Read This Before Moving To Madeira

The island is captivating! I get it, I really do. Prior to the move, I too, read all of the lovely and glorious reviews. But let’s be honest, most are from tourists, not people like us who are living here. And oddly enough, you will have a challenging time finding any negative information related to this island. Also, you may be inclined to join and explore the expat groups on Facebook to learn more. DO research related to who is responding to your inquiries and questions. I would recommend, This is Madeira Island. The Admin of this page is fair, honest, and shares my values of transparency and truth. I’ve experienced and witnessed newsworthy information swept under the rug for the sake of protecting reputations, instead of informing the people with publications of personal facts. I would also highly recommend Madeira Island News, to keep yourself informed with current events happening on the island. It is a reliable source of information and it has been my “go to” for up to date content.

We had been planning and preparing for almost two years to travel and work abroad, while having a home base for stability. It should be noted that my husband is Portuguese, from the mainland, which made Madeira an ideal choice. Nonetheless, we are still expats, having lived in the U.S. most of our lives this made us, and possibly you vulnerable to a nightmare similar to ours. We spent countless hours researching the safest places to live, education, cost of living, language, weather, etc. You get the gist! We have a child, so factoring in our concerns made the process even more daunting, but we were determined to see our dream through, and to step away from the hustle of New York. Our goal was to have a simple life, with less stuff, and more experiences. Stay with me, I have pertinent information and lessons that I will be inserting along the way, for those of you who are dreaming of placing some roots here. My hope is to create awareness and to inform you of what we have learned through our experience.

The carousel below (click to side of each pic ) includes some of the photos in the original listing of our home. The photos here are similar to the condition of our home when we arrived. Please stay tuned to see the pictures only four months later.

In March of 2020, we found this house in Madeira!!! Yes, online. DO NOT DO THIS. I would be remiss not to mention that even if we were here to see it, the insidious problems weren’t visible at the time. ANYONE, in-person, could have made the same decision to buy the home, and 4 months later be sharing this very story. My husband contacted the agent Mario, employed by GTW, assigned to the listing of the home. They spoke by phone, sometimes several times a day, to discuss the house which often led to small talk about life, work and family. Essentially, forming a friendship. Keep in mind this process began in March and we didn’t close until July, giving you an idea of the trust that built over those months. DO NOT use this as concrete data for purchasing a home. It’s unfathomable that all parties that I go on to mention turned a blind eye to our misfortune. Actually it wasn’t just bad luck, it was blatant deception. I have found that people here, particularly indigenous to Madeira, are completely desensitized to this. Mario, the agent with GTW, sent us videos of the home, including the interior, exterior, property lines and so on. He reassured us that any unfinished construction that was still visible in the media, would be completed prior to the close of the house. DO get an independent engineer to inspect your home. The banks will NOT do this, especially if it’s a rehabilitated house. The banks are only concerned with the appraisal. DO go to the registro predial and request the past sale history of the home. The properties here are often generational, and we have heard many stories where properties have legit been taken from buyers. The real estate agents here are NOT all licensed. They are covered under the umbrella policy of the agency. This allows individuals to sell property without knowing real estate laws, obvious construction issues, basically a lack of knowledge related to the very thing that they are selling. Selling a home, isn’t a one size fits all approach. They wouldn’t last a day in the U.S. DO find an agent that is well versed in what they do for a living! How? Ask someone you TRUST. The agency is the starting point. Your problems WILL begin here if you do not heed my advice. This is not to say that all agents in Madeira operate the same. In our case, GTW didn’t seem to care that they sold us a home that, only 4 months later, is uninhabitable.

In April, we decided to move forward and make an offer on the home. We were unable to be physically present to sign any documents, being it was the height of a global pandemic. Mario, the agent, arranged to have a “friend,’’ authenticate the procuracao. She is an attorney, a political figure. Sara Madalena, to whom we have tried to reach several times, and to date she has not responded. This digitized copy was authenticated by her in the month of May. We later learned that this is unethical, and in fact, illegal for her to have done without having the original present. We were recently informed by a lawyer that, “she could be disbarred, and possibly face jail time.” I am still uncertain why she, obviously educated, would risk her profession and reputation. Some might say, financial gain? Perhaps. Stay tuned. In July we closed on the home. Fast forward to September. We arrive in Madeira.

Mario, the agent working for GTW picked us up at the airport, as planned months prior, and drives us to our new home. We stood in the house with our lives packed in our luggage, our child, and our soon to be crushed dreams. Upon arrival, we discovered many things. The access to the home was rough, to say the least. The doors didn’t meet the floor of the home, points of entry in many places, moldings were not complete, the dishwasher wasn’t even connected or working, to name a few. We arrived on a Friday, and moved out on that Sunday. Little did we know that this would be among the 7 rented homes we would live in during our time here.

These are only a few photos, as we have mounting documentation of the slow decline. These photos are to date. Only 4 months later!!!

At this point, still in September before the above photos, we knew the home wasn’t going to work for our family. We immediately contacted Mario and instructed him to list the home, while we worked on getting the house repaired for resale. Mario agreed to forfeit his commission, during an in-person meeting with Duarte Freitas of GTW, and my husband. We also have this in writing from Mario. This is indicative of the agents negligence, as well as the agency as a whole. DO get any and all agreements in writing. It is important that you know the following because we did not. YOU CAN reverse the sale of a home within 15 days. We then contacted the builder/seller, Ricardo Figueira and arranged an in-person meeting at the house. Ricardo offered my husband 1,200 euros for repairs and defects of the home, but only if we signed a document releasing him of any liability. NEVER sign anything without consulting a trusted attorney. Omitting some profanity and anger here, my husband refused to sign anything. AVOID any homes related to this individual, Ricardo Figueira, who also goes by the name of Ricardo Paulo Henriques, LDA and Dream Home Consultores. We hired a contractor, who told us he rarely cleans up another builders mess, “but this is a shame to my trade.” We paid this contractor 2,500 euros. DO NOT pay until work is complete and to your standard. We moved back in the house after approximately one month. The issues were improved, but still not remedied, even after the contractor had done many repairs. Our home was already listed at this point. Our objective was to repair and sell.

During this time I reached out to an architect who I recalled had contacted me months earlier, prior to the move to Madeira, in response to a question I had on a Facebook expat group. He came to the home, assessed the house in disbelief, and a few weeks later provided us with an official report. He also referred us to his “friend,” Nuno Madalena. An attorney that we retained for 1,500 euros to proceed with a lawsuit against the builder/seller, Ricardo Figueira, doing business as (DBA) Ricardo Paulo Henriques, LDA. We were strongly advised by this lawyer not to involve the agent or agency. We later learned why. Stay tuned.

We left Madeira during the holidays to recover in every way imaginable. We returned to the U.S. to see our family and returned to Madeira at the end of December. During this time we attempted to contact Mario, the agent with GTW, more times than I can count. We expressed our frustration to the agency and emailed Duarte Freitas, no response. We were handed off to an agent by the name of Bruno, who we had informed of everything, past and present. He reassured us that would handle it. Many broken promises and days later, we urged him to go to the house. He reported further damage to the home and we arranged to have him allow the Insurance Company access to the house to assess the issues. The house was in the current state when Bruno visited (refer to pics above) and he attempted to take advantage of our very apparent and vulnerable circumstance, informing us that we weren’t going to be getting any money from the insurance company, and proceeded to demand commission even though he was aware that an agreement had been made a few months prior. We hadn’t even been informed by the insurance company at this point, so how did he know that already? After more research, and phone calls, we were informed that the Insurance agent did not even go downstairs. Surprise, it is the insurance company our bank uses. DO research related to homeowners insurance and what type of coverage you have. When we returned to Madeira at the end of December, following the holidays, we reached out to someone we trust. They came to the house with a builder and an architect. We were given a rough quote of 50,000 euros, as we are currently awaiting the formal itemized estimate.

It took time, but we were informed by the lawyer that the builder/seller, Ricardo Figueira, DBA, Ricardo Paulo Henriques LDA., had been officially served, with 30 days to contest. We asked for the paperwork confirming the date, and we were basically given the “run around.” We went to the court ourselves and obtained copies of the filing, which indicated only Ricardo Paulo Henriques LDA had been served, and several weeks later than what the lawyer actually told us. My husband called the lawyer, without disclosing this information, and he blatantly lied. We requested a meeting in person to confront him, he laughed in our faces, handed us our court documents, and left. It turns out that the lawyer we hired, Nuno Madalena, is the brother of the politician Sara Madalena, who illegally authenticated the procuracao for the agent with GTW!!!!!!!!!

I’ve learned that this island is small. Be cautious about who you trust. The bloodline is long, and deception is common. People don’t discuss this here. It is discouraged. I’ve also learned that people are frightened to speak out. Negativity surrounding a small place can negatively impact tourism. But does this make it okay to treat the very people who are here to boost the economy in this way? Of course not. Expats are vulnerable, as are locals, to people in the position of power. We are not to blame for a home that was built by someone totally incompetent, lack of building standards and regulations, absence of real estate agents having to be independently licensed, dishonest lawyers, corrupt politicians, bureaucratic barriers everywhere, and so on. I believe the processes here are put in place to exhaust people. Most people give up or wait years before they see any favorable outcome. No one should ever have their dreams crushed at the expense of greed and power. Our home will be listed with a new agency and we’ve added an addendum to the listing because being transparent and honest is something we value. I have nothing to gain, and much to lose by exposing our truth. We have suffered greatly, and it is intolerable that we are not the first, and likely not the last. I hope that by making our story public it will reduce the number of people that fall victim to the romanticized version of moving abroad.

I want to thank all of the people that have reached out to us with support and resources. It is important that you know, Madeira is a beautiful place. Kind and generous hearted people do exist here and our daughter has made amazing friends at school. I have shared this because I believe in advocating for truth, for change, and to hopefully create awareness so that no one ever has to go through this nightmare. This may not be your experience, and hopefully never, but it has been ours.

x, M