Stages of a Mortgage: 4. Property Appraisal
Before approving a mortgage, the bank needs to confirm the property's real value. Here are the 5 documents this stage requires and how the appraisal works.
When it starts and when it ends
The property appraisal stage starts once you have a pre-approval and a specific property identified. It ends when that appraisal — carried out by an independent surveyor appointed by the bank — is complete and the report reaches the bank.
Up to this point, banks evaluated your financial capacity. At this stage, they evaluate the property itself: whether the agreed price matches its real market value, and whether that value is enough to secure the requested loan.
The documents the property needs to have
For the appraisal to move forward, the property needs its own paperwork in order — five documents, typically provided by the seller or obtained from the relevant authorities:
- Updated land registry certificate (certidão predial) — the property's registration, showing ownership and any liens.
- Updated tax registration (caderneta predial) — the property's registration with the tax authority.
- Floor plans — the technical layout of the rooms and areas.
- Usage license (licença de utilização) — proof the property is legally habitable.
- Energy certificate — the energy-efficiency rating, mandatory for any transaction.
Why the appraisal value can differ from the agreed price
It's common — and not a cause for alarm — for the bank's appraisal to come in below the agreed purchase price. Banks typically finance a percentage of whichever is lower — the purchase price or the appraisal — so a more conservative appraisal can mean needing a larger down payment.
What happens next
With the appraisal complete — and typically favorable — the process enters loan formalization, the stage where the final terms are locked in.
