Tomorrow morning, I’ll get up, hop in my car, and drive four hours south from my hotel here on Portugal’s Silver Coast.
My destination is Lagos on Portugal’s Algarve.
I consider Lagos the most beautiful and historic beach town on this coast. I’ve been scouting it for well over a decade. And I’ve brought members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group—RETA for short—a host of incredible off-market deals here…
Deals have become extraordinarily hard to find here. But now I’m going back—because I have a new one in my sights…
I’ll be bringing RETA members all the details soon.
Today, I want to introduce you to one of the members who’s bought in several of our past deals here.
Patty Farmer is a RETA member and real estate investor. She first looked at Lagos because the numbers made sense. But what happened next surprised her.
Lagos not only delivered bigger and faster capital appreciation than Patty expected. It also charmed her into packing up her life in the U.S. and moving there.
Today, Patty shares her journey from the U.S. to the Algarve—and why she’s still buying real estate in Lagos.
Read on…
Wishing you good real estate investing,
Why I Moved to Lagos—and Why I’m Still Investing Here
By Patty Farmer
My experience is perhaps not the norm. I’m an international real estate investor and a RETA member, and I’ve followed Ronan’s advice for many of my investments.
About eight years ago, Portugal began appearing on investors’ radars, so I started my due-diligence process. Whenever I evaluate a country, I look closely at fundamentals like tax structure, ease of entry, GDP growth, employment trends, availability of trusted real estate professionals, and more.
Portugal checked all the boxes.
I rarely visit where I’m investing. If the numbers work, they work, and there’s no need for me to get personal with the property. This formula has served me well worldwide and around the U.S. in all my deals. But with Lagos, I had the chance to visit and when I did, I fell in love with it.
The beaches…the marina…the historic old town…the walkability—it’s a truly special placeOn the coast in and around Lagos, you’ll find a network of coves dotted with stunning, golden-sand beaches.
I always dreamed of living in Europe and at that point thought: “If not now, when?” So, I made the decision quickly and moved halfway around the world to Portugal.
The home I chose was an off-plan condo, which gave me time to sell my U.S. property and prepare for the move. I’d read countless stories online about how complicated relocating overseas can be, but that simply wasn’t my experience.
I decluttered aggressively—sold or gave away most of my furniture—and brought mainly clothes and a few cherished items. I think many people make the mistake of bringing far more than they’ll ever need.
My initial business plan in Lagos was straightforward: buy a home to live in—a beautiful three-bedroom penthouse in the Adega community—plus some other properties to rent, and others to hold for appreciation.
What I didn’t anticipate was just how quickly prices would rise. Values appreciated faster and further than expected. I took profits—substantial profits—on every investment. I even sold the penthouse I was living in.
Because I believe strongly that Lagos’ appreciation story is far from over, I reinvested those gains into additional properties, including a new personal residence: a four-bedroom penthouse with spectacular views in the Dona Maria community overlooking the marina.
I chose not to buy a car after moving to Lagos—something that’s been great for my health—and the location by the marina made that easy. Lagos is exceptionally walkable. And when I don’t feel like walking, Uber and Lyft are readily available.
Within a few blocks of my home I have major supermarkets, a twice-weekly farmers’ market, a train station, doctors, pharmacies, churches, a vet, and more excellent restaurants than I could ever exhaust.
People often ask what risks concerned me before buying. Honestly, I didn’t perceive any more risk than purchasing back home. I found no meaningful difference between buying real estate in Portugal and in the U.S.
The properties I’ve bought in Lagos have been in the €300,000 to €1.5 million range. And one of the pleasant surprises—which I confirmed by research before buying—was how reasonable property taxes and ongoing ownership costs are, even when you own luxury properties here.
It sounds trite but one regret I have is not investing here sooner. It was the perfect time to relocate—but I would have bought even more property earlier if I’d fully appreciated how this market would unfold. So now, I’m making up for lost time.
RONAN SAYS: As Patty says, one of the great pleasures of Lagos is that you don’t need a car. This is one of the most livable beach destinations in Europe—pretty, compact, and wonderfully walkable.
You can start your morning with coffee in the old town. Spend the afternoon on the beach. Walk to the marina for dinner. And do it all without getting in a car.
Lagos is designed for living—and that walkable concentration of beach, marina, culture, and everyday life is exactly what has turned this beautiful town into a top-tier, blue-chip destination.
The world’s biggest names in luxury hospitality are all in on Lagos.
Hilton is behind a vast $119 million project at the marina that includes a 5-star Curio collection hotel.
The first JW Marriott-branded resort in Portugal is coming to the Palmares resort just outside town.
Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm, has bought the Cascade resort on the coast west of the old town.
My RETA group and I have long been ahead of the town’s transformation, with a host of incredible deals. You won’t find these details listed on agents’ websites. They’re off-market. Members-only. This is the inside track. RETA members get in early at pricing ordinary investors can only dream of.
And now I have a new deal in my sights…
The opportunity is a short walk from Dona Ana—a beach so spectacular it’s been ranked among the best in the world.
There are only 40 condos in this deal. That’s it. And it will be true luxury. There will be four pools. Four. Plus an amenity stack that is true luxury—something special even by the standards of Lagos. You get the privacy and the facilities of a multi-million-euro villa, in a lock-and-leave condo.
I expect gains of €255,000 five years after delivery. As for rental income, my numbers show potential gross rental yields of over 10% annually once the community’s established. And that’s with plenty of time for your personal use, too.
