The condo is in a new development and there ended up being an issue with the municipality with respect to the deed that the developer and his lawyer apparently did not anticipate.
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Hi again Courtney,
Hope you are well, and donāt mind me continuing to ask questions
So Iāve identified an apartment for touristic purposes that has a buy-back agreement. Did yours have this as well?
Also, did you by any chance use RationalFX to transfer funds to Portugal? They are recommended by GCS.
Best regards,
Daryl
so far we have had good service from GCS. We went to visit their offices while in Lisbon and they do have a real brick and mortar building. we met all of the people we have been corresponding with, except our lawyer. we recently received an email saying that lawyer will not be servicing us anymore and have been switched to 2 others. we are to meet with them next week via conference call. so far, each thing they have told us about has happened. status wise, we have applied for the GV process in November and are awaiting our pre-approval. we anticipate our bio metrics being late in 2022 (we hope).
hope this helps
Hi,
Our purchase does not have a buy-back agreement agreement, but we werenāt looking for one.
I have used RationalFX to transfer funds. Theyāve been good. I did a couple of small test transfers to see how differently the transfers worked - 1) RationalFX to Portugese bank, 2) $ transfer from my bank to $ transfer to Portuguese bank and then exchange, and 3) Euro tranfer from my bank (that is, the exchange happpened at my bank) to my Portuguese bank. RationalFX was fastest and had the best exchange rate. And you have a āpersonā you can talk to about how to plan transfers, the direction they think exchange rates will go, etc., which is nice.
I did once have to use my US bank for the transfer to my Portuguese bank instead RationalFX once because of the time difference on a Friday (Iām in NYC) and my need to do an exchange then rather than waiting til Monday (because I had a super busy schedule the next week and wouldnāt be able to connect with RFX).
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@courtney3327 @joseph.c.lapierre - Great discussion. Joining the discussion a bit late but Iād like to offer my 2c.
Before beginning, Iād like to state that I represent TLG (Real Estate Developer and Fund Asset Manager).
Hereās a few pro tips for considering the right partner in your journey to GV.
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Experience and Track Record. Itās very important that the firm you choose has the right background and has been through the process several times. It is even more important for them to communicate with you about all the local sentiments and changes happening because there are quite a few updates locally that donāt get transmitted at times to International folks.
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Frequency and Systems. GV market has now evolved from what is used to be so itās very important for your partners to have good systems in place for tracking your application from end to end. A lot of us now use strong CRMs to manage and maintain the multitude of documentations that is needed and a very deep checklist to avoid missing anything that may cause hurdles. This is learned from bad experiences unfortunately due to the fact that some vendors downplay on the complexity.
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Relationships. Yes, thatās true. Like it or not, in Portugal this goes very far. Well, letās be honest, this goes the same for any country. Iāll leave this here for your imagination. To move things, you must have vendors that can get things done without adding stress to you.
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Honest Suggestions: Vendor partners based on your profile should give a strong feedback and suggestion of the investment. Not just based on the commissions earned from the transactions. Note, in Portugal to advise on funds requires licensing so partners cannot make suggestions on funds but only make referrals. And itās upto the asset manager only to make the recommendations so be careful on investment advice from anyone else. There is no liability attached to the advise given. There are some excellent funds in the market today so you can have a good pick and also split your investment if you so choose.
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Finally, travel! Donāt make your decision on zoom If possible. Come to the country, meet with the people, understand your investment and see it for yourself. Itās going to be a huge change from what you see on the ground vs. online! Trust me, this will be an eye opener.
Feel free to connect if you would like to learn more 
Rahim
Hi Khaled, did you go ahead with Henley? What has been your experience so far? Rhys
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Hi Courtney, how is the process unfolding?
We are also kean on the Real Estate option, and like the Algarve as an option.
Now we just need to decide which firm to use, based on your and other feedback, it is between:
- GCS
- Get Golden Visa
- Henley
- LegalSquare
So many choicesā¦ Rhys
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For me the delay has been on the real estate side. Closing took forever because of local bureaucracy unfortunately. I do feel like the lawyers GCS assigned to me could have been a bit proactive, but I also feel like that may be a cultural thingā¦if there is no update they may not contact you just to say there is no update. However when I asked GCS to help shake things up a bit to get some answers, Patricia was on the case.
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Thanks for sharingā¦ so all in all, you would use CGS again if you had to redo the process?
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The real estate support of GCS is not good, I ultimately had to take over and find my own real estate investment using the idealista website.
The law firm is good and I find them very professional.
In my opinion, you can directly use a law firm for the entire process.
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Hey all! Freshly exploring the D2 visa here - @courtney3327 my husband and I have met with GCS and are highly considering using them for the process (as GV is no longer an option for us).
I real through the thread - but would you recommend using them? I heard your perspective with the American expectation - how did changing lawyers on you affect the process?
Hope all is smooth sailing for you onward 
hi @joseph.c.lapierre, Iām looking into the PGV option for myself and family, the main aim is to gain an EU passport following Brexit.
Iāve started doing some research, and came across Henley & Partners - everything seems great from what they say, but a glance through this site suggests that the PGV process is one that is fraught with difficulty.
Can I ask how your experience has been so far, and how have you found H&P?
Thanks in anticipation.
Hi Richard,
I can tell you that I donāt think Henley is any better or worse than other firms that offer help with the GV. They do not seem to have any more insight or political pull with Portugal. We are still waiting, going on 3 years, for our final approval. It isnāt Henleyās fault, but they havenāt really added anything to help in the process.
Thanks for the swift response Joseph, much appreciated.
Hi Joe,
We are exploring PGV by investment.
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Given the amount of investment and the service you have received several years into the process, do you feel the value in service was worth the fees Henley charges?
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How did you choose your fund/s to invest? Did Henley help with it? Did you work with your financial advisor? Are you content with the returns thus far?
The waiting 5-7 years is not an issue for us. Itās understanding how much risk is associated with the investment, which we do not know. And while we may not earn much or even lose on the investment, it is helpful to understand what people in process are experiencing.
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Expect probably closer to 8-10 years, but maybe less. Keep an eye on the thread about when the passport timer starts ticking
I realise Iām bumping an older post here but since I saw it come up - I concur with @emailtoasifali, I would avoid GCS. They were our lawyers for our first two years but we recently fired them and switched firms, after discovering they had routinely caused delays from their side (not submitting the paperwork to SEF, not informing us of documents they required, etc), as well as routinely provided wrong informationā¦ unfortunately they added negative value to our process. Within 3 months of switching the new firm has made progress than they ever did in their first 2 years!
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I totally second that, they are not supportive at all. I will never recommend them to anyone.
@sj-to-pt can you kindly PM me the new Lawyers you are working with? Many thanks!
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In my opinion, there is no sense in hiring any āglobalā firm for the PT GV process, as you would be most likely severely overcharged and under-serviced.
Some folks on here had good feedback on a local branch of a global firm, but that is a slightly different model and may be just an exception proving the rule 
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Iām using Abreu Advogados now and Iāve been happy so far. They are not a GV firm, rather a big law practice in Portugal that handles all aspects of law, not just immigration. Iāve found this to be a huge plus as theyāre straight with me - none of the rosey, borderline lies of GCS and the GV agencies.
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