Cascais, Portugal — PropTech firm Remodel.pt has launched in Portugal to make it easier for property owners to find reliable, properly licensed contractors for renovations, repairs, maintenance and construction projects.
Founded by Kellogg Fairbank and Pascal Niggli, Remodel Portugal connects property owners with vetted contractors across Portugal and provides a structured way to find suitable professionals, compare project proposals and navigate the renovation process with more confidence than an informal referral typically allows.
While the platform serves both Portuguese and international property owners, Remodel.pt has a particular focus on foreign property owners who may be unfamiliar with the Portuguese construction market, live abroad or need help managing projects remotely.
The company’s slogan captures its purpose: Find a trusted contractor in Portugal.
The Problem: A Market Built on Word of Mouth
Property renovation in Portugal has long relied on personal recommendations, local contacts and informal referrals. For property owners who are established locally with a network of trusted contacts, that system works reasonably well. For everyone else, it leaves real gaps.
Foreign property owners in particular describe a familiar set of problems: hiring someone who turns out not to hold a valid construction licence, paying a deposit to a contractor who becomes unresponsive once the money changes hands, projects that drag months past their agreed timeline with no real recourse, and no straightforward way to verify a contractor’s insurance, track record or legal standing before committing.
The language barrier makes this harder still. Reviewing a contract, understanding what a quote actually includes, or simply having a difficult conversation about delayed work all become more complicated without fluent Portuguese, and many foreign owners are managing all of this from a different country and time zone.
Remodel.pt was built directly in response to this gap: a way for property owners to work with contractors whose licensing and insurance have actually been checked, rather than assumed.
Vetting Every Contractor Before They Join the Network
Every contractor on Remodel.pt goes through a verification process before being made available to property owners, covering the two things a property owner has no easy way to check on their own:
- Construction licence (alvará): Every contractor’s alvará is checked against the public registry maintained by IMPIC, Portugal’s official construction licensing authority, confirming the licence is valid and that its class actually covers the type and scale of work being offered.
- Liability insurance: Contractors must carry an active civil liability insurance policy, with coverage limits confirmed and recorded, before being listed.
- Working English: For contractors matched with international owners, working English is confirmed as part of onboarding, so scope, materials, pricing and changes can be discussed clearly rather than getting lost in translation.
Property owners can also choose to restrict their search to alvará-verified contractors specifically, a safeguard aimed at owners who want an extra layer of confidence given they often cannot visit the property themselves or evaluate a contractor’s paperwork in person.
Beyond the initial check, Remodel.pt structures how projects are paid and inspected, encouraging staged payments tied to project milestones rather than large sums upfront, precisely the pattern most often associated with the deposit-and-disappear complaints that are common in the unregulated end of the market.
Making It Easier to Find a Contractor
Remodel.pt brings contractors and property owners together through a dedicated online platform. Property owners can submit their project requirements and find contractors based on the type of work and location. The platform covers a broad range of services, from general construction and full renovations to specialist trades including plumbing, electrical work, roofing, painting and finishing.
The goal is to make the process more structured and transparent, while helping property owners identify contractors who are both relevant to their particular project and verifiably licensed to carry it out.
Supporting International and Portuguese Property Owners
Although Remodel.pt has been designed with the needs of international property owners particularly in mind, the platform is available to any property owner in Portugal.
For international owners, the platform can be especially useful when language, distance and a lack of local contacts make a renovation or construction project more difficult to manage. Remodel.pt provides information in English and Portuguese and aims to simplify communication between property owners and local contractors.
For owners living abroad, the platform can also help reduce the need to independently research contractors, arrange multiple initial contacts and navigate the Portuguese construction market without local knowledge, or with no reliable way to confirm who they are actually hiring.
More Than a Contractor Directory
Remodel.pt is designed to go beyond being a simple list of contractors.
Depending on the project, property owners can receive assistance finding suitable professionals and obtaining comparable proposals for their work. This can make it easier to understand differences between contractors and compare the scope and pricing of different proposals before making a decision.
Remodel.pt also provides information and resources covering topics such as renovations, construction, permits, contractor selection and property maintenance in Portugal. The objective is to give property owners more information before they commit to a contractor or project, so a decision this significant doesn’t rest on a single recommendation or an unverifiable claim.
A Growing Contractor Network
Remodel.pt is building a growing network of contractors across Portugal.
The platform provides contractors with an online profile where they can present their services, experience, completed projects and areas of operation. This is particularly relevant for smaller Portuguese contractors, many of whom have limited online visibility or do not have their own website.
A Remodel.pt profile gives these professionals a dedicated online presence that can be shared with potential customers and discovered through search engines, while the verification process gives that presence real credibility rather than just visibility.
The platform therefore aims to create value on both sides of the marketplace: property owners gain easier, more confident access to contractors, while contractors who are properly licensed and insured gain visibility among people actively looking for construction and renovation services.
A Fixed Fee Model for Contractors
Remodel.pt does not charge property owners to find contractors through the platform.
Instead, the business operates through a fixed fee charged to contractors when they participate in the platform’s lead-generation and project opportunities. This model allows property owners to use the platform without paying a subscription or access fee, while giving contractors an opportunity to generate new business through Remodel.pt.
The focus is on connecting contractors with genuine project opportunities rather than simply selling access to a directory.
Building a Nationwide Platform
Remodel.pt is initially focusing on areas with significant property renovation activity, including the Lisbon and Cascais region, while expanding its contractor network into other parts of Portugal.
The long-term objective is to build a nationwide platform where property owners can find trusted, verified professionals regardless of where their property is located. For international property owners in particular, this can provide a single starting point for finding contractors and understanding the renovation process in Portugal, without having to take a stranger’s licence and insurance status on faith.
About Remodel.pt
Remodel.pt is a Portugal-based contractor marketplace connecting property owners with alvará-licensed, insured professionals for renovations, repairs, maintenance and construction projects.
Founded by Kellogg Fairbank and Pascal Niggli, the platform serves both Portuguese and international property owners, with a particular focus on helping foreign owners navigate the Portuguese contractor market with confidence, not guesswork.
Remodel.pt combines contractor profiles, project matching, renovation information and contractor discovery to make finding building professionals easier, more transparent and easier to verify.
Media Contact
Kellogg Fairbank
Co-founder, Remodel Portugal
Telephone: +351 963 266 260
Website: remodel.pt
