Second-home sales may escape tax, the mortgage guarantee is blamed for prices, and Russian consulate waits run to six months
Profits from selling a second home for under €300,000 may be exempt from IRS. On Reddit, people fear speculators will gain
The government is ready to discuss a proposal from the Socialist Party (PS): no IRS income tax on the profit from selling a second flat or house for under €300,000. The conditions: the buyer must live there permanently, and the home must be in an area with a housing shortage. For now it is only a proposal: the PS wants to bring in the break for three years through an amendment to the 2027 budget, and it will only happen if the amendment is passed. For more, see our article “The government is ready to discuss scrapping IRS on sales of second homes under €300,000”.
On Reddit, the idea got a hostile reception. Without the tax, people write, buying flats to resell them will pay better, so it is demand that will grow, not supply. Under the current rules, they point out, the bigger the profit, the bigger the tax, so holding on to a flat while its price rises does not pay.
“In effect, this rewards speculation even more: any flat under 300,000 can be bought and resold, keeping the whole profit. Before, the bigger the profit, the more capital gains tax you paid, and holding a flat too long waiting for the price to rise didn’t pay.”
Translated from Portugueser/literaciafinanceira06.11.2026
“Cut taxes or give tax breaks and prices go up. Raise taxes or take the breaks away and prices fall or rise more slowly. An investment that is taxed less is always in greater demand.”
Translated from Portugueser/literaciafinanceira06.11.2026
Some do see sense in the idea: if the exemption is temporary and only for homes the buyer will live in, they believe more flats will come onto the market, especially inherited ones. One person writes that if the break is passed, they will put two houses up for sale straight away.
“If the exemption covers selling a second home that becomes someone’s main home, and it is temporary, I think it’s interesting. It’s also important to make sure that in a couple of years these houses don’t miraculously become second homes again.”
Translated from Portugueser/literaciafinanceira06.11.2026
“If this goes through, I’ll put two houses up for sale straight away.”
Translated from Portugueser/literaciafinanceira06.11.2026
CGD's boss: without the state mortgage guarantee, more people would be living in tents. Reddit says it drives prices up
The head of the state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), Paulo Macedo, said that without the state mortgage guarantee for buyers under 35, “more people would be living in tents” — a reference to the protest camps in Lisbon and Porto demanding affordable housing. Prices really are rising abnormally, he said, but that is because a million people have moved to the country in a few years. Since 2025, CGD has lent €3.1 billion under the guarantee, €1.7 billion of it in 2026, and has used 89% of its share of the state mortgage guarantees for buyers under 35.
Under the guarantee, the state stands surety for buyers aged 35 or under taking out a mortgage on their first home: the bank can lend up to 100% of the price of a flat or house costing no more than €450,000.
The guarantee applies to contracts signed by 31 December 2026. Whether it is extended into 2027 will be decided by parliament when it passes the budget.
On Reddit, hardly anyone agreed with the banker. People write that it is the guarantee itself that is pushing prices up, and that 100% loans are handed out too easily: on a €250,000 loan, repayments are €900–1,000 a month — a whole salary. They fear a repeat of 2011, when people were hit by unemployment as well as interest rates.
“One thing is clear: a great many young people are buying homes with the state guarantee. The problem is that they are buying at inflated prices. For example, on a 250,000 euro loan the repayment is already 900–1,000 euros, so a whole salary goes on it. I hope there won’t be a crisis like in 2011, because back then, on top of the rates, unemployment became a problem.”
Translated from Portugueser/portugal06.11.2026
“On the other hand, it shows how irresponsible it is to send people off to take out 100% loans of 250,000–300,000. When the head of a bank boasts about it, it’s so tragic it’s almost funny.”
Translated from Portugueser/portugal06.11.2026
The guarantee has its defenders too: for many young people with no savings, it is the only way to get a mortgage and pay no more for a home of their own than they would in rent. Others think prices will not fall until hundreds of thousands of new homes are built.
“There is some truth in this. Yes, it helps banks and estate agents, but for many young people without savings it was and still is a great chance to get a mortgage, even though the measure has fuelled speculation in house prices. Honestly, it’s one of the few measures of this government that I really support.”
Translated from Portugueser/portugal06.11.2026
“Until hundreds of thousands of homes are built, prices will stay high. Stop dreaming of a market crash while nothing else changes.”
Translated from Portugueser/portugal06.11.2026
Waits at the Russian consulate in Lisbon reach six months. For powers of attorney, people go to Spain, Geneva or a notary
In the Lisbon chat, someone asked whether it is possible to get into the consular section of the Russian embassy without an appointment, having been on the waiting list for about a month. Some replied that they had been waiting six months; others got in after about a month, depending on what they needed.
“I’ve been waiting six months”
Translated from Russianchatlisboa07.11.2026
For those who need a power of attorney, people suggested ways round the queue. In Spain, honorary consuls offered appointments within 2–4 weeks; in Geneva, it was done within 10 days. Another option is to have the power of attorney drawn up by a Portuguese notary with a translation into Russian: it costs more, but can be done in a few days. One person said that powers of attorney in Russian drawn up by local notaries in Armenia and Portugal had been accepted in Russia.
“It’s easier: in Spain they offered 2–4 weeks through honorary consuls, and in Geneva I managed it in 10 days”
Translated from Russianchatlisboa07.11.2026
“It might be easier to get a Portuguese power of attorney with a translation into Russian. It’s much more expensive, but it can be done in the next few days. But that doesn’t work for everything either; it’s worth checking with whoever will be accepting the power of attorney.”
Translated from Russianchatlisboa07.11.2026
“I was just sharing my experience: in Russia, I’ve used powers of attorney in Russian made in other countries by local notaries. It worked with a power of attorney from Armenia and one from Portugal.”
Translated from Russianchatlisboa07.11.2026
A power of attorney drawn up outside the consulate will not be accepted everywhere: before going to a notary, check with whoever will receive it in Russia whether it will do. People in the chat say that even consular powers of attorney are sometimes refused.
Big transfers from abroad to Caixa: €80,000 arrived with no questions, says the chat, but an intermediary bank may delay it
In a chat about banks in Portugal, someone planning to transfer the proceeds of a property sale to Caixa Geral de Depósitos worried that the bank would start checking where the money came from (this kind of check is called compliance).
“Don’t be afraid of Caixa,” one member replied: their first €80,000-plus, sent from two Belarusian banks in transfers of €8,000, €20,000 and €55,000, arrived without a single question — though it was ordinary earnings rather than money from a property sale. The smaller transfers arrived within two hours; the €55,000 took a week and a half, as it went through two intermediary banks.
“Don’t be afraid of Caixa. I don’t know how much money you’ve got, but my first 80k (8, 20, 55) went in with no questions at all (from two Belarusian banks; only the 55 took a week and a half, but there were two correspondent banks and I think it got stuck at the Latvian one; the smaller transfers came through in 2 hours). And that’s not from selling property, just from ordinary earnings”
Translated from Russianbanksdeportugal06.11.2026
“Two transfers of up to 20k came in for me in 2 hours. I signed in the app at 10 in the morning, by 12 the notification had come and I could put it straight into a deposit, for example. But nobody asked anything about the 55k either; it just quietly landed in the account after 1.5 weeks.”
Translated from Russianbanksdeportugal06.11.2026
Caixa will accept money like this, they believe, but the sending bank or an intermediary bank may hold up a large transfer. How people transfer money from Russia and what it costs is covered in our guide How to transfer money from Russia to Portugal.
MEO is billing for two contracts. Reddit explains: returning the router does not end a contract; you need written notice
On Reddit, someone described what happened to their boss, who speaks only English: she went into a shop of the telecoms operator MEO to get the basic M1 plan for a flat she lets to tourists, and came out with the expensive M3 package. To get out of it, they decided to switch to NOS, which promised to cancel the MEO contract itself within the legal time limit. The MEO equipment was returned to the shop, but NOS twice failed to connect the internet, as did Vodafone, so they had to sign up with MEO again. Now MEO is billing for both contracts.
The replies are blunt: returning the equipment means nothing; only a written cancellation notice from the contract holder stops further bills, and salespeople’s word cannot be trusted. Porting (portabilidade) exists only for phone numbers, not for internet service, so NOS would not have cancelled someone else’s contract anyway: nothing stops you having two connections at once.
“A pile of hasty sign-ups never ends well; trusting salespeople’s word is like trusting the devil, and returning the equipment achieves nothing when you have a contract with clear clauses on how it is cancelled and how leaving early is charged. Equipment is returned after the contract holder’s written cancellation notice. Only an official cancellation notice can stop further bills.”
Translated from Portugueser/telecomunicacoes_pt06.11.2026
“If so, there’s no porting: it only exists for phone numbers. And yes, MEO is right: the contract doesn’t disappear because you returned the equipment. There are contract clauses and a procedure.”
Translated from Portugueser/telecomunicacoes_pt06.11.2026
If the contract has a minimum term (fidelização), the operator charges for leaving early. You can complain to MEO’s customer ombudsman, and about any operator in the online Complaints Book (Livro de Reclamações). The consumer portal of the telecoms regulator ANACOM explains step by step who to turn to if you cannot sort things out with the operator. How people choose an operator and a package is covered in our guide How to choose a telecoms operator in Portugal.
A child without a residence permit can fly to the Azores on a Russian passport, says the chat, but papers may be checked
In a chat about pregnancy and childbirth, someone asked how a child can fly within Portugal, to the Azores for example, if all they have is a Portuguese birth certificate and a blank Russian international passport, with no residence permit or visa.
The first reply was “better not, for now”, but then people explained that there is no passport control on domestic flights: at the boarding gate they only look at the photo page, and nobody cares about stamps or visas; a residence permit is rarely asked for. Others objected that checks at boarding are not unusual, especially for Russian passports.
“It’s a flight within the country; there’s no passport control. At the gate they only look at the first page of the passport. Stamps, visas and the fact that it’s empty don’t interest anyone. Of course they might ask for a residence permit/visa, but that’s very rare.”
Translated from Russianberemennost_portugal07.11.2026
“They can check at boarding, and it’s not that rare, especially when the passports are Russian”
Translated from Russianberemennost_portugal07.11.2026
No one in the chat knows for sure what happens if the child’s papers are checked. The worst case, they think, is being refused boarding, and on the way back to the mainland they will be let on anyway. People also pointed out that the parents have residence permits, and one person believes the child’s status counts as the same as the parents’.
“So they check, and then what? At most they won’t let you on the flight, and on the way back they’ll let you on anyway, because you’re flying to the mainland. A Russian passport isn’t a death sentence in this case.”
Translated from Russianberemennost_portugal07.11.2026