The new apartment is officially ours

We took a lightning road trip to Lisboa Wednesday – three hours down, three hours back – to sign the contract and pick up some of the keys to the new apartment!

The signing took place in the office of the attorney who represents the owner, who will also be our official contact for any problems. Since the office was only a couple of blocks from the apartment, we parked on the street and roamed around a bit before the signing.

The signing ceremony was OK, although a bit confusing. My Portuguese is getting better all the time, and I had read the contract over very carefully in translation, but technical and legal stuff is always complicated. Neither Mindy the realtor nor the attorney speak much English, either, but I don’t think I missed anything majorly important.

After the signing, we moved the car to the apartment parking. Yes, we have two parking spaces – and one of them has had a motorcycle parked in it the two times we’ve been there. I’m going to leave them a note after we move in letting them know they can continue to park there if they’re willing to rent the spot.

The parking structure is a little nerve-wracking. Our spots are on the fourth subterranean level, and there are some fairly tight corners. I’m sure we’ll get used to it in time, but it was a bit of an adventure the first time!

We had packed the car up with some pictures and breakables, so we offloaded them and then went out to find lunch.

I have to say, I think we’re really going to love the neighborhood. It’s more or less exactly what we dreamed of – quiet streets filled with shops and cafés, people meeting and greeting, walking their dogs, etc.

We had lunch at a nice pizzeria – not fantastic, but more than adequate. The server was a very friendly Brasilian girl who was pleased to hear we were going to be in the neighborhood, and we look forward to talking to her again.

So, major milestone accomplished! We can now move on to the 101 details …

One detail that will sound really strange to everyone in the US – we need to buy light fixtures and get them installed. This is normal in Portugal – in most apartments when the old tenants leave, they take the light fixtures with them, so there are just bare wires hanging out of the ceiling.

Our Porto apartment had all the fixtures in place, so we didn’t have to deal with it here, but in Lisboa we need two wall mounted units for the bathrooms, two ceiling lights in the kitchen, fixtures in the bedrooms and office, and something for over the dining room table.

We’ve already looked around and priced stuff, so it won’t be that bad to buy everything we need. Theoretically I could install everything myself, but electricity has always scared me a little and I think I’ll just pay someone to do the work.

Mindy the realtor gave me a referral for this who will probably also take care of the paint touch-up that needs to be done, so it’s just a matter of coordinating.

We’ll be going back in late July to meet up with the utility (electric, water and gas) companies, and we’ll probably get the lights installed at the same time.

I’ve already secured a mover – three quotes, this company wasn’t the cheapest but they seemed the easiest to deal with.

Next steps:

• Update health, auto and renter’s insurance
• Update government records for Social Security and National Health
• Update Kristie’s drivers license information (mine is still pending, and THAT’S a whole post on its own!)
• Mail forwarding with Portuguese postal service
• Update company records to show new address as headquarters
• Update banking information
• Update information with mail forwarding service in the US

Oh, and pack – that will be enough to start with!