CLIENT REVIEWS
Straight from the Source
Working with Charlaine Claussen was a very successful experience but also a pleasure. We worked together on and off for over a year as I determined where to settle in Portugal. She was always a source I could rely on to get to the bottom of the right place to live. Furthermore she worked with my best interest at heart. I didn't feel any conflicts with sellers or lessors as we negotiated the price. All the places Charlaine showed me were suitable. In the end we found the perfect apartment in Cascais. I can't sing her praises enough. Or how wonderful the apartment is! I've recommended her to friends who found their homes through Charlaine as well. She is one of the best people I've worked with in real estate anywhere including back in the States.
M. Kriegman
I met Charlaine of Kuabit Realty when my spouse and I started our home search in Lisbon and Cascais. We were very excited to move to Portugal but relocating from a different country to a new place was an extremely daunting and stressful challenge. We cast a wide net, contacted numerous realtors and did our search using online websites with diligence. Some of our realtor email requests got responses and we did not hear back from many. We quickly realized the real estate process in Portugal was very different and was intimidating.
Of all the realtors we worked with during our search, Charlaine was the best. She was adept at determining our needs as clients. Her client centric focus was very reassuring and unique compared to others. We were not another business transaction; we felt we were her VIP clients regardless of our limited budget. She was very professional and knowledgeable. She was terrific at helping us understand the specific process of Portuguese realty. Knowing our search requirements and budget, she collaborated with us with us to customize the potential properties and locations/neighborhoods to consider. Charlaine had great follow through and provided beneficial insight. House hunting from a distance became less stressful because we were working with a real estate expert we trusted. When we met Charlaine in Cascais to check out properties, we were impressed with her customer service during the viewings, her intelligent understanding of the areas we visited and market conditions, and her excellent intuitive sense of determining our needs based on our feedback on the properties we saw.
Charlaine is an extraordinary realtor if you are in need of one in this area. By choosing Charlaine, you will be in great hands. Your home search will be less stressful and you will be guaranteed to find the right home tailored for your specific needs. Leave your home search anxieties behind; with Charlaine, you will undoubtedly find your new home in Portugal where you will be happy.
J. Perlas
I am from Canada and found Kuabit realty online. Due to Covid19, I can not come to Portugal personally. Charlaine helped me throughout the buying process virtually and purchased me a dream home with unbelievable price within a month!
I am so happy with her service and highly recommend this company to everyone in need of a buying agent.
S. Sui
Traveling and moving alone, especially to a country that could pose a bit of a language barrier, is daunting and often a lonely endeavor. I will be eternally grateful to Charlaine. When Charlaine stepped in, she found a lovely rental for me and guided me through the process of settling in for my sabbatical. My condo is beautiful, in a safe, upscale, and convenient neighborhood, and as a topper, it is dog friendly space. Charlaine followed up with me time and again to ultimately assist me with all the necessary requirements to reside in the area, from banking to cable to best restaurants and more. But her greatest skill came during the negotiations. While I was able to save some money, Charlaine made sure the deal was a win-win, so that everyone left happy and satisfied. I have already recommended her to my friends and will continue to do so. Kuabit is a breath of fresh air - especially after leaving the States in these turbulent times. And Thank you. I can assure you, I will continue to send all of my friends your way. It appears they have found your support and professionalism all that and more. Bravo Charlaine and Kuabit!
G. Knight
Charlaine researched and showed me several appropriate apartments and helped me secure the loveliest one at well below the asking price. Charlaine is charming, knowledgeable and an expert in her field.
J. Kroeze
With Kuabit Realty, I had the most amazing experience. As a first-time home buyer in Portugal, it can be a daunting and intimidating process to buy a house. Charlaine took the time immediately to better understand what I was looking for and supported me throughout to stay open-minded. Throughout, she was exceptionally responsive and attentive. I could not speak of this experience more strongly, and I would absolutely suggest Kuabit to family and friends.
F. Conradie
Mi experiencia con Charlaine ha sido excelente. Comprende las necesidades de los clientes y ofrece respuestas adecuadas y oportunas. Eficiente y gentil. Muy recomendable!
C. Dones
Very quick to respond and very aware of what one is looking for so no time is wasted on visits that are of no interest, above budget or distant from ones profile. Your house search is personalized for you. Charlaine offers a very professional and transparent service as well as being friendly and bilingual which is always a plus as one feels comfortable during the visits. Very well recommended to all house hunters!
C. Bisoni
I have know Charlaine for several years now, and I can only commend her without reservation on her professionalism, her commitment and dedication to what she does. Her clients are extremely lucky to have her guidance here in Portugal. She goes above and beyond, and is committed to only giving the very best and honest advice. She works totally with your interests in mind. She has helped me facilitate the purchase of my apartment as well as its subsequent rental. Charlaine comes with my highest recommendation. You will not be disappointed. I cannot recommend her highly enough.
T. Vandeleur
When we landed in Lisbon, Portugal, we were tired from an overnight flight and stressed out over months of dealing with US and Portuguese lawyers and legal requirements. We had to sell our house and business in Bend Oregon, arrange for international household shipping and start the process of obtaining a Golden VISA in Oregon. We were uprooting ourselves to seek a new adventure where we would be “strangers in a strange land.”
Our initial priority was to find and purchase a house near Lagos, Portugal, and our immediate second priority was to find and purchase a car, suitable for the Portugal Cities. I will concentrate on priority number one; find and purchase a house.
We wanted a “buyer’s broker,” someone who would have a lawful responsibility toward us, rather than to the seller. We found two possibilities; the first was a corporate real estate firm and the second was a wife-and-husband team. We took a chance on the latter, and that made all the difference.
Working with Charlaine and Carlos Ferreira was the best decision we made in our Portugal adventure. They instinctively knew how utterly lost we were and did everything they could to ease our entry into this “strange new world” we were entering. They instilled a confidence that led us to believe we were doing the right thing in moving to Portugal; that we could learn to thrive in this new land.
Searching for our house was a pleasure. Charlaine and Carlos didn’t try to talk us into accepting a house that was up to their standards. They listened to OUR plans and recommended houses that were up to OUR standards. Most realtors that I had dealt with in the past had great trouble assessing our needs, but this came natural to Charlaine and Carlos!
Charlaine and Carlos went out of their way to move things along and worked with our Portuguese lawyers and the seller’s realtor to get past the bureaucratic challenges, including those associated with purchasing the house of our choice, obtaining a Golden VISA, and many other potential snag points. Charlaine and Carlos lived in Lisbon but made 2.5-hour trips to Lagos and vicinity to scout houses for us, and when we found what we were looking for – they made another trip to Lagos to film that house and sent videos to us (before Ha-Sheng and I arrived in Portugal).
Even after the sale, Carlos and Charlaine helped us clear up a problem with car purchasing and electric charging, banking, cell phone service, and the Cable provider for TV, phone and Internet. Looking back, we couldn’t have achieved any of these goals without their desire and ability to help us. We are still strangers in a strange land, but we are now confident we are embarked on the adventure we were seeking when we moved. Not only did we find a house, we found two new friends!
J. Korotky
My husband Josh and I decided to move to Portugal in early 2021 and Josh found a buyer´s agent in Portugal from online research. By working with Charlaine and Carlos, we found our dream home in Portugal in March, our offer was accepted in April, and we moved in in August, 2021.
Charlaine and Carlos work diligently and efficiently for the best interest of ours (buyers), not only during the whole process of finding and purchasing our home, but also after the deed was finalized, including utility accounts, transportations and communications (cell phone and internet service), far beyond our expectations.
We highly recommend them to all expats who decided to move to Portugal – A truly beautiful country.
H. Li
Charlaine is absolutely awesome! Her professionalism, knowledge, and kindness made our home buying experience beyond wonderful!
S. Manning
We worked with Charlaine and Carlos this past summer to find an apartment in Portugal. We had one week and three cities we wanted to explore. We had only passing familiarity with the real estate market in Portugal and no Portuguese language skills. We would have been lost and much less successful in our search without Charlaine and Carlos. Having a buyer's agent in Portugal is still somewhat unusual, but I think it is critical to have someone on your side representing your interests. Charlaine and Carlos were meticulous in their review of real estate options, sharing with us their background knowledge about home conditions, neighborhoods, and listed prices that we did not get from the seller's agents we contacted on our own.
Our experience was as follows. We provided Charlaine and Carlos with a list of apartments that we found online. Charlaine and Carlos supplemented those lists based on our stated preferences. They then communicated with the sellers' agents to schedule appointments and toured the apartments with us providing insights on the neighborhood and conditions of the apartments. This process continued for six days and about 15 apartments. Charlaine and Carlos then gave us the space to decide, contacting the sellers' agents when we asked to provide us with supplemental information we requested.
When we left Portugal, we were still unsure about our options but really liked the picture of an apartment we were not able to visit due to the seller's schedule. After we left Portugal, Charlaine video-toured the apartment for us. Ordinarily, we would have never bought an apartment unseen. But we made the leap because we developed so much trust in Charlaine and Carlos . We felt confident that they knew what we were looking for and would provide us with an honest and comprehensive assessment of the apartment and location. What followed was an extremely challenging negotiation and purchasing process that we would not have reached a favorable conclusion without Charlaine and Carlos. Both were incredible and vital advocates for us through the painful process as they dealt with a complicated set of dynamics. We are so appreciative of the time and work they put into negotiation process on our behalf. We got the apartment we wanted for the price we wanted and we are really excited about spending time in it! The search would not have been nearly as successful without Charlaine and Carlos.
In sum, Charlaine and Carlos are top notch buyer's agents and I give them my highest recommendation!
B. Ross
If you are looking for a Buyer’s Agent who represents your best interest as buyer, Charlaine of Kuabit Realty is a perfect choice! As the use of Buyer’s Agent is not very popular, it is a daunting task in and of itself to look for an ideal candidate. We are so lucky to find Charlaine as a member on our team to search for our new home in Portugal.
Charlaine joined our team as we started looking for a permanent home during our relocation. She listened to our needs carefully, then diligently carried out market research and shortlisted a number of very relevant properties meeting our criteria.
The most impressive part of the experience working with Charlaine is her client centric approach. She treats every client as her most important client. During the remote viewing process of several properties, she always transparently and honestly pointed out important but not obvious (from video camera) faults or deficits to make sure we had the most holistic and thorough information about each property.
We benefited from Charlaine’s insights and understanding of the local regulations and market practices. She is a trusted partner on our team!