u/Far-Muffin-8289

Hello everyone,

I recently started a Market and Counterparty Risk Analyst position.
I’m planning to pursue the FRM and would ideally like to take FRM Part 1 in 2027 and FRM Part 2 in 2028.

I’m trying to plan the timing properly and would appreciate some advice from people who have recently gone through the exams.

When would you recommend taking Part I and
how many months of preparation would you recommend for Part I, because I’m working full time.

Are the official GARP books/materials enough?
For those who passed Part I recently: did you mainly use the official GARP curriculum, or did you use a third-party provider as well?
I’m particularly interested in whether Kaplan Schweser or AnalystPrep provides meaningful added value, rather than simply making the material more convenient to study.

For example, is a prep provider worth paying for because:
- the explanations are significantly better/easier to understand;
- the question bank is substantially better;
- it saves a lot of study time;

I’m happy to spend the money if there’s a genuine improvement in my chances of passing, but I’d rather not pay for a second set of materials if the GARP curriculum + practice questions are sufficient.

Hello everyone

I work in finance and I need to prepare myself in order to pass financial professional certifications (FRM). That’s why I must find a place to work outside of my working hours. I personally don’t like working at home.

I was wondering if you knew any good place to work on the week end, if possible with AC, quiet with other people working, with long open hours (ideally 9 am - 8 pm minimum) on Saturday and Sunday? If possible not too expensive. Is there such a place in Lisbon ?

Thank you in advance.

Hello,

I just arrived in Lisbon as an expat for a job in a bank yesterday. I had never thought it would be difficult for me to find accommodation in Lisbon. But so far, after 2 days in the city and one week talking with alleged “landlords” on Idealista, my experience has been kinda negative.

Many landlords don’t want to sign contracts with you. Others simply avoid the subject when you mention it in the discussion, until they tell you that they won’t sign one when you’re visiting the place. For example, it happened once to me with “Maria” on idealista, who turned up to be a dude.

I’ve also come across what felt like several potential scams. There seems to be a recurring pattern where the landlord says they need “time” for their lawyer to prepare the contract because it’s “very complex” or they’re “very busy”… but at the same time they expect you to pay a deposit immediately to “reserve” the apartment.

Really, I legit think that now any good AI model like ChatGPT 5.6 could write a rental contract that is fully compliant with the Portuguese law in 2 minutes. Writing a contract has never been a big thing in my country (France). Rental contracts aren’t exactly rocket science and there are plenty of standard templates available online for the landlords. I don’t know if I look like an alien, but in my country it’s not customary to pay any money before a rental agreement has been signed and the keys have been handed over. Such a request would generally be regarded as extremely suspicious and would immediately raise concerns about a potential scam.

By the way, I was in contact with a French landlord for about a week on Idealista. He was very friendly, even called me personally, but only at the very end did he mention that he actually lives in France, where he supposedly runs a real estate company. He said he couldn’t come to Portugal, wanted me to transfer the deposit first to reserve the apartment, and only then would his lawyer prepare the contract. I politely declined.

On top of that, almost every room I’ve visited (except one) was very dirty, if not a dumpster.

So, I was wondering if Spotahome is better than idealista for seeking an apartment ?

Do you usually verify the landlord’s identity (ID, NIF, etc.) before signing and paying anything?
Is there any official Portuguese website where it’s possible to verify that someone actually owns the property they’re renting out?

I tend to imagine the worst now 😅

Bonjour,

J’ai besoin de conseils de personnes spécialistes du droit du logement, notamment sur les litiges entre propriétaires et locataires.

J’ai rendu ma chambre de 12m2 hier (dans une colocation).

Le propriétaire n’a pas été content lors de l’état des lieux car le parquet est à remplacer selon lui.

Je n’avais pas fait attention mais sur 2-3 lattes il y a des dommages visibles. L’humidité semble avoir fait gonfler et déformé les lattes. Sur d’autres lattes (le propriétaire en a compté 16), il faut se mettre à 4 pattes et toucher les lattes pour se rendre compte qu’elles sont un peu déformées, sinon ce n’est pas évident à percevoir lorsque l’on est debout. Pour tout vous dire, avant que le propriétaire ne m’en parle je n’y avais pas fait attention.

Le propriétaire veut changer tout le parquet (12m2) car selon lui on ne peut pas changer seulement 2-3 lattes. C’est tout ou rien, et il veut me facturer le prix de la repose du parquet par un artisan qui pourrait se chiffrer en plusieurs milliers d’euros (bien plus que mes 890€ du dépôt de garantie). Je précise que le propriétaire m’a confié que le parquet avait 10 ans d’âge.

Le propriétaire me propose soit des devis avec artisans (possibilité que la facture monte à 4000€) ou de faire un arrangement au black avec une de ses connaissances qui a des tarifs moins chers (2000€).

Bien que les dégâts soient dûs à l’humidité, ce n’est pas un dégât des eaux donc je me demande si je devrais déclarer ce sinistre à mon assurance.

Pour lui c’est forcément de ma faute pour l’humidité. Les autres colocataires n’ont pas eu ce problème donc l’humidité dans la chambre est due à moi (alors que j’ouvrais ma fenêtre tous les jours). Moi je pense que ce n’était pas de ma faute, et je pense aussi que l’humidité peut grandement varier d’une pièce à l’autre.

Il n’y avait pas de grille de vétusté dans mon bail donc je me demandais si je pouvais invoquer cet argument ?

Je viens ici car j’aimerais trouver la meilleure solution pour éviter les poursuites juridiques et payer le moins possible.

Je précise que mon garant était VISALE, que je suis resté dans ce logement pendant 2 ans et 5 mois, et que mon propriétaire est prêt à engager des poursuites jusqu’à aller à la commission départementale des conciliations.

Qu’est-ce que je risque concrètement si je refuse de payer car je pense que l’humidité n’est pas de ma faute ?

Merci d’avance pour vos conseils