‘Benchmark Property Surveyors’ is a company dedicated to people like you who have spent time and considerable resources exploring the property market in Portugal in search of your ideal investment.
Because we are centrally based, in São Martinho do Porto, we can service all regions of Portugal.
We are here to provide support and assistance to help make a success of your venture and inform and guide you through the maze of uncertainties and potential pit-falls associated with the ‘state of health’ of a given property.
Once your property has been selected and you have taken the decision to proceed, the inevitable question arises will my investment will be safe and sound, bearing in mind the sum of capital involved.
You may think a building survey to be unnecessary and just the ‘icing on the cake.’ However, in your overall property purchasing process - in a foreign land it is invariably the best option!
Having a survey is not expensive. Take as an example a budget of €230,000 for an average property in Central Portugal, a building survey would cost €450, a mere 0.2% of the total cost [taking IMT tax in to consideration]; a very low outlay for a satisfyingly priceless amount for your ‘peace of mind.’
Building faults in construction, both new and old, are prevalent in Portugal. Benchmark Property Surveyors was established, to help you improve on the accepted custom or practice of ‘buying as seen,’ without taking the sensible and wise precaution in having a property surveyed to identify existing/potential structural faults and defects. Remember these lead to additional expense to effect appropriate corrective measures.
Essentially our service to you provides a means of qualitative/quantitative appraisal to render a rational tool by which our clients can safely judge the physical state and suitability of their chosen property.
Our service to you includes credited and approved methods of investigation, appraisal and reporting. Your surveys and reports are based on the British RICS [Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors] protocols.
The building survey is tailored to standard Portuguese construction practices, which differ to those of other European countries to varying degrees. Portugal has specific regional characteristics associated with construction techniques and materials. Not all buildings are built equally to set methods and standards. A buildings age, geographical location and regional climate reflect these issues. The absence of an industry code of practice, in Portugal, such as ‘British Standards’, has a significant bearing on the variations and inconsistencies present in the building industry in terms of quality assurance.
An example of this is the use of un-washed sand for cement mortars and concrete mixes, which lessens the strength and durability of the material. A second shortfall is the absence of a DPC [damp proof course] in old and new constructions. This leads to rising damp in walls at ground/below ground level and clearly seen by unsightly salt blooms [efflorescence] puncturing the surface paintwork. This problem is frequently masked by the later addition of tiles on walls to a metre or so from floor level.
Once you request a quotation for a Benchmark Property Surveyors building survey, by completing the section ‘Property Form’ you will also receive our company’s business Terms and Conditions.
Surveyors Tip: When buying a property or plot of land, have the land area given in the Estate Agent’s details checked, as quite often the land area varies and you may actually have more or less than that mentioned.