How to sell a property with a mortgage in Portugal

Confirm what is registered before promising a completion date

Obtain an up-to-date land-registry certificate and identify every registered charge, not only the loan the owner remembers. Compare the registered owners and property description with the tax and identification records. A bank statement cannot replace the registry review.

Tell the lawyer, solicitor or notary handling the sale that the property is mortgaged. Several owners, guarantors, attachments or other encumbrances may mean additional consents and documents are needed. Confirm the requirements before promising a short completion deadline.

Ask the bank for a repayment figure for the intended date

The outstanding capital visible today is not necessarily the amount payable on completion day. Ask the creditor for the total amount required to redeem the loan on the proposed date and for its process for issuing the mortgage-discharge document.

Under Decree-Law 74-A/2017, a borrower may repay the loan in full at any time by giving at least ten working days’ notice. The bank will explain how to make the request, how the account must be funded, how long its calculation is valid and how it will coordinate with the professional handling completion.

Request the information early, then refresh it when the date is firm. Interest and other time-dependent amounts can change, and a quote prepared for one date should not be copied into a contract for another.

Budget for any lawful early-repayment commission

Banco de Portugal states that the normal maximum commission is 0.5% of repaid capital during a variable-rate period and 2% during a fixed-rate period. Temporary legal suspensions can alter what is charged during a defined period; the broad suspension for qualifying variable-rate housing loans was extended only to the end of 2025.

For a sale in 2026, do not assume that an old waiver still applies. Ask the bank for a written calculation under the current contract and law. Also distinguish the repayment commission from unrelated account, document or professional costs instead of combining them into one unexplained bank figure.

Set out the mortgage arrangements in the CPCV

A CPCV should not imply that the property is already free of charges if the mortgage will be cancelled at completion. The appointed legal professional should describe the existing encumbrance, the agreed cancellation mechanism, the target date and the consequences if a required bank document is delayed.

If the deposit or sale proceeds will help repay the loan, the payment arrangements must be clear and professionally controlled. The buyer also needs to know how they will receive evidence of discharge. Agree this in advance rather than arranging private transfers on completion day.

A buyer’s own mortgage creates a separate bank process. The two lenders, the parties and the completion professional may need aligned deadlines, valuations and document validity. Add realistic time rather than assuming that both banks work to the advert’s preferred date.

Understand what happens to the money at completion

Usually, the amount needed to repay the seller’s loan goes to the existing lender through the agreed completion arrangements. The seller receives what remains after the other amounts due at completion. The professionals and banks involved specify how each payment is made and who receives it.

Model the numbers before accepting the offer: price, deposit already received, payoff, early-repayment commission, selling service, professional and registry costs, and any tax provision. If the proceeds do not cover the obligations, the owner needs an agreed way to fund the shortfall before the transfer can proceed.

Repaying the loan and cancelling the mortgage are distinct steps

Full repayment ends the debt, but the registered guarantee still needs documentary and registry action. Law 57/2020 requires the creditor, after the contract ends through full performance, to issue and send the document that permits extinction of the guarantee within 14 working days; the applicable process should be confirmed for the transaction.

Ask who will submit the cancellation to the land registry, when the updated record will be available and who keeps proof. Do not mark the task complete merely because the loan account shows zero. The public property record is the evidence future transactions will use.

Use a short mortgage-sale checklist

Keep one timeline shared by the owner, IMOJA and the appointed professionals. For each requested document, record who is responsible, when it was requested, how long it is valid and what happens next. Establish the bank’s requirements before an offer creates pressure to move quickly.

• Current land-registry certificate reviewed
• Bank repayment process and intended date confirmed
• Ten-working-day notice planned
• Early-repayment commission calculated in writing
• CPCV wording reviewed by the seller’s legal professional
• Completion payments agreed
• Mortgage cancellation responsibility and evidence recorded

Choose the service without confusing commercial and bank work

IMOJA can prepare and market the property, manage enquiries and track what still needs to happen. Online Sale costs €499 total including VAT; the €999 total option adds the agreed completion support. The owner hosts viewings with either online option.

Full-Service Sale costs 2% + VAT exclusively or 3% + VAT non-exclusively and includes the agreed commercial coordination and IMOJA-hosted viewings. The creditor still controls its loan and discharge documents, while legal conclusions and completion formalities remain with the appointed qualified professionals.