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@williashirl8 ok, now I am breaking out in a cold sweat and hives just thinking about what our Property purchase in Portugal could be like! 

Yes, the property buying can be in this way, like by williashirl8 but can be also better.

In such a way, you should have  a lot of patience and understanding. They are so and this is the Portugiese way and they are ... happy so.

I come to this philosophy after we buy our property and now we make a first renovations. Patience , patience and ... you don't have an other way. That it guys!

this is common...people do this all the time  -@williashirl8

I've never heard anything like it. Apparently, the situations you report here only happen to foreigners....

they need proof of funds for this transaction -@williashirl8

This may have something to do with the money's justification, because of suspicions of money laundering.

the person who issues the cashier's check was NOT there -@williashirl8

Why don't you complain to the bank in writing at the complaint's book  instead of coming here to complain?

they need proof of funds for this transaction -@williashirl8


This may have something to do with the money's justification, because of suspicions of money laundering.


   

    -@JohnnyPT

Yes, this is down to money laundering rules. 

Maybe it isn't the greatest idea to buy a property in Portugal without being present in the country. I would definitely never do that, but I know of several US citizens that did. With more or less success. If all of the describes really bothers you then maybe Portugal isn't such a great idea. Service and timeliness are not what one might be used to.

I also don't understand the hurry. I had the bank check days before my notary appointment.

Anybody who wants to move to a foreign country (or do business with one) must understand that cultural differences will be a huge challenge, and one needs to learn how to navigate it. Expecting anywhere else to be "just like home", it is a bad and stressful start, doomed to fail the entire experience.

In Portugal,  deliveries are often not delivered on the date promised and we can wait the whole day without any news if they are coming or not; to obtain documents is time consuming and often one has to apply various times and in person. If you have an appointment, do not be surprised if you have to wait 30+ minutes to be seen, or even cancelling it without telling you, etc.

Remember: we, the expats, chose to come to this country, the country did not invite any of us, but were kind enough to welcome us to their home, so the best advice is : adapt to the country instead of expecting the country to adapt to you.

If people are not prepared for the cultural differences, stay home.

@JohnnyPT

this is a place to share experiences and gain understanding or figure out pros/cons going forward with any situation  I would hold off on saying complaining.  its a stressful situation with lots of unknowns. We bought property but have Novobanco and if that happened to me, handwritten bologna and making you wait for a closing and you had an appointment scheduled, I’d switch banks 100%  that was shitty business and not acceptable not a cultural difference 

@georgiamitch,

This has nothing to do with cultural differences. This idea that some people have put here is wrong. We're talking about people & institutions who are competent or not. I was also a NovoBanco (former BES!) customer and I got FED UP with being treated badly. I closed my bank account there and opened one with another bank!

Remember: we, the expats, chose to come to this country, the country did not invite any of us, but were kind enough to welcome us to their home, so the best advice is : adapt to the country instead of expecting the country to adapt to you.

The Portuguese Government is actively promoting immigration into the country. This is happening in the United States. I understand this as an invitation.

Shirly it's easy enough to open more then one bank account (as I have done) then, after you have used them for a while just pick the one or ones that you perfer and close the others. Buying property here is not dificult but expecting institutions to conform to what you think they should be doing rather then making sensible decisions yourself will probably involve avoidable problems.