Tips for Buying Luxury Properties in Cascais and Lisbon

If you’re looking for a mansion overlooking the golf course, a beachfront house with stunning views, or a downtown loft, you should research the luxury home buying process.
As a high-end real estate buyer, some tips and strategies are similar to, and some different from, the typical home buying process. This article provides ten tips to help you buy a magnificent property at a great price while avoiding common mistakes buyers make.

1. Understand the Real Estate Buying Process
If you're buying a Mega Home, it will certainly come with a high price and all the amenities you would expect in an expensive home. By understanding the buying process, you'll have a better grasp of what to expect throughout, as well as certain techniques that will help you find the perfect home.
Remember that when looking for a luxury home, the pool of buyers you’re competing with is much smaller, which should help you find a great home if you can be patient.
Educating yourself before buying a home will save you time, money, and unnecessary headaches. It will also help you find an excellent home instead of making a hasty decision and later feeling buyer’s remorse.
Make sure you have a clear understanding of what you're looking for in a high-end home. Discussing your priorities with your partner will be important as you look for top-tier locations and amenities for your new home.
One of the most important things you can do before you start looking is to define what you want in a luxury home. Do you prefer to buy a new build or an existing home?
Your real estate agent can help set the initial expectation that having a plan before looking at all the luxury homes for sale will help you execute at a higher level when buying. They can also help you find great neighborhoods.

2. Know the Local Neighborhoods
Knowing the neighborhoods where you want to buy a home will be part of the plan your agent will help you develop. Location is the most important factor when looking for a home, and it certainly is a significant factor when planning to spend a lot of money on it. What kind of amenities are you looking for in your location? Whether you’re looking for large properties on a golf course, by the seaside, or downtown, you should understand the area’s trends and future plans. You should consider certain neighborhood factors before buying your home.
If you’re buying a great property by the sea, you don’t want to buy the house on the beach only to find out that another house is being built that will block your view. You need to be careful about this when looking for luxury homes because your resale opportunity would be hindered. You should play more defense than offense when looking for luxury homes for sale, and by defense, I mean protecting your investment.
By understanding local trends in the neighborhood, future plans for that location, and the type of local amenities you’re looking for, you’ll have a much better understanding of which location is best for your luxury home.

3. Know Your Priorities in a Home
It is common for mansions to include top-tier amenities such as:
•    Incredible location
•    Stunning views
•    Home theaters/entertainment rooms
•    Home gym
•    Land and privacy
•    Great entertainment features
•    Top-notch security and protection
•    "Smart" appliances
•    The best construction qualities
•    Great backyards
Knowing your priorities in a luxury home will help you find a property you’ll love. Often, different interests for luxury buyers lead to different sets of priorities.
There are some amenities buyers will go to great lengths for. That’s why it’s important to have a clear list of amenities that are priorities for you and anyone living with you. Understanding exactly what you’re looking for in terms of amenities and what you’d be willing to sacrifice will make the process much easier. Also, you won’t be confused when it comes time to make a decision. You want to be 100% confident when you find the perfect place and find one that matches your top priorities.
If you don’t know what your favorite amenities are or don’t have a good understanding of what your partner likes, it will lead to confusion. Confusion increases the likelihood of poor decision-making. The same goes for emotions. When buying luxury real estate, make sure you understand what you want. Keep your emotions in check; you don’t want them to cloud your decision-making process.

4. Understand Your Financing Options
Knowing your qualifications is a big part of buying a luxury home. Don’t assume you qualify for a multimillion-dollar property, as a high percentage of people do not. You should also be frugal in line with a tip we discuss later. Are you going to put 20% down on your home when there are so many other types of loans available? Find out what you’re comfortable with regarding financing and stick to it.
Our financial intermediary will review the best financing options for your luxury home. Doing your research on lenders and looking for the best deals makes a lot of sense, especially when a fraction of a point will represent tens of thousands of euros over the course of a mortgage loan.

5. Hire a Top Luxury Real Estate Agent
When you’re ready to look for a luxury home, you’ll want to find an agent with experience in high-priced real estate and a good understanding of the neighborhood you’re interested in. Hiring a strong agent will help immensely.
They will provide the latest trends and help you throughout the luxury home buying process. They can help you find issues with the house that you might not have discovered otherwise, and since they see homes all the time, they’ll have a great understanding of what is a good deal.
A great agent will ensure you stay within your budget and execute according to the plan you developed. If you start looking outside your budget in a higher price range, you want an agent who brings you back to your initial goals. When buying expensive real estate, you need to work with good agents.

6. Patience is a Virtue in Real Estate Buying
When buying a high-end property, you need to exercise patience. You don’t want to make a hasty decision, especially when you have a significant financial obligation. You want to make sure you’ve done your research, executed the plan you developed, and found the perfect place. Don’t be afraid to miss out on one or two good ones, as that will only allow you to understand exactly what’s for sale and what isn’t. It also allows you to learn what you really want.
Often, buyers can get obsessed with wanting the property someone else bought before them and thinking about it. Don’t do that. Learn from it. What did you like about that house? Can you find a better one?

7. Look for Strong Resale Value
When looking for luxury real estate, you want to make sure what you buy has strong resale value. This applies to any home you buy, not just luxury real estate. You want to ensure you can easily recover what you paid for the house if you need to sell it.
Location and condition are two factors that help determine value. Buying a home in a great location is key to ensuring your home retains its value. Your local agent can help you determine the best option in terms of resale value by analyzing neighborhood numbers with you.

8. Don’t Overextend Just Because You Can
If you qualify for a €2.5 million home, we don’t recommend you look for a home of the same value. You’ll want to have a plan in case something goes wrong. Maybe your company struggles or you lose your salary. Would you be okay in that scenario? Remember that the pool of buyers in the high-end real estate market is much smaller than a home most people can afford.
Ensuring you stay within a budget that makes sense is something your agent should be able to help you with. The expectation was set from the beginning that you were looking for a home within a certain price range. A trustworthy agent who cares about your best interests, not their own financial statements, will help you stick to the plan you developed initially.

9. Look for Timeless Design Features
Finding a beautiful luxury home with timeless appeal and design will ensure a good return on investment in the future if you decide to resell it. Paying attention to timeless architectural design and features like high ceilings and open floor plans will ensure the luxury home appeals to various future buyers.

10. Consider Maintenance and Upkeep Costs
When buying a luxury home, you agree to a high price and high maintenance costs due to high-quality features and more complex systems. Maintaining a luxury home is generally more expensive than maintaining a regular home, so it’s important to consider these costs to ensure you can afford them before buying.

Are Luxury Real Estate Investments a Good Investment?
Since luxury buyers often pay a premium for exclusive properties, luxury real estate can be a safe and long-term investment that tends not to lose value over time.

Final Considerations on Buying Luxury Real Estate
Luxury homes in Cascais are only available to a small percentage of Portuguese due to the high price. For those who can, they should take the necessary steps to ensure the property bought is the right one. Educating yourself about the high-end real estate buying process, understanding the local neighborhood trends, and knowing exactly what you’re looking for will help you find the best luxury property possible.
When you’re ready to buy, pay attention to more than just the location. Contact us today if you’re ready to find your dream luxury home.

Luxury areas in Cascais

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By Pedro Pettermann & Sol de Alos

Borkers of RE/MAX Cidadela since 2004, Luxury real estate experts
 

RE/MAX CIDADELA

A RE/MAX CIDADELA é uma agência de referência internacional com mais de 30 agentes. Desde o ano 2004 a trabalhar na linha de Cascais, Lisboa e Sintra. Todos os anos estamos entre as melhores 30 agências, numa rede com mais de 400 agências em Portugal, sendo vários anos premiados como a Best Single Office em Cascais e Oeiras. Mais de 4.500 clientes já compraram ou venderam o seu imóvel com a RE/MAX CIDADELA