Rita Alves Founder and CEO of OQ Properties turns passion into profitable management.

What inspired you to start OQ Managing Properties, and how did your previous experiences shape your vision for the company?

I started investing in property in Portugal very early on. As a high-profile trader in London, I had truly little time to manage my affairs and no company in the Lisbon market to help with my investments. So, I decided to create my own company here and invest in the property management sector, to help others like me.

Launching OQ in 2013, meant transitioning from the fuel industry to hospitality — two very different worlds. Why did you feel it was the right time for this career pivot?

Working in the oil sector for the largest British multinational company had a significant impact on my life, but properties and tourism have always been my passions. Timing is never ideal and the financial crisis even less, but by 2013, Portugal was already viewed as the good student internationally, had gained investor’s trust and was opening its doors to real estate investors. This was the right time.

What are the core services you offer, and what makes your approach to property management different from competitors?

We offer property management, rentals management and investors services. Our service is personalised to each clients’ needs. Investors can hire OQ before purchase, namely for property assessment, or later for staging and redecorating before putting the property in the rentals market or even when the business is already up and running. This is quite unique.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve encountered—regulatory, operational, technology, or market-based—and how have you overcome them?

Technology, certainly in the beginning. Nothing was defined and we had to create our own in-house system. Regulatory over the years, has legislation kept adapting to market conditions, namely golden visa and NHR, Alojamento Local’s legislation and restrictions, etc. Market, we notice mainly in the Algarve, where many companies have the property licenses in their own name instead of the client’s and offer all services instead of hiring the best services providers in the market for each property. This model is hugely different from ours, as we focus on managing the property and helping the client with all property related needs, and not push our cleaning or garden maintenance services.

In 2024 OQ went through a rebranding process. What prompted this shift and how did this change redefine the brand?

The company was very silent, hardly investing in marketing, with word of mouth and partnerships being the only marketing strategy, but the world had changed and so had the client’s profile. Something had to shift, and we decided to simplify the brand, extensively explain our services on a brand-new website and start investing in traditional and social media. This has paid off, and we are now contacted daily by service providers, owners, and guests alike.

Where do you see the company in 3-5 years?

I see OQ being market leader in the high-profile markets in the Lisbon Coast and Comporta regions, as well as achieving a top five position in some of the Algarve’s main markets. We’d rather grow slow and sustainably than fast and furios.

If you want to know more about OQ properties, visit their website https://oq-managingproperties.com/