**Rant** I'm going to lose my mind
I need to vent about this mess right now. So, I've been under contract to buy a house since the last week of March. Since that time, I've been begging novobanco, the loan broker, and my attorney for a close date location and time. We established a couple weeks back the deed would transfer on the 15th.
Broker called at this afternoon wanting to know who will translate for me, since my Portuguese is not full conversational. I said no problem, I have an attorney. The attorney then calls and says 1) he cannot be my translator because he is already legally representing me and it creates a conflict of interest and 2) the seller moved the date from 15th to the 14th and he is fully booked, so I'm on my own. Seems like either of these professionals could have mentioned this before today. I truly believed the attny was there to make sure I understood in my language. That was what we discussed when I hired him.
So while no one was willing to set a date and location of this deal, they also kept to themselves I needed a translator. The broker said once he has a list of details from my translator, then and only then will I be told where and when I get the keys to my house.
This is so unbelievably and needlessly stressful. Every request I've made asking them to drive the process and communicate what to expect has been met with silence and my world is now blowing up on a Friday afternoon, finding out all the up-to-now missing details.
Here's the good part. I reached out to the only person I know in Portugal who could possibly consider themselves to be my friend. He is more than willing to help - such amazing kindness. He is calling the broker and will drive from his city to the closing location on a regular workday to help me. As angry as I am at every person and institution involved in this mess, I'm humbled to my core about my buddy's willingness to go out of his way for me.
Lessons learned today:
The silence is not an error, it's institutional.
Hiring an attorney to worry about the issues didn't do sh&t to reduce the issues I have to deal with on my own. I may as well have lit a thousand euros on fire.
Portugal still has the kindest people in the world (aside from those a-holes noted above) and I'm glad I get to be a part of it.