Hi Sarah,
Please don’t assume that just the fact that I haven’t covered a specific offering or company means that it’s not legit! Especially when it comes to real estate investments there are so many different providers out there, so it wouldn’t be feasible to cover them all.
That being said, I haven’t studied La Vida Golden Visa in detail. My first impression was a bit that you’re probably not getting a good deal on the investment. Update 1: It seems La Vida repackage Mercan properties, but if you go through them you’ll pay a few thousand euros more in fees than if you reach out to Mercan here. Since Mercan already has best-in-class investor support I’d personally go directly with them.
Update 2: Another data point here: In addition to missing out on the discount, La Vida charges an extra fee on top without adding any value to the process (they just pass you on to Mercan anyway):
As mentioned in my GV article, if your goal is to get a good deal on a real estate investment (e.g. if you plan to live there yourself), I’d personally use a company like Pearls of Portugal that knows the local market well and can help you negotiate prices.
2022 update: If you want to purchase a property for yourself anywhere in Portugal (including in Lisbon or Porto or along the coast, you may be better off qualifying for the GV at the lowest possible cost, e.g. a €280K development from Mercan, and then using e.g. Pearls of Portugal to help you find a good deal on your own property—perhaps after spending extended time in Portugal so you learn which areas you’d prefer.
I might be a bit of a cynic, but I don’t think it’s likely that companies offering real estate products aimed exclusively at GV applicants are the ones with the best offers (if what you’re looking for is a solid return on investment).
So why do I mentioned Mercan in the article? Well, what you’re making with them isn’t really a real estate investment. It’s a way of buying a Golden Visa while getting a modest return on capital. You don’t have much upside, nor a lot of downside (assuming Mercan don’t go bankrupt) since contractually they will buy back your investment once you’re granted the permanent residency.
In the meantime they pay an annual 3% yield. And they will help with the entire GV process, too. So at the end of the day you’re buying a Golden Visa, not making a bet on the Portuguese real estate market (which may be close to topping out).
For the time being they are still eligible, but as mentioned I would personally only feel comfortable making a real estate investment in Porto or Lisbon at the moment in case the developer is willing to assume the risk of your application eventually being denied. Mercan does this, but they are probably not the only ones. If La Vida does, I don’t know.