Process
Nine phases, with no surprises in between
A purchase handled by Rhamos runs through nine fixed phases, from criteria to a review at twelve months. Each phase has a typical timeframe and ends in a document you keep. You always know which phase you are in and what arrives next.
The phases are the same in Lisbon, in Madrid and in Dubai. What changes from market to market is which documents exist in each jurisdiction and who issues them — not the order of verification, and not the threshold for saying that a property does not work.
The nine phases
| Phase | What happens | Typical timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| 01 · Criteria | A requirements session: use, holding horizon, total budget, tax and family constraints. | One session |
| 02 · Mandate | A written contract covering fees, scope, exclusivity and duration. | 48 hours |
| 03 · Search | The advertised market, private mandates held by other houses, and direct approaches to owners. | 2–6 weeks |
| 04 · Verification | Registry documents, occupancy licence, energy certificate, charges, service-charge debts and planning position. | 5–10 days per property |
| 05 · Valuation | Real transaction comparables, not asking prices. Works estimated by an independent contractor. | 5 days |
| 06 · Offer | Offer structure, conditions precedent and timetable. | Depends on the counterparty |
| 07 · Preliminary contract | Reviewed with the client's lawyer. We never use the seller's draft unchanged. | Agreed between the parties |
| 08 · Deed | Attendance, checking of figures and handover of keys. | The date set in the preliminary contract |
| 09 · Afterwards | Registration, transfer of contracts, property tax and the first review at twelve months. | Ongoing, with a review at twelve months |
Phase by phase
The same process, with the detail that matters to someone deciding whether to proceed.
01
Criteria
A working session to establish what you are looking for and, more usefully, what you rule out: intended use, holding horizon, total budget — not the price alone, but transfer taxes, deed, registration, works and annual running costs — and the tax and family constraints that shape the buying structure. It is the phase that prevents viewing thirty properties in order to discover your criteria at the tenth.
- Typical timeframe
- One session
- What you receive
- A criteria document, setting out what you seek and exclude.
02
Mandate
The mandate fixes the geographical scope, the exclusivity, the duration and the fee in writing, before the first viewing. It is signed at that point for one reason: no recommendation of ours can depend on which property you end up choosing. We take no commission from sellers, developers or banks.
- Typical timeframe
- 48 hours
- What you receive
- A signed mandate, with the fee fixed in writing.
03
Search
Three fronts in parallel: the advertised market, the private mandates other houses keep off the portals, and direct approaches to owners in the target areas. The third is slow, and it is the one that produces properties advertised nowhere. Every property set aside is set aside with a written reason.
- Typical timeframe
- 2–6 weeks
- What you receive
- An annotated shortlist, with the reason for each exclusion.
04
Verification
Before there is an offer, there is documentary verification. In Portugal: the permanent land registry certificate, the tax register entry, the occupancy licence, the energy certificate, registered charges, outstanding service charges and the position under the municipal plan. In Spain and Dubai, the equivalent documents in each jurisdiction. Anything that cannot be obtained is listed as not obtained.
- Typical timeframe
- 5–10 days per property
- What you receive
- A verification file, with a copy of each document and a list of what is missing.
05
Valuation
The valuation uses comparables from completed transactions rather than asking prices — the gap between the two is precisely what is being negotiated. Where works are involved, the estimate is produced by an independent contractor engaged by you rather than by us.
- Typical timeframe
- 5 days
- What you receive
- A valuation report with transaction comparables and a recommended price range.
06
Offer
The offer is written: the figure, the conditions precedent — financing, planning, the outcome of verification — and the timetable through to the deed. We conduct the negotiation under the mandate, and every counter-offer is recorded and dated. Nothing agreed by telephone stands until it is confirmed in writing.
- Typical timeframe
- Depends on the counterparty
- What you receive
- A written offer and a dated record of every counter-offer.
07
Preliminary contract
The preliminary contract — the CPCV in Portugal — is reviewed with the client's own lawyer. We never use the seller's draft unchanged: the deposit, the termination provisions, the default regime and the deadline for the deed are the clauses where a standard draft tends to protect only one side.
- Typical timeframe
- Agreed between the parties
- What you receive
- An annotated draft, with each proposed amendment and the reason for it.
08
Deed
We attend. We check the figures and the means of payment, confirm that the registry documents are current as at the day, and oversee the handover of keys and the meter readings.
- Typical timeframe
- The date set in the preliminary contract
- What you receive
- A copy of the deed, a schedule of the sums paid, and keys checked against the inventory.
09
Afterwards
Registration of the acquisition, transfer of the water, electricity and communications contracts, registration for municipal property tax and, twelve months later, a review of the property. It is included in every buying mandate and does not depend on there being further business.
- Typical timeframe
- Ongoing, with a review at twelve months
- What you receive
- The twelve-month review: condition of the property, tax settled, contracts in force and an updated market value.
What you receive at each phase
Three phases end in a document with fixed contents. It is what separates representation from a sequence of viewings.
Phase 04
Verification file
Assembled before any offer, with a copy of every document obtained.
- Permanent land registry certificate
- Tax register entry for the property
- Occupancy licence
- Energy certificate
- Certificate of no outstanding service charges
- Registered charges and encumbrances
- Position under the municipal plan
In Spain and Dubai the file gathers the equivalent documents in each jurisdiction, in the same order and to the same standard.
Phase 05
Valuation report
Written, with the method visible and a source for each comparable.
- Comparables from completed transactions, with date and floor area
- A recommended price range, and the figure above which we will not support the offer
- An independent contractor's estimate for works, where applicable
- Acquisition costs over and above the price
Phase 09
Twelve-month review
Booked on the day of the deed and included in every buying mandate.
- Condition of the property, inspected in person
- Municipal property tax settled
- Contracts in force and the terms currently applying
- Updated market value
Why the process does not change from market to market
A buyer comparing a property in Lisbon with a property in Madrid should not also be comparing two different ways of assessing them. So the index of the file, the order of verification and the threshold for exclusion are the same in all three markets.
What changes is the paperwork: each jurisdiction has its own, issued by different bodies and on different timescales. That part is local work, and it is the reason for having our own offices rather than partnerships.
See buyer representation in detailStart with the criteria
The buying brief is the first phase, in writing. It takes a few minutes to complete and lets us say plainly whether we are the right people for what you are looking for.