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Buying Brazil Real Estate usually starts by realizing
your
Brazil travel dream. You spend some time on an astonishing beach or fall in
love with the fishing possibilities. Maybe you are a bird lover and since
Pantanal is a bird sanctuary, you decide Brazil is the THE PLACE to live.
Well, it may very well start like that. Or you can simply conclude the
Brazilian real estate market seems to offer good deals and you decide to go
for it.
Because real state laws differ from country to country, the first question
that comes to mind is: can foreigners buy real estate in Brazil? Yes, they
certainly can and it is a simple process. We will tell you all about it in
a moment.
Why buy Brazil Real Estate?
The
Brazil real estate market is booming. There are some clear aspects that
accentuate this tendency. Brazil is a vast country with 7,400 km of coastline
catering to all possible tastes. There are the urban coastal
cities of Rio de Janeiro, Florianopolis, Salvador and Fortaleza to name a
few. You can enjoy all the pleasures of a modern metropolis such as an upbeat
nightlife and diverse cultural activities, at the same time you can bask on the
beach anytime you feel like it.
The Brazilian coast also shelters innumerous
small fishing villages for the souls looking for quiet, peaceful or
pristine beaches. But it is not only about the beaches. There are the under
populated regions of the Amazon and Pantanal and the historic
cities of Bahia, Pernambuco and Minas Gerais.
The natural or man made beauties allied with a very low cost of living, if
compared to the United States or Europe, make Brazilian real estate a very
attractive investment. To top it all off, real estate in Brazil is still very
affordable for the most part.
Some cities are not "cheap" any longer. Buzios, in the state of Rio
the Janeiro, is a top international destination and so are the prices of
real estate. Financial experts predict that prices in Brazil will go up
eventually. However, right now they are great for potential buyers.
There are not accurate statistics about how much small and medium foreign
investors are purchasing, but the general feeling is that foreign
investment has been growing steadily.
The Legal Details
Foreigners are welcome to buy property in Brazil. So if you are
interested in investing in real estate, here are the legal procedures
for buying property in Brazil.
Documents
Passport
CPF (Cadastro de Pessoa Física)
How to get a CPF
Go to a branch of Receita Federal. There is one in every main city of
Brazil. You need to show your passport and the entry form to the country
(the one you fill in on the airplane). You pay a small fee at any Banco do
Brasil and your CPF is mailed to you at an address in Brazil. You can use
your real state broker’s address.
Get a trustworthy Real State Broker
The broker can help you find the property of your dreams besides taking care
of all the red-tape, negotiation and contract involving the deal. Ask to
see the license number which is called CRESCI (Conselho Regional dos
Corretores de Imóveis).
Transferring the Property
The transaction takes place in Cartório de Registros de Imóveis (similar to a notary).
The broker should make sure the documentation is correct and the contract has
all your information, the seller’s information, the property’s details and
conditions of payment.
The cost of transfer is usually 4% of the property’s value. Registration
done, you are the owner of a property in Brazil. That was the easy part.
What if you want to live in Brazil permanently? You need to meet some of
the Brazilian law requirements just like you would in any other nation.
You can become a legal resident of Brazil if:
- You
are married to a Brazilian.
- You
have a child with a Brazilian.
- You
are retired, over 50, with a minimum of US$ 2,000 dollar-pension a
month.
- You
plan to invest a minimum of US$ 50,000 in productive activities.
- You
are the administrator, manager or director of a company; a researcher or
high level specialist.
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