Ludo Janssens & Lia Dries

Ludo Janssens and Lia Dries, from Belgium, are the proud owners of a holiday home in Serra do Bouro, Silver Coast Portugal, which they purchased with Immo Portugal. Aside from their professional lives, where Lia has recently retired as a Nurse and Ludo is a business entrepreneur and investor, they also have experience in buying several holiday homes in Italy and Switzerland. In this interview, Ludo shares why their holiday home in Portugal was made easier with the help of Leisure Launch group companies…

What was your experience with Portugal before you built this property?

Ten years ago, I worked for one year in Lisbon with my consulting company. It was during this time that I got to know a number of people in Portugal and also learned to enjoy the Portuguese lifestyle. Although the job was rather stressful, there were plenty of opportunities to relax after work. I learned to enjoy good food, friendly people, the culture, beautiful nature, mostly sunny days, beaches, terraces, etc…. So, it was not difficult to understand when you speak about the Portuguese “Simple Life”.

Later, I came a few times on holiday. I visited Porto, did a car tour from the North to the South and stayed for some time in the Algarve region. Everything was a confirmation of what I expected, and also for Lia, she had a similar feeling and experience with Portugal.

Why did you choose the Silver Coast to invest in Portugal? 

Initially, we did not plan to invest in Portugal or the Silver Coast. However, after speaking to a few Belgians who took that step before us and then, rather by coincidence, having met and talked with Tim Demeyer in Antwerp — the region where we are living—we received information on a few Immo Portugal projects and we became interested.

Can you share a little about how Immo Portugal helped you make the decision to buy a property? 

As can be expected from a good salesman, but without feeling any pressure, Tim convinced us to return to Portugal in order to visit a few of Immo Portugal’s new projects. Since then, Tim’s phone number became “Timmo Portugal” on my iPhone!

We stayed at a hotel in Caldas da Rainha and, the next morning, we met with Rita, Tim’s colleague in Portugal who really knows the region, all the nice places and opportunities. She picked us up and guided our property tour. Although Lia was not in her very best mood — she hates to drive from place to place — after meeting with Rita and seeing how she managed these visits in a friendly way, she was completely set at ease and even started to enjoy the tour and the natural landscapes we saw between projects.

At each plot, we were presented with basic architectural drawings of what the property would look like, but Rita also passed by a number of finished Immo Portugal homes as well as projects that were under construction. About five hours later, she asked what plot we liked the most and, by coincidence, since it really does not happen often, we both had the same plot in mind at the top of our list.

We then went for a drink and a small dinner to talk things over. Again, without feeling any pressure, Rita explained that if we really considered buying the plot and the project, signing a non-binding option would allow us to secure it. We agreed as we knew it was possible to lose such an opportunity even a day later since the number of available building plots is very limited. Certainly, a unique stand-alone villa, which was what we were looking for.

“We wanted the best result. I think that result is clear today.”

How did the after-sales service provided by Leisure Launch assist you with the building process? 

As the Belgian representative, Tim took over the follow-up after our return to Belgium. He explained precisely how a buying and building process is organised with Immo Portugal and the legal procedures, which were handled by a really good lawyer suggested by Tim. He guided us through the labyrinth of rules and procedures and took care of a lot of administrative steps with the local authorities.

When everything was clear, we activated the earlier signed option and effectively bought the property. First, we signed the plot, through a sale contract prepared by our lawyer. After that, we signed a contract agreement with the construction company. All my conditions were integrated into the agreement without any problem, and from then on Luis Cardoso, from Leisure Launch, took over as coordinator for the construction and follow-up person. Tim was still available if any administrative point or question needed to be clarified, but communication with Luis became so smooth that we soon started to go directly to him.

Payment for each phase of the building project was only presented when that phase was delivered, and at each phase, we knew what the fixed cost would be and the work was always confirmed with numerous photos of the state of the project at each specific moment.

From time to time, there were suggested changes from Luis or requests for changes made by us. For each, we received a clear price proposition to decide upon. Closer to the finishing phase, there were more options to choose from, but everything was clearly managed. This was really the only way for me to follow up on such a project at a distance of 2000 km from the site. I cannot remember a single discussion on choice, quality, price or decision… because everything was documented and mutually agreed upon. The only discussion that took place from time to time was on the planning and timing of certain deliveries, especially during the pandemic. However, we chose quality above speed so this ended up being irrelevant. We were assured we had the best construction company in the region, and although they had a lot of simultaneous projects going on they would deliver top quality. So, at that moment, we said: “OK, pandemic or not, we want the best result”. And I think that result is clear today.

“The proposals and interior architecture consulting we received were above expectation”

When was Portugal Interiors introduced in this process? 

About three to four months before the delivery of our home, we went to see a number of options. We chose Portugal Interiors quite fast. The proposals and the real in-site interior architecture consulting that we received from Ana Silva were again above expectation. No option or question was too much. From knives for our kitchen to artwork on the walls. Everything went through Ana’s hands, making perfect suggestions, fits, colours and even furniture specially designed for this house. Really, everything was perfect.

How did you choose your Furniture Pack?

Some main styles were presented, covering a certain ‘genre’. We choose one and then everything was arranged according to our wishes, in a way that every line became more or less unique in its result for our house. Once all the choices were made, we received a complete and also fixed price offer, with all the installations included. 

“We had to decide if we were satisfied with 3* or did we want to go to 5*”

Moving forward, you intend to rent your holiday home in Portugal...

Yes, but here we also had a number of options in our heads. Local house maintenance companies, others specialised in renting, others doing only key services or cleaning, etc.

When we came by SCH, we found everything in one complete service at high standards. May not be the cheapest option at first sight, if you see this at the beginning with all the services with fixed and variable costs presented in one list. But if you consider everything that’s included, their offer becomes the “best in its class”.

Since all activities take place in a coordinated way with one line of communication and management, this results in a 4 to 5-star residence service, which upgrades our house to another category of customers. In line with its architecture, construction, finishings, decoration and location. After a certain ‘starting period’, this results in a higher segment of renting prices. In other words, it was also a process, where we had to decide if we were satisfied with 3* or did we want to go to 5* renting quality.

We are only at the beginning of the renting service, but with what we already know and our communication with Sandra Filipe and the professionalism of her team, we have entire confidence in our success.


How important was it to invest in Portugal through companies that belong to the same group?

With Leisure Launch, it all becomes one clock, with each element inside operating in a coordinated way. For example, we are also working with Sofia Cardoso from Portugal Accounting.

So far, I can only say that we received top-class project development with maximum support and a very special “eye” for the customer’s wishes.

What advice would you give to someone living abroad and planning to invest in a property in Portugal?

I would invite them to come to the region, see the environment and possibly visit our villa (Casa Claudio), to live the experience of what you call “The Simple Life”. The integration with a high-quality property in a traditional Portuguese environment and lifestyle.