When Beth and Frances decided they didn’t like the direction of the UK after Brexit they decided to buy a base in Portugal’s Western Algarve.
With the idea of a rental investment in mind – as well as a sun-drenched lifestyle – they homed in on Lagos, the vibrant year-round hub that is a one-hour drive west of Faro.
Says Beth, 51: “We knew people in the area and really liked the idea of being in the south-west corner of Europe. It’s not overly commercialised, and we love the Portuguese approach to life, it seems quite similar to the British – I’d call it sanguine – and so it feels familiar and comfortable being there.”
The climate also suits them well (even the unusually rainy winter this year) and the vibrant tourism of the Algarve would be perfect for a villa rental investment – more so than the Eastern Algarve, which remains a bit more seasonal. “Lagos has a pulse in winter: the restaurants remain open,” she adds.
The couple, whose three children in their early-twenties have left home - also bought a two-bedroom for themselves close to the town hall in Lagos – with access to a swimming pool – they love water sports, climbing and hiking in the area. “The Vincentine coast national park is stunning – it’s spectacular and very unspoilt,” says Beth.
The couple, who sold their four-bedroom home in Bishop Stortford, made the purchases at the end of 2020 and now divide their time between Portugal and the UK. Near their former home they have kept a lock-and-leave apartment just 9 minutes’ drive from Stanstead Airport, making for easy trips to Faro.
“Another grey winter in the UK would have finished me off,” says Beth, who was lucky to get Portuguese residency just before the end of the Brexit Withdrawal period.
But they also bought a four-bedroom, four-bath villa with a private swimming pool as a rental investment. It is a 15-minute walk from the centre of Lagos. “We spent €60,000 renovating it and knew that it would be popular as a holiday let,” says Beth, who used to work in IT, whilst Frances, 49, works in biotech research.
“We chose the villa as it has great entertaining space, a cinema room with a 75-inch screen and a bar and pool table – it is designed it as the perfect place for an extended family or friends to get together on three levels. We expect it to be fully booked.”
In winter they can rent it out for €1200 per week, tapping into the growing population of digital nomads in Portugal – the high-speed fibre broadband is superb - or the more traditional ‘swallow’ or ‘snowbird’ tourists in winter, she adds.
In fact the villa has only recently been completed but is already solidly booked for nine months, through the agency they acquired it, Algarve Retreats. Villa Afrique rents for up to €2,800 per week.
In Lisbon there are now some restrictions on short-term rentals, but not in the Western Algarve, according to Georgia Barfield of Algarve Retreats, who says that a four-bedroom villa with a pool in the Lagos area now costs around €800,000. “Four and three-bedroom properties are always popular as they can host bigger family groups. Having as many bathrooms as bedrooms is ideal – or at many as possible.”
You must also budget for buying costs, she adds. On a €800,000 holiday home, a non-resident buyer would need to find nearly €55,000 on top of the asking price. This consists of €48,000 IMT (6% property transfer tax) plus 0.8% stamp duty, totalling €54,400.
