Portugal has no tradition of surveying a home before purchase, so most buyers commit to an Algarve property that has never been independently checked. These are the seven problems that hide in plain sight.
In Portugal, almost nobody has a house checked before buying it. There is no equivalent of the home inspection that buyers rely on in the United States, or the building survey that is standard in the United Kingdom. The only documents the law requires for a sale are an energy certificate and, in some cases, a gas safety check, and neither tells you anything about the true condition of the building. Many buyers only discover this after they have signed the CPCV, the promissory contract, and the money is already committed.
That gap matters more in the Algarve than in most places. A large share of the region’s housing is older villas and townhouses, alongside a steady supply of holiday homes
and apartments that receive a quick cosmetic refresh before they reach international buyers. Add the coastal climate, with its salt air, strong sun and heavy winter rain on flat roofs, and you have ideal conditions for problems that hide behind a fresh coat of paint. After inspecting homes across the Algarve and the wider country, these are the seven defects buyers miss again and again.
1. Damp Behind a Fresh Coat of Paint
Rising damp and penetrating damp are the most common problems we find, and the easiest to hide. Thick traditional walls draw moisture up from the ground. A recent repaint, a new skirting board, or a sheet of plasterboard fixed over the affected area can disguise the issue completely for a viewing or two.
What to look for: a faint tide mark about a metre up the wall, paint that bubbles or flakes near the floor, a musty smell in a back room or on the lower floor, and freshly painted patches that do not match the rest. Moisture meters and thermal cameras reveal this even when your eyes cannot.
2. The Roof and Terrace You Cannot See from the Ground
Flat roofs and rooftop terraces, known locally as açoteias, are everywhere in the Algarve, and their waterproofing has a limited lifespan. The strong sun and heavy winter downpours shorten it further. From the street the house can look perfect, yet up on the roof the membrane may be cracked, holding pools of water, or patched with the wrong material. Sloped tile roofs hide their own surprises, including slipped tiles, failed flashing around the chimneys, and blocked gutters.
What to look for: water stains on the ceilings of upper rooms, blistered or lifting waterproofing on a terrace, plants growing in the gutters, and damp in the corners of the highest rooms. If you cannot safely climb up to look, that is exactly the part a professional should check for you.
3. Cracks: The Cosmetic Ones and the Ones That Matter
Every old house has cracks. The skill lies in telling the harmless ones from the signs of real movement. Fine hairline cracks in plaster are usually cosmetic. Diagonal cracks that run from the corners of doors and windows, cracks wider than a couple of millimetres, doors and windows that no longer close squarely, and floors that visibly slope can all point to settlement or structural movement.
What to look for: cracks in the external render that step down along the mortar joints, cracks that were filled and have since reopened, and new tiling that does not sit flat. A structural concern is not always a reason to walk away, but you want it identified and priced before you negotiate, not afterwards.
4. Electrics That Look Modern but Are Not Safe
A property can have a smart new light fitting in every room and still have wiring that would fail a basic safety check. Older Portuguese homes, and plenty of supposedly renovated ones, lack proper earthing, have no residual current device (RCD) for protection, and carry a patchwork of additions made over the years by different hands.
What to look for: an old fuse board instead of a modern consumer unit with breakers, sockets with only two pins and no earth, scorch marks or warm switch plates, and exposed wiring junctions. The age and condition of the consumer unit is a strong clue.
5. Water Pressure and the Plumbing You Cannot See
Low water pressure is a frequent and frustrating discovery after moving in. The causes range from old galvanised pipes that have silted up on the inside, to homes that rely on a roof tank rather than mains pressure, to a supply pipe that is simply too small. Homes in the countryside add another layer, with private wells, boreholes and septic tanks that all need their own checks.
What to look for: run a tap and a shower at the same time and watch the flow, check how long the hot water takes to arrive, and ask directly whether the property is on mains drainage or a septic tank, and when that tank was last emptied.
6. The Paperwork Defect: What Is Built Does Not Match What Is Registered
This is the defect buyers least expect, because you cannot find it by tapping a wall, yet it can be the most expensive of all. In Portugal it is common for a property’s real layout to differ from what is recorded in the caderneta predial and the land registry. A terrace may have been enclosed to make a room, a garage converted, a floor added, or a pool or annexe built without a licence. Unlicensed work can block your financing, complicate the sale, and leave you responsible for legalising it or even undoing it.
What to look for: compare the registered floor area and description against what you actually walk through, ask whether any part of the house was extended or converted, and treat the phrase “it was always like this” with healthy caution. A good inspection flags any difference between the building and its paperwork.
7. Cold, Condensation and Mould
Many Portuguese homes were built for warm summers rather than damp winters, with little or no insulation, single glazing, and very modest heating. The result is condensation, black mould in corners and around windows, and rooms that are difficult to heat. Buyers viewing on a bright spring day rarely picture the same place in a wet January.
What to look for: black spotting in window reveals and behind furniture, condensation on the glass, single glazed windows, and a steady chill in rooms that face north or sit against the ground. Mould affects both comfort and health, and it tends to return unless the ventilation problem behind it is put right.
How to Protect Yourself
None of this means you should avoid buying in Portugal, as people build wonderful lives here every year. It means you should understand what you are buying before you sign, while you still have room to renegotiate the price, ask the seller to put problems right, or step away from the deal.
An independent property inspection in the Algarve, carried out by someone with no connection to the agent or the seller, gives you that picture in writing. When a report identifies real issues, it also gives you something concrete to raise with the seller before contracts are signed.
The best time to find these seven defects is while they are still the seller’s responsibility.
Written by Caryn Pamorca, founder of PIDS, an independent property inspection service for buyers across Portugal. PIDS inspections are carried out by qualified Portuguese architects and civil engineers, and every client receives a detailed bilingual report, in English and Portuguese, within 48 hours.
