Your first 90 days as an agent in Portugal

The first three months decide whether you stay in this job. Newcomers rarely struggle for lack of talent. More often they wait for leads, skip the routine or lose a fee on a paperwork mistake. Here is a simple plan.

Days 1 to 30: set up and learn

1. Paperwork first. NIF, NISS, your start of activity at Finanças and, if you are non-EU, the right visa (lesson 2).
2. Learn the agency’s process. Its mediation contract model, its identification form, who the compliance officer is and when the quarterly IMPIC reports are due (lessons 3 and 4).
3. Learn one patch. Walk it. Visit every listing your agency has there. Note schools, transport, beaches and new projects.
4. Learn the numbers. IMT for residents and non-residents, the 0.8% stamp duty, Casa Pronta fees, the 10% cash a buyer needs at 90% loan to value. Clients test you on these first.
5. Set up your tools (see below).

Days 31 to 60: find people

Owners are the business. A listing brings buyers to you. Spend at least half your prospecting time on owners.

• Portals. Doutor Finanças names idealista, Imovirtual, SUPERCASA, Casa Sapo and Mitula as the main portals, with private listings on OLX, Custo Justo and Facebook Marketplace. Watch new private listings in your patch and call owners who sell alone.
• Your network. Tell everyone you know what you do. Keep in touch with lawyers, solicitors, accountants, mortgage brokers, builders and building administrators: they hear about sales first.
• Social media. Short videos of your patch, market updates with named sources, and a few listings explained well. Post in your buyers’ languages, with the agency’s AMI number.
• Open houses. Use them to meet neighbours who may sell next.
• Developers. Ask which projects your agency sells and attend every launch.
• Foreign buyer communities. INE data reported by ECO show buyers from Brazil, Angola and France leading foreign purchases in 2025, with UK and US buyers paying the highest average prices. Clubs, schools and expat groups are good places to be known.

Days 61 to 90: convert

• Qualify every buyer. Budget, cash or mortgage, timeline, tax resident or not. Since August 2026, Banco de Portugal limits loans to 90% of the value for a permanent home and 80% for other purposes, so check own funds early.
• Ask about tax residence on day one. A non-resident pays a flat 7.5% IMT on a home since May 2026.
• Follow up within 24 hours after each viewing.
• Identify clients before the CPCV. It is an IMPIC rule, and late checks delay deals.
• Aim for your first signed CPCV, not just viewings.

Know the pace

ECO’s March 2026 figures give the five biggest networks an average of 5.2 transactions per consultant in 2025. That average includes experienced consultants. Set your own first-year target below that average, plan your savings around it, and count your activity, not only your deals.

A daily routine

Time	Task
9:30 to 11:30	Prospecting: owner calls, portal checks, network messages
11:30 to 13:00	Viewings and valuations
14:30 to 15:30	Follow-ups and CRM updates
15:30 to 18:30	Viewings, content, market study
End of day	Plan tomorrow, log three wins and one lesson

Adapt the hours to your agency, but keep the prospecting block fixed. It is the first thing to disappear on a busy day, and the reason your pipeline dries up a month later.

Your tools

• A CRM with every contact, viewing and follow-up date.
• Accounts on the portals your agency uses.
• A phone with WhatsApp and good photo and video quality.
• Templates: the agency’s mediation contract, a client identification form, a buyer qualification sheet and a cost estimate with IMT, stamp duty and Casa Pronta.
• A source list: INE, Banco de Portugal, Portal das Finanças and portal reports for your market updates.

Five mistakes to avoid

1. Showing a home without a signed mediation contract. Law 15/2013 requires it in writing, and without it your fee is at risk.
2. Advertising without the AMI number or the energy class.
3. Taking cash or skipping identification before the CPCV.
4. Promising a visa. Law 56/2023 ended property-based golden visas for new applicants.
5. Quoting old IMT. The non-resident rate changed in 2026, and the brackets are updated each year.

Keep your energy up

Ekonomista reminds new consultants that recibos verdes mean no fixed hours, no paid holidays and no income without deals. Rejection is part of every day. Review your numbers every Friday and keep learning.

Find openings on CloserPass jobs and compare employers on agencies. Practise with mindset, sales and client training.

Rules change, so check the official source before you act. This lesson is general information.