It is relatively straight forward to purchase property in Cape Verde and as long as you make sure all the paper work is correct and forthcoming then the transaction should run safe and smoothly.

The main difference to the buying process from that of the UK is the role of the Notary.

The Notary is the official who looks after all the parties involved to make sure they understand the process and also formalises the process of legalising the sale and purchase documents.

Role of the Notary include;

• Checks on the legal status of the property for sale
• Checks on both the buyers and seller

Although we highly recommend that an independent UK and Cape Verdean Law firm is employed to overlook the whole process.

Example of the Off Plan Property Purchasing Process;

• Reserving the property by paying a deposit
• Then reservation contract is signed which will ensure the property is held for a period of time, depending on the developer terms, this is when all the legalities are checked out to ensure the property has all the building licences and title.
• Once the buyer and Lawyers are happy the PPC (Promissary Purchase Contract) when the first instalment is paid by the buyer (minus the reservation contract)
• The buyer has then committed to purchase the property in line with the developers payment structure (sate payments or balance on completion etc…) which will vary for different development.

TAX ISSUES
This is just a quick out line of the Tax issues when buying property in Cape Verde we recommend you seek professional advice from expert Tax and Legal advisors and this is justa information guide.

here are no property taxes to pay when you purchase a property in Cape Verde but the ownership of property in Cape Verde is subject to the following Taxes.

Holding Property
The tax is charged at 3% on 25% of the value of the property which can be paid in one instalment in April or two instalments in April and September .

Transfer
This tax is to be paid before you sign the deed of purchase and sale and is charged at 3% of the value of the property.

Capital Gains
This is payable at 3% and must be paid on any other property sale that exceeds a 30% increase on the price / value of the property when it was purchased. The Tax must be paid with in 30 days of the deeds transfer and also a submission of a Declaracao de Mais Valias" (Capital Gains Statement).

Capital gains tax also applies to earnings make on the sale of plots of land for property construction but only if the sale price is more than a 100 percent increase from the price / value that the land was purchased for originally.

Inheritance
3% of the value of the property must be paid in inheritance tax.

We hope this guide has helped but for more comprehensive information about the country and property market then please download out guide.

You can download your copy of the guide by visiting Buying Cape Verde Property.

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