So how is money made through real estate?
Property value and profits
If your property gains in value, you will expect to make a profit at the time of resale. When it comes to residential properties, location is often the biggest factor in appreciation. As the area around your home evolves through the addition of routes, schools, commerce, and the development of higher end properties around your home, the value of your property is expected to rise. This is to be considered whether you are looking for your main property or an investment property. Home improvements may also increase the value of your property. Upgrading the specs of your house, increasing its footprint if possible, or improving the energy certification of your home are all good strategies to try to carve out some value. 
Real estate incomes
Most of our clients will be looking to create passive income from their property. This allows them to either offset some of their costs or generate passive incomes. 
Commercial holiday rentals
This is one of the income-generating strategies you can choose. If you buy a property at a resort, the resort will be in charge of managing your property and the rentals on your behalf. You will pay yearly condo fees and have a profit share on the rentals. It varies from resort to resort, but the typical split is 50/50. They offer total peace of mind but if you are looking at maximising your rental revenues, this may not be the right 
Residential holiday rental
This is the strategy most used by buyers, as it allows them to monetise their assets whilst being able to make use of it themselves. Unless you are in-country, you will be looking to outsource the management and rentals to a specialised company. They would typically charge a yearly management fee and take a percentage on the rental incomes they generate. Not all companies are equal in price and quality of services, so it is important to do proper due diligence before hiring one. In Portugal, it is necessary to hold an AL license (Alojamento Local) to rent a residential property. Your legal representative can assist you with the application. 
Long term rental (12 month contract minimum)
This strategy which is getting more and more popular. Although this means that the property will not be available for your personal use, the regular monthly rental has a high appeal to investors, particularly for those who bought with a mortgage and have seen their monthly repayment increase subsequently with the recent interest rates hikes. One of the particularities of the Portuguese real estate market is that most people looking to relocate have no other choice but to practically buy blind as finding a long term rental is an impossible task. So there will be real demand from D7 visa holders for well priced rentals. 