Project Management & Building Surveys

Q: How much does a building survey in Portugal cost?

Our pre-purchase building inspections and surveys depend on the size and location of the property.

Q: Do you work outside Porto?

Yes. We are based in Porto but inspect and build across Portugal — including Lisbon, Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra, the Silver Coast and the Algarve. Travel beyond the Porto area is arranged when you book.

Q: Is a building survey required by law in Portugal?

No. A survey is not a legal requirement in Portugal, which is exactly why most buyers sign with no independent information at all. An independent builder's survey tells you what is wrong, what it will cost to fix, and whether to proceed before you commit.

What We Do

We take care of it, start to finish.

One point of contact from the first walkthrough to the keys — wherever you are, and wherever the property is.

Buying a Property

Inspections · advisory · scouting · from €490 + IVA

Get a builder through the place before you sign. Haven’t found it yet? Property Scouting — we work the listings and the agents, walk and film what’s worth seeing, and send you a ranked shortlist. Found one? That’s a Pre-Purchase Inspection: floor by floor, thermal imaging and moisture metering, written report in 24 hours, from €490 + IVA. Torn between two or three, Property Advisory inspects and costs the lot and gives you one straight answer. New build from a developer — we do the Handover Inspection before you sign.

Which one do I need? →

Project Management

Renovations · restorations · new builds

The main thing we do. We tell you the truth about the building or the site, find and vet the builders, put the work out to real tender, and then run the job — coordinating trades, inspecting at every hold-point, and checking every invoice before you release a cent. Structured so you can commission only what you need. Independent, with no commissions from anyone.

How it works →

New Builds

From the ground up · managed or built

Building from scratch. We work with your architect — or help you find the right one — and take it from drawings through licensing, tender and construction to a finished, certified house. Either as your independent project manager, or built directly by our own teams.

Learn more →

Construction by Antipodean

Our own teams · a separate service, deliberately

Or we build it ourselves. Renovations, restorations and new architectural builds with our own trades, on our own contract. Kept firmly apart from the management side — what we won’t do is run a tender and quietly award it to ourselves.

Learn more →

What We Find

Most renovations here are cosmetic. We go deeper.

Property across Portugal is old and regularly renovated to selling standard only. The problems that cost real money — damp, structural movement, failing roofs — are invisible in listing photos and rarely disclosed by vendors.

Rising damp
Roof failures
Outdated electrics
Structural cracking
Waterproofing failures
Thermal bridging
Drainage problems
Hidden timber rot

"Getting someone independent onto a building before you commit has saved our clients hundreds of thousands in bad decisions."

Bradley Cahill · Antipodean Building

An independent inspection costs a fraction of a percent of what you're about to spend. The problems it uncovers routinely cost fifty times that to put right — and they don't appear in listing photos. See what an inspection covers → · See a sample report →

Why Antipodean

No commissions. No conflicts. No guesswork.

Most buyers in Portugal make six-figure decisions with almost no independent information. We change that.

Reports available in

English Portuguese French German Spanish

Strictly independent
We work for you — not the agent, the developer, or the bank. We take no commissions and have no stake in whether you buy.
Plain English, always
You'll understand every finding and every cost. No jargon, no vague qualifiers — just clear, honest information.
24-hour turnaround
Report in your inbox within 24 hours of inspection — faster than anyone else in Portugal.
We're builders, not just inspectors
25 years of hands-on construction means we don't just find problems — we know exactly what it takes and costs to fix them. That's a different level of assessment.
One point of contact
From inspection through to final renovation handover, the link between decisions, details, and execution stays intact.

Bradley Cahill — builder, carpenter and inspector, Antipodean Porto

Mafalda — site manager, designer and consultant, Antipodean Porto

Who You'll Work With

You'll work with a builder, not a checklist.

You'll work directly with Bradley — a qualified builder and carpenter who started his apprenticeship in Sydney in 2001 and has spent 25 years in construction since: residential and commercial across Australia, high-end fit-outs in London, and five years running his own building business before moving to Portugal. He builds for a living, which means he understands buildings from the ground up — how they go together, how they fail, and what it really costs to put them right.

Alongside him, Mafalda Moutinho — Portuguese, born and raised in Porto, trained at Central Saint Martins in London, with a Master's in Industrial Design and a background in interior design and construction management. She designs and specifies the work, and stays on site while it's built. Local knowledge on one side, outside standards on the other — and you always know who's responsible for what.

Antipodean operates independently. No commissions. No referral arrangements. No conflicts.

More about us →

Bradley CahillBuilder · Carpenter · Inspector

Mafalda MoutinhoDesigner · Interior Design · Site Manager

Antipodean Building Services, Lda · NIF 517 418 657 · Licensed builder — IMPIC Alvará n.º 109726-PAR · verify on the IMPIC public register

Client Reviews

What clients say.

★★★★★ 5.0 rating · 17 reviews on Google →

★★★★★

"We’ve worked with Antipodean both for inspections and for renovation works… he identified issues that would have been tremendously expensive further down the line, and gave us a clear understanding of what to expect in terms of labour and budgeting. Where the average builder in Portugal will suggest ETICS and drywall to cover up any issues and pretend they’re not there, Antipodean actually aim to fix at the root cause. Excellent work ethic, without any fear mongering or sugar coating."

Zita Bacelar Moura

Google Review

★★★★★

"I live abroad and Bradley was recommended to me by my Portuguese cousin. I was very happy with his services — building inspection and general advice on buying property in Portugal, especially in rural areas — and look forward to working with him on the restoration of the property Bradley helped me to decide upon. I would never have imagined how tricky the whole process would be and he was a great help."

Eleonora Teixeira da Costa Rossoll

Google Review

★★★★★

"Brad and Mafalda are absolute pros. Not only are they highly skilled and incredibly competent, but they are effective communicators, ensuring no stone is unturned. They have handled a plethora of things for me over the years and I could not be more content with their capabilities."

Kyle Hedrick

Google Review

★★★★★

"Bradley carried out a survey for us when we were looking for a house in the North of Portugal… professional, helpful, transparent, with great knowledge and insights which is so valuable when buying in an unfamiliar market. He has since been a great sounding board as our search continued, and I would definitely engage him for a survey and construction work."

Naz Latif

Google Review

★★★★★

"We used his expertise to give an overall inspection and a plan for repair and improvement of our property in Setúbal. It’s very helpful to have an unbiased opinion and a detailed report — it gave us clear direction when talking to local contractors, and we hope to work with him and his team again."

Qian Han

Google Review

★★★★★

"Knowledgeable, direct, no-nonsense. Advised us about a roof issue that could potentially turn costly down the line, and drafted a very thorough inspection report complete with estimated costs for our renovation ideas. Really appreciated his approach and look forward to continuing to work together on our upcoming renos."

Alexandra Ciufudean

Google Review

Read all 17 reviews on Google

Common Questions

Questions buyers ask.

How much does a building survey in Portugal cost?

It depends on the size and location of the property, and we'll give you a straight figure before you commit to anything. What it isn't is expensive relative to the decision — an inspection costs a fraction of a percent of the purchase, and the defects we find regularly cost fifty times that to put right. See a sample report.

Do you work outside Porto?

Yes. We're based in Porto but inspect and build across Portugal — Lisbon, Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra, the Silver Coast and the Algarve. Travel beyond the Porto area is arranged when you book.

Is a building survey required by law in Portugal?

No. A survey isn't a legal requirement in Portugal, which is exactly why most buyers sign with no independent information at all. An independent builder's survey tells you what's wrong, what it'll cost to fix, and whether to proceed before you commit.

How quickly do I get the report?

Within 24 hours of the inspection — in plain English, with a condition grade and costed recommendations you can use to renegotiate.

How soon can you inspect?

Five to seven days from booking in most cases, with the report 24 hours after the visit. Tell us if you have a CPCV or escritura date and we will work to it.

How far ahead do I need to book a renovation?

Three months minimum, six if you can manage it. Most people underestimate the quoting stage, which runs to a few weeks on its own before anyone is booked in, and the trades worth having are committed months ahead.

We take care of everything. Start to finish.

We take care of it, start to finish.

Buying a Property

Project Management

New Builds

Construction by Antipodean

Most renovations here are cosmetic. We go deeper.

No commissions. No conflicts. No guesswork.

Strictly independent

Plain English, always

24-hour turnaround

We're builders, not just inspectors

One point of contact

You'll work with a builder, not a checklist.

On the tools.

What clients say.

Questions buyers ask.

How much does a building survey in Portugal cost?

Do you work outside Porto?

Is a building survey required by law in Portugal?

How quickly do I get the report?

How soon can you inspect?

How far ahead do I need to book a renovation?

Book an inspection or consultation.

Send an enquiry