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Buying land and building a house

Last activity 30 September 2023 by CVAngelo

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Pamela Querido

Hi,

Can a foreigner buy land easily in Cape Verde for building a house?

CVAngelo

Yes. It's probably easier to buy land here than it is in Europe or America. All you need is a your passport, your NIF (get it in 10 minutes at Casa de Cidadão), and the purchase and sale agreement (with the signatures of the buyer and seller authenticated at the Cartório). Then you and the seller go to the Conservatória to have the title deed of the land transferred to your name. That is it.

A couple tips. Make sure that the seller actually owns the land and that there are no outstanding bank loan or fees owing to the municipality. Work with a real estate agent...it will make the process smoother since they know how everything is supposed to work.

Good luck with your transaction.

Angelo

Pamela Querido wrote:

Hi,

Can a foreigner buy land easily in Cape Verde for building a house?

julianangel

"Make sure that the seller actually owns the land and that there are no outstanding bank loan or fees owing to the municipality"

Do any debts or fees stay with the property in Cape Verde? Like in the U.S.? Or do they stay with the owner like in (most of) Europe?

CVAngelo

The debts stay with the owner, but the fees stay with the land.

If the owner owes a debt with the land as collateral, the owner will be prevented from transferring the land into your name until that debt is cleared by the owner. So the point with outstanding debt is that you should not pay the owner anything until the debt is cleared and they can actually effect the transfer of the land to you.

If the land has outstanding fees to the municipality, the land can be registered in your name, but then you will be on the hook for the outstanding fees.

These scenarios can be readily checked at the registry (whether the person who claims to be the owner really is the owner and whether there is any outstanding debt on the land) or at the Câmara Municipal in which the land is located BEFORE handing over your money to an unscrupulous seller.

The civil registry can also indicate whether the land is tied up in any legal disputes as between heirs, etc.

Cheers,

Angelo

julianangel wrote:

"Make sure that the seller actually owns the land and that there are no outstanding bank loan or fees owing to the municipality"

Do any debts or fees stay with the property in Cape Verde? Like in the U.S.? Or do they stay with the owner like in (most of) Europe?

julianangel

Obrigado Angelo!

You said "If the owner owes a debt with the land as collateral, the owner will be prevented from transferring the land into your name until that debt is cleared by the owner".

In the case that the owner has put the land up for collateral, would it then be possible for the owner to sell the land to a third party in order to pay his debt back?

CVAngelo

Yes, the owner can indeed do so (sell to a third party), but the bank will not allow the transaction unless the bank is a party to the transaction.

julianangel wrote:

Obrigado Angelo!

You said "If the owner owes a debt with the land as collateral, the owner will be prevented from transferring the land into your name until that debt is cleared by the owner".

In the case that the owner has put the land up for collateral, would it then be possible for the owner to sell the land to a third party in order to pay his debt back?

Gerben Uunk

Hi guys, some useful info here:   https://www.judicaregroup.com/site/coun … ape-verde/

Kind emerald Irish regards,
Gerben Uunk.

CVAngelo

Hi Gerben,

You cannot post raw links in the messages you post. Instead, you must use the LINK icon to add the text you highlight and associate a link with it like so: This is the Google Search page. Do you see how the words, "Google Search" are highlighted? When you click on the highlighted text, it will take you to the weblink I assigned to that text via the icon in the menu that appears when you are posting a message (or a reply).

Regards,

Angelo

Gerben UunklHi guys, some useful info here:   [link under review wrote:

Kind emerald Irish regards,
Gerben Uunk.

julianangel

Interesting link, thank you (Gedaankt).

Gerben Uunk

Thanks a million

stellaluo6
@CVAngelo   Hi Angelo.  I am French and hav a plan to buy land in Santo Antao and build a hostel with one of my French friends.  Your response to the topic is valuable.  I have a question here and hope you could help.

You say "Make sure that the seller actually owns the land and that there are no outstanding bank loan or fees owing to the municipality".  Where and how can we check if the seller is clear is any problem with regard to the land he sells.

What do you think of the investment of building a hostel in Santo Antao?  The seller proposes the price around 7,000 euro for a land of 900 m2 near the beach in the area of Port Nova.

Thank you in advance
Stella
CVAngelo
@CVAngelo   Hi Angelo.  I am French and hav a plan to buy land in Santo Antao and build a hostel with one of my French friends.  Your response to the topic is valuable.  I have a question here and hope you could help.

You say "Make sure that the seller actually owns the land and that there are no outstanding bank loan or fees owing to the municipality".  Where and how can we check if the seller is clear is any problem with regard to the land he sells.

What do you think of the investment of building a hostel in Santo Antao?  The seller proposes the price around 7,000 euro for a land of 900 m2 near the beach in the area of Port Nova.

Thank you in advance
Stella
- @stellaluo6
Hi Stella,
To check the ownership of the land, you can go to the Câmara Municipal of Porto Novo and to the Cartório in Porto Novo. All land transactions are registered with both the Cartório and with the Câmara Municipal. But you will need to ask the owner for the Cadastro of the property/land and the house if you are buying a building so that you can show it to the Câmara Municipal and the Cartório. You may have to pay a very small fee to obtain the historical records of the transactions for the property. If the owner will not provide you with the Cadastro, then DO NOT BUY THIS LAND.

The price of the land you mentioned is very cheap at €8 per square meter. So I have some questions because it seems they are giving away the land:

1. Are there connections to the municipal electricity, water, and sewer lines? If there is no municipal infrastructure, it may be quite expensive to install these connections.
2. Are you aware that to receive a permit to build a hostel, you will have to do an environmental study which usually costs around €5.000?
3. Are you aware that to develop land very near the beach, you will need the permission of the Cape Verde Maritime and Port Authority (IMP) and you may also be required to pay a fee?

Sometimes, the land very near the beach is not owned by any private individual. It is also not the land owner's job to make you aware of these questions, but before buying property for development, you must carefully research each of these elements and speak with the relevant government authorities. You do not want to buy the land and then be surprised if you are not able to use it for the purpose intended. In addition, there are many cases of people fraudulently selling land they do not own to foreigners who are unaware of how to verify the ownership.

The government is very supportive of sustainable tourism development that promotes the rural areas, the culture and the environment. Keep in mind that Porto Novo in Santo Antão is not considered to be rural. It is the capital of the island, but Santo Antão itself is being promoted as a priority destination for investments in sustainable tourism projects.

I would strongly recommend that before you make any investment in such a project that you speak with the Câmara Municipal of Porto Novo first. Also speak with the Ministry of Tourism, and with Cabo Verde Trade Invest (CVTI). These government authorities both have branches in Mindelo (or if you are in Praia you can visit the main offices) and have specialists who are there to help foreign investors with these kinds of projects. They will provide you with all the information you need so that you do not make a big mistake that you will regret later.

Good luck with your proposed project and keep me posted.

Regards,

Angelo
CV Jones

@CVAngelo Hello Angelo,


Your posts are very helpful. Do you have any recommendations for a reputable real estate agency or website to search properties and land for sale in Sao Vicente? Also, do you have recommendations for home builders?

CVAngelo

@CVAngelo Hello Angelo,
Your posts are very helpful. Do you have any recommendations for a reputable real estate agency or website to search properties and land for sale in Sao Vicente? Also, do you have recommendations for home builders?
-@CV Jones

Hi Mr. Jones,,


First some context: Sao Vicente i comprises approx 15% of the population of CV which only has a total population of half a million total. Thus, you are looking at a very tiny market with limited availability of properties. The choices for what you might consider decent  options are even more restricted. So pretty much any real estate agent (there may be just a few) will be familiar with everything that's available there. Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendations for an agency there.


On the other hand, if you are looking for a good home builder, you should consider Spencer Construction or Armando Cunha, both located in Mindelo.


Good luck,


Angelo

CV Jones

@CVAngelo Thanks for the insight and the recommendations.

vervoortels1

@CVAngelo

Hi Angelo, i am new in this Forum.

I would like you to ask aa private question about a rather complicated topic, how can I send y  a private message, how can I do this via this Forum?

Thanks

Vervoortels

CVAngelo


    @CVAngeloHi Angelo, i am new in this Forum.I would like you to ask aa private question about a rather complicated topic, how can I send y  a private message, how can I do this via this Forum?ThanksVervoortels        -@vervoortels1

Hi Vervoortels,

You can send me a private message by clicking on my profile phot, then click on the "send message" icon/button.

Angelo