Sinal

The deposit paid when the CPCV is signed, typically around 10% of the purchase price — sometimes 10–20%.

Where people slip: the penalty is asymmetric and it is the whole point of the instrument. If the buyer walks away, the sinal is forfeited. If the seller walks away, they owe it back doubled. That asymmetry is what makes the CPCV worth signing at all — and what makes paying a sinal before the registry checks a genuinely expensive mistake.

Do this: never pay before the registry and licence checks are done. Send the money from a Portuguese account in your own name — the notary applies anti-money-laundering rules, and funds arriving from a third party can stall the deed on the day.