential systems. These technologies allow users to control, monitor and automate functions such as lighting, climate control, security and entertainment, usually through a single interface, such as a tablet or smartphone. Read more

Home Staging

Investing in Home Staging and home renovation may seem like a challenge, but with the ideas and suggestions presented in this article, it is possible to create attractive and inviting environments, increasing the probability of selling your home faster and for a higher price . Enjoy the renewing energy of Spring and take the first step towards success in the real estate market in Portugal. Read more

Horizontal property

A building is constituted as a Horizontal Property when it is divided into autonomous fractions (independent units), namely apartments or floors and garages. Read more

Housing Cooperative

Housing cooperatives are autonomous legal entities, whose main purpose is the "development, construction, or acquisition of homes for their members' habitation." Read more

Housing Permit

It is a document that attests that the house has already been inspected and respects the legislation in force in order to be inhabited. Read more

Housing Technical Data Sheet

The Technical Housing Sheet (FTH) is a document that contains the description of the technical and functional characteristics of an urban building for housing purposes, which was recently replaced by the Book of Works. Read more

IMI

The IMI or Municipal Property Tax is a municipal tax that is levied on the VPT (Taxable Patrimonial Value) of all properties located in the national territory and whose payment is annual Read more

IMT

The IMT or Municipal Tax on Real Estate Transfers applies to transfers of real estate located within Portuguese territory. Read more

IMT simulator

If you intend to buy a property, you will have to pay the IMT (Municipal Tax on the Transfer of Rights for Real Estate) in the services of the AT (Tax and Customs Authority). Use this simulator to calculate the value of the IMT to be paid. Read more

Joint Owners

Owners are the people who, regardless of whether they live in the building or not, are simultaneously owners of one or more fractions and joint owners of the common parts. Read more

Land Registry Office

It is a public service whose main function is to record all the information relating to immovable property, that is: the location, composition and identification of the successive owners. Read more

Lease Agreement

The Lease Agreement is a document entered into between the owner / landlord of a property and the tenant / tenant, which acts as a guarantee of the rights and duties of the parties involved. Read more

Liveable Area

Liveable Area is the sum of the areas of all housing compartments, including vestibules, interior circulations, sanitary installations, storage, other compartments with a similar function and wall cabinets, and is measured by the interior perimeter of the walls that limit the proprerty, discounting footprints up to 30 cm, interior walls, partitions and ducts. Read more

Mortgage

The mortgage corresponds to a real guarantee that assures the lender (usually a bank) that, in case of default by the debtor of the full payment of the loan amount, the first one can be repaid the amount due. Read more

National Rental Desk

The BNA - Balcão Nacional de Arrendamento is intended to respond to landlords who decide to resort to the Special Eviction Procedure (PED), in order to evict tenants and revoke the Lease Agreement in force. Read more

NRAU

The NRAU - Novo Regime do Arrendamento Urbano is a set of laws that aims to respond to problems related to urban leasing: contracts with rents prior to 1990, rehabilitation works on leased properties, Eviction Actions, etc. Read more

Permanent Certificate of Commercial Registration

The Permanent Certificate of Commercial Registration is access via the Internet, in real time and at any time, to all computerized records, to all electronic documents associated with the electronic folder of the entity or to the last updated articles of incorporation/statutes, of an entity registered at the commercial registry office, depending on the type of certificate subscribed. Read more

Permanent Land Registry Certificate

Also called a Certificate of Content , it is a document issued by the Land Registry Office that certifies all the records made in relation to a given property: the description, the legitimate owner, the location, composition and the existence of encumbrances or charges on the property. (such as pledges, mortgages or registered usufructs). Read more

Private Gross Area

It corresponds to the total surface, measured by the outer perimeter and axes of the walls or other separating elements of the building or fraction. Read more

Promissory Purchase and Sale Agreement

In real estate, the Promissory Purchase and Sale Contract (“CPCV”) is a provisional document, signed between the selling party and the purchasing party, which aims to ensure the definitive conclusion of the property transaction, within a given period. Read more

Public Deed

The Public Deed is an official document, drawn up and signed before a notary, which formalizes and confirms the transmission of a property, whether through purchase and sale, donation, exchange, among others. Read more

Real Estate Agency

A real estate agency is a company whose main activity is real estate mediation, that is, it deals with the purchase, sale, rental and management of properties. Real estate agencies can have different sizes, from small local companies to large international real estate franchise networks. Read more

Real Estate Agent

A Real Estate Agent is a professional who provides real estate intermediation services, assisting owners and buyers in the purchase, sale or rental of properties. Read more

Real Estate Appraiser

The real estate appraiser or expert is a professional with appropriate academic training, accepted by the CMVM to carry out the activity and who carries out an assessment of a property producing a document called Real Estate Appraisal. Read more

Real Estate Leasing

Real Estate Leasing is a financing solution, for the purchase and / or construction of real estate, which allows the customer to enjoy a property for a certain period of time, against the payment to the owner of an income. Read more

Real Estate Mediation

The activity of real estate mediation is one in which, by contract, a company undertakes to take steps to obtain an interested party in carrying out a business aimed at the constitution or acquisition of real rights over real estate, the exchange, the transfer or the lease of themselves or the assignment of positions in contracts whose object is immovable property. Read more

Real Estate Mediation Agreement

The Real Estate Mediation Contract consists of a document whereby the mediation company (real estate agency) undertakes, for an agreed remuneration and on behalf of the client, to seek interested parties for the purchase, sale, exchange, transfer, lease or assignment of positions in contracts whose object is real estate. Read more

Real Estate Raising

The activity of raising real estate is one in which, by contract for the provision of services, a natural person undertakes to carry out the actions and provide the services necessary for the preparation and fulfillment of the real estate mediation contracts, concluded by the real estate brokerage companies. . Read more

Real Estate Valuation

Real estate valuation is a process that involves the physical inspection of a property by an appraiser - a duly certified professional - in order to estimate its financial value. Read more

Security deposit

The bond is a guarantee that can be required in different types of contractsl. In real estate activity, it is customary for the landlord to demand the payment of a deposit when signing a lease contract. Read more

spread

From a real estate point of view, the Spread of a bank loan for the purchase of a house is the fixed percentage that is added to the reference rate (usually indexed to the Euribor index). Read more

Stamp Tax

'Stamp Duty' is a tax that, in the context of real estate mediation, is generally applied to acts such as purchase and sale contracts , mortgages and other documents related to the transfer of property. Read more

Sun exposure

Orientation and sun exposure when buying a home is one of the most important factors to consider for your comfort and the appreciation of your investment. Read more

TAE

The TAE or Annual Effective Rate corresponds to the annual cost of the bank loan, depending on the amount owed, including expenses and commissions. Read more

TAER

The TAER or Revised Annual Effective Rate corresponds to the TAE interest rate, plus the costs of the associated financial products, to allow a reduction in the spread rate. Read more

TAN

The TAN (Annual Nominal Rate) is the annual interest rate that serves as a reference for home loans. Read more

Top Producer

In real estate, a Top Producer is a consultant who stands out significantly from other colleagues, exceeding goals and expectations. It's not just about being the best in sales, but also about being an expert in your field, an innovator and an example to follow in terms of professional ethics and competence. Read more

Topographic Survey

Topographic surveying consists of mapping the surface of a piece of land , through measurements carried out by a surveyor, to draw up a topographic plan that highlights variations in relief and other geographical features . Read more

Toponymic Certificate

The Toponymic Certificate consists of a document issued and authenticated by the municipal services, which certifies the toponymy, number of building(s) and/or the parish of the property in question. Read more

Toponymy

Toponymy is the discipline responsible for the designation of sites or places and for the study of their geographical names, set or systems of toponyms. Read more

Typology

The Typology of a Housing is a classification that defines the type of housing based on the layout, number of rooms, division of areas, among other factors. For example, T3 means: "T" for typology and "3" the number of rooms. Read more

Underfloor heating

The air conditioning of houses with underfloor heating is not a consensual topic. Many foreigners and Portuguese living abroad, especially from Northern Europe and North America, request this feature when they want to buy a house in Portugal. However, in our country there is some resistance to adopting this type of air conditioning, the result of myths and misinformation. Come and discover what the technological evolution of this type of flooring has done to increase the adoption of this type of solution. Read more