Guimarães is under an hour from Porto. We inspect townhouses and apartments in and around the historic centre, moradias in the surrounding parishes and rural houses out towards Fafe. Before you sign, a builder goes through the property, costs what he finds and tells you whether the price stacks up. From €490 + IVA, report within 48 hours.
The old centre is granite and timber: granite walls and frames, timber floors and roof structures, and lath partitions. Timber decay where beams sit in damp walls, woodworm, roofs at the end of their life and old electrics are the common costs. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so works on facades, roofs and windows there need the Câmara’s approval and can take longer. Factor that in before you buy.
Outside the centre most buyers are looking at moradias and apartments from the last forty years: tiled terraces and flat roofs, capoto or render cracking, windows and ventilation. Further out the houses are older granite with the same rising damp and roof issues you find across the Minho.
Every report ends with a condition grade and a clear recommendation: buy, proceed with caveats, renegotiate or walk away, with costed negotiation points. A Portuguese version is included for your lawyer.
Region overview: property inspections across the Minho. Planning works? Read what a new roof costs.
What the inspection covers in full: pre-purchase inspection →
| Property size | Fee + IVA |
|---|---|
| Up to 150 m² | €490 |
| 151 to 250 m² | €690 |
| 251 to 400 m² | €890 |
| Over 400 m², rural or several buildings | Quoted from the listing |
Included: the inspection, the written report within 48 hours, photos and readings, repair cost ranges, the negotiation pack and a Portuguese version. Travel outside the Porto area is quoted up front. Payment by bank transfer, half the day before the visit and half when the report is delivered.
Add-ons if you need them: express report in 24 hours €150, energy upgrade spec €120, renovation cost add-on €180, advisory call €120, re-check after the seller’s repairs €290, drone roof survey €290. All + IVA. A registered structural engineer’s assessment is quoted per job when a finding needs one. Full price list →
Weighing up two or three places at once? That’s Property Advisory. Not sure which you need? Start here.
A real report from October 2026, with the client and address taken out. The findings, costs and advice are as issued. No sign-up.
Read the sample reportWhat to check before you sign the CPCV — the defects we find again and again on real surveys, from damp and roofs to the condominium paperwork almost nobody reads. Two pages, from a builder, free.
From €2,200 + IVA we inspect your top three options, cost the renovation on each, compare them side by side and give you a straight recommendation — buy this one, not that one, and here's why. The full picture, before you commit.
Buying to renovate? Once you've bought, we can manage the whole build for you, independently — finding and vetting the builder, tendering the work so the prices are real, and running the job to a certified finish. See Project Management.
Travel outside the Porto area is quoted up front, in writing, before you book.
Yes, but facades, roofs and windows inside the protected area need the Câmara’s approval, and some materials are dictated. We flag what the works are likely to need so you can check the route with the Câmara before you commit.
Within 48 hours of the inspection, with photos, readings, a cost range on every finding and a Portuguese version for your lawyer. Up against a deadline? The express report comes within 24 hours for €150 + IVA.
No, and most of our clients aren’t. We arrange access, do the inspection, send the report and go through it with you on a video call.
WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us — we respond the same day, wherever the property is in Portugal. Or send the details below and we’ll come back to you today.
WhatsApp +351 969 718 294 Email us