ReAct - Realestate Activities

01. - INTRODUCTION:

www.realestate-activities.com is the informative website of ReAct, trading name for the activities carried out by Robert M.L. Snapper and his team.

We are Multi lingual and besides English we speak Portuguese, German, and Dutch.

   The object of this site is to give you a better insight view of the services we provide.

Let me introduce myself:

My name is Robert M.L. Snapper and I have been in the real-estate business in Portugal since 1982. My last position was Director of “Ricola Algarvia Med. Imob. Unipessoal Ldª based in Lagos.

However at the end of 2009 the company ceased trading as I wanted to take-up semi-retirement.

We have been living and working in Portugal for over 35 years therefore I am convinced that you can take advantage of our “Portugal Experience & Expertise”.

02. - INFORMATION:

Without doubt Portugal and in particular the Algarve has a lot to offer to foreigners. The Brits in fact have discovered the area first before the revolution (1974) finding it an ideal place for holiday and particularly permanent living.  With its fine climate the whole year round, it lends itself for many outdoor activities and as many people call it "a better quality of life". However do not let the sun blind you as there is more to it. For that reason I have launched many years ago a free informative web site dealing in depth with many topics which could be of interest to you. For further info see www.realestate-algarve.info

03. - CONSULTANCY:

Buying a property at home is already considered as quite a big step and most likely for many the biggest purchase they ever make in their live.  Furthermore buying a property abroad and in this case Portugal is an even bigger venture. Sound independent advice and information prior to making this step is to my opinion essential to reach a balanced decision. In a personal meeting with me or one of our team members we can in 1 or 2 hours talk you through the process of purchasing or selling and answer your many of the questions you certainly will have.

04. - CONVEYANCE - DOCUMENTATION:

Many people possibly have seen a nice little farm house or made contact directly with owners/sellers, taxi drivers, bar tenders or any other person willing to help you.  Or even with an estate agent who does not speak your language. Language barriers are one of the most common causes for misunderstandings. Be careful with what people tell you. Most of the time there is no bad intention involved but few people  know how  the bureaucracy works, know the latest laws or what is or isn’t possible. Things change rapidly nearly every week. Of course a (local) lawyer can help and we will not hesitate to advise you to consult one if we feel that is necessary. Although most of the lawyers speak perfectly English nowadays we also will be able to assist you and accompany you in case as English may not be your mother tongue.

05. - VALUATIONS:

Besides to assist you advising with buying and/or selling many may feel the need to have an independent valuation to be carried out. Are you not sure about the price of an object in mind or might you need if for other purposes we can provide this professional service. Valuations may be needed also for different purposes like court cases, divorce or your National inland revenue.

06. - PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

In case you decide to purchase a building plot or an old farm house to convert please make sure you can afford what you intend to do. As good locations are getting scares many decide to buy an older property in the right location to do it up and modernise in order to meet today’s standards. Let somebody make you a good budget as unfortunately things always turn out more expensive than expected and there is nearly always hidden cost. Read the full article on our info site:

07. – PROPERTY MANAGEMENT:

Once the owner of a house or Apartment it is more or less inevitable that you will need somebody to look after your property. Quite often friends will offer to do his for you but using a professional team has additional value. We are here 365 days of the year to assist you. For quite a few clients we take care or the day to day running of their property by doing either full management or we provide individual tailor made services. We have a special web site for this part of the business. Please visit  www.ricola-algarvia.eu.

08. - RENTALS

Besides the management of properties we also have a department dealing with rentals. Portugal is not cheap anymore and to keep a property will cost you a certain amount per month. By letting your property you may be able to have the property free of charge with the possibility to use it whenever it suits you. Popular in UK now of course is “buy to let”. Luckily we now have legislation in place which regulates this all. But please note that you are not allowed to let your property without a proper AL license issued by the local town-council. Also here various special web-sites can be visited like www.algarve-property-rentals.com , www.algarve-rental.com  and a few others.

09. - MORTGAGES:                                                                                      
Might you feel the need to have a mortgage on your property in Portugal we also can advise you on this. We have good contacts with bank and many mortgage lenders although with today’s economic situation it is highly unlikely that we will get one easily.

10 - REPRESENTATION:

Besides advising you regarding buying and selling properties, some owners also ask me to represent them in the sale or purchase of their property. Besides individual representation I also represent many off-shore companies in Portugal.

11. FISCAL REPRESENTATION:

Although anybody owning a property or bank account in Portugal no longer by law needs an official fiscal representative we advice you still to appoint one as in general you will be unable to communicate with the Authorities due to a language barrier and lack of knowledge of legislation and local laws. For example I represent many off-shore companies and many individuals and the Authorities will in case of me being your representative address their questions directly to me.

12. – TAX RETURNS:

Anybody living in Portugal or letting their property is obliged to submit in Portugal on a yearly basis a tax return declaring their worldwide and/or rental income. Our office knows how to deal with these matters. Tax returns in your own country might be already difficult, in a foreign country it may turn out even more complex. Also many people in the past have forgotten to declare the sale of their property the year after the sale. Heavy fines and interest can be the result if you forget.

Resuming: anybody who is a Resident in this country is also obliged to submit a tax return declaring their world wide income!

13-RED TAPE & BUROCRATIC MATTERS:

Nowadays many people not only have a holiday place but have decided to take up permanent Residence in Portugal. This obviously has many consequences and you will have to comply with Portuguese legislation. You have to become a Resident, maybe need to be registered with the National Health Service and many more issues. We will be able to assist.

 14. - TRANSLATIONS and INTERPERTERS:

In case people need documents or letters to be translated from Portuguese to English or Dutch to Portuguese or reverse we will be able to assist. You may need an interpreter to speak to or negotiate or you may need an interpreter in court. We provide this service.

15. – CAR RENTALS

Not an official part of our companies activity but as one of the members of our staff runs this as a site business we also here will be able to give you service.

16– YOUR PROPERTY ON THE WEB

Although I am no longer active as an Estate Agent we still have our web-sites up and running and we offer people the possibility to promote their property through our web-sites. Have a look at:

www.realestate-algarve.com

www.real-estate-algarve.com

    17 – PROPERTY SUBMISSION FORM

In case interested in promoting your property we will send you a property submission form for you to fill in.

20. – PRICE LIST:

Please contact us for quotes in any specific cases or look at our standard price list for certain fixed services.

Curriculum Vitae:
           1948 Born in Batavia (Ned-Indië)
1948 - 1952 Childhood in The Hague
1952 - 1955 Kinder garden and Primary school in Zeist
1955 - 1961 Primary School in The Hague
1961 - 1962 Secondary School tin Hollandia (Dutch. New-Guinea)
1962 - 1968 Gymnasium & HBS in The Hague (Nederlandsch Lyceum)
1968 - 1973 Maw Study State University in Leiden (course not completed)
1973 - 1975 Real Estate Course in Leiden
1975 - 1977 Assistant Manager in Leiden
1977 - 1982 Entrepreneur in Lagos - Portugal
1982 - 1990 Independent estate agent with company in Portimão
1990 - 2001 Independent estate agent in individual name in Bensafrim
2001 - 2008 Director of Ricola Algarvia Med. Imob. Unipessoal Ldª & ReAct

2009 All of our staff is Multi lingual and besides English we speak Portuguese, German and Dutch).

-today Director of RS Real Estate (Act) LLC

Would you like to contact me?

ReAct - Realestate Activities
t.a.v. Robert M.L. Snapper

Rua Dr. Paulo J. Godinho Lote 5 – Loja C  8600-774 Lagos
Tel: +351 282 768 821 Fax: +351 282 768 827 438  Mobile: +351 917 566 931 or 917 303 629
E-Mail: rs@realestate-activities.com   URL: http://www.realestate-activities.com