Editorial Policy

Our editorial position

Madeira Real Estate is buyer-side. Every piece of content on this site is written from the perspective of someone who is about to spend money, not someone who is about to earn a commission. We are not a licensed real-estate broker, we do not list property, and we do not accept payment for editorial coverage. That boundary is the whole reason this site exists.

How we research

1. Primary sources first. Every statute, tax bracket, and regulatory change cites the primary source - Diário da República Eletrónico (dre.pt), Portal das Finanças, IMPIC, Câmaras Municipais, DREM, AIMA. Secondary summaries are used only to cross-check, never as the sole source.
2. Cross-check against independent advisory sites. We regularly read MCS, Global Citizen Solutions, Portugal Buyer's Agent, Madeira Estate, Prime Properties Madeira, DRP Advisers. Where they diverge from each other or from the primary source, we flag the discrepancy in the page text rather than picking a side.
3. Community evidence is labelled. Quotes from r/Madeira, r/PortugalExpats, Expat.com, forum-madeira.eu, or Facebook groups are cited to the thread, not paraphrased. Community claims are treated as hypotheses until verified against a primary source.
4. Calculators are lawyer-reviewed. The IMT calculator, rent-vs-buy calculator, yield modeller, and IFICI eligibility quiz are reviewed by a Portuguese property lawyer before going live, and whenever the underlying rules change.
5. Municipality pages require a field visit. Each of the 11 concelho pages must have at least one dated on-site visit in its update log before publication.

How we handle regulatory change

Portuguese property law moves. DL 76/2024 changed Alojamento Local overnight. Law 56/2023 killed the Golden Visa property route. IFICI replaced the NHR regime on 1 January 2025. Construir Portugal 2026 introduced new non-resident IMT rates. When any of these move, we:

• Re-date the affected pages within 48 hours of confirmation.
• Publish a line in the public Regulatory Update Log (coming shortly at /updates).
• Notify newsletter subscribers if the change materially affects in-progress deals (e.g. IMT rate changes).
• Leave the old version accessible through the log for transparency.

Corrections policy

We make mistakes. When someone flags a factual error, we fix it within 48 hours and add a dated edit note at the bottom of the affected page. Material corrections (wrong statute cited, wrong tax bracket, wrong municipal status) are also logged in the Regulatory Update Log. Minor corrections (typos, dead links) get a brief edit note without log inclusion. Email hello@madeirarealestate.org to report a correction.

Conflicts of interest

• No AMI licence. We deliberately do not hold an AMI real-estate brokerage licence so our editorial cannot double as a sales channel.
• Lead-gen referrals are disclosed. When a directory professional pays us a referral fee, it is disclosed on the directory page and in the disclaimer. Referral fees never increase your cost.
• Vetting is not pay-to-play. Our decision to include a lawyer, mortgage broker, or advisor in the directory is based on track record, client feedback, language capacity, and responsiveness - not willingness to pay.
• Paid featured listings are labelled. Featured placements in the directory (if any) are tagged "Featured" so you can tell editorial from paid.
• No editorial coverage for payment. We do not accept payment to publish, amend, or withhold editorial content. Ever.

AI and automation

We use AI tooling to draft, cross-check, and research. Every piece of content is reviewed by the human editor before publication; we do not publish unedited model output. Calculator logic is hand-coded and reviewed by a Portuguese property lawyer - not AI-generated. Where AI has surfaced a claim we cannot verify against a primary source, we either verify it or do not publish it.

Editor and byline

All editorial on this site is produced by the Madeira-resident editor (see the About page). Guest contributions, when we accept them in future, will be bylined with the contributor's credentials and disclosure.

Contact

Editorial questions, corrections, tip-offs about regulatory changes, or professional vetting enquiries: hello@madeirarealestate.org.