What is an "offshore property" / "corporate owned property"?

What is an “offshore property” / “corporate owned property”?

Written by Offshore Property on 2009/01/04 – 10:08 PM

Many residential luxury properties in countries with a high stamp duty, and especially in Portugal and Spain, are owned by a corporate structure.

Regarding to Portugal, today these corporate structures are usually domiciled in Malta or Delaware but there are various other white listed jurisdictions such as New Zealand and even Portugal and the UK.

The property itself is an asset of the company and buyers purchase the shares of the company. This transaction takes place under the jurisdiction of the area in which the company is based. Both parties do still require a local lawyer as the usual searches on the property here in Portugal must also be carried out, and most local lawyers are familiar with this type of corporate transaction.

The property owners themselves own the shares of the company which in turn is the registered owner of the property. When the property is sold, the shares are sold through a share purchase agreement; the company remains the owner of the property and the buyers become the new shareholders.