how to find cheap flats for rent with no guarantor in sao paulo city ?

Flats are ok and not ok. They provide you with short term rentals, but they are bland, with scant kitchens, and Good Lord, some hookers ply their trades out of them.

My money is on getting an AirBnb ( and I hate them with a passion as a RE Broker ), if you plan to stay on short term. 

Rule of thumb, you can get an apartment without a guarantor/ cosigner, however, you will get hit on the wallet in buying Renter's Insurance, or "Seguro Fiança". 
It ads about 12-16% to your rental cost in paying the insurance premium, since you are the one footing the insurance bill. 


A second alternative is to either get a landlord that takes 3 months up front ( not consumable on rent btw ), or purchasing a "Titulo de Capitalização" should your landlord agree.   

Why are guarantees so bundersome...

Two things
Brazilian Landlords are stingly  and unregulated as to what type of baseline accomodations they must provide.  You will be surprised to get a bare apartment without appliances, heat, blinds. 

Brazilian Tenants , as a group, are as bad as they can get in looting the property, and leaving you with repairs to make, unpaid bills ( utiltiies, taxes, condo fees ). 

Tony Costa

tony,

if i find someone who already has an apartment, and i become their roommate, will i need to get a guarantor/cosigner or pay renter's insurance?

thanks

No.  It's all between you and the person who owns the apartment, or whose name is on the lease, if it's a rental.

"No.  It's all between you and the person who owns the apartment, or whose name is on the lease, if it's a rental."

abthree,

i don't understand.  are you just saying that there are no hard and fast rules about whether you will have to get guarantor/cosigner or pay renter's insurance when you rent an apartment?

i would assume that if you rent an apartment on your own - then, you would have to have a guarantor/cosigner or pay renter's insurance. 

and if somebody else, let's say his name is John, rented the apartment, then John would have already gotten a guarantor/cosigner or paid renter's insurance.  so if i agreed to become john's roommate, then i would not have to worry about getting a guarantor/cosigner or paying for renter's insurance.  is that how it works?

in nyc, you often need to make 40x  the monthly rent in your yearly salary.  otherwise, you need a guarantor who can pay the rent if you don't.  how does the guarantor situation work in brazil?

what's the difference between a flat and an apartment?

do most people who live in flats have hookers as neighbors?  (by neighbor, i don't necessarily mean someone who lives next door, but someone who lives on the same floor as you)  i would NOT want to live near a hooker.

thanks

"i would assume that if you rent an apartment on your own - then, you would have to have a guarantor/cosigner or pay renter's insurance.  "

I would, too.  See sprealestatebroker's comment, above.

"so if i agreed to become john's roommate, then i would not have to worry about getting a guarantor/cosigner or paying for renter's insurance.  is that how it works?"

Yep -- that would be between you and "John".

what's the difference between a flat and an apartment?

"Flat" is just the usual British term for what we call an "apartment" in the US.   Note that this thread was started by someone from Bangaldesh:  they use British terms there.

"do most people who live in flats have hookers as neighbors?"


My husband and I live in a flat/apartment, and I can assure you that we've never seen anyone we could identify as a hooker in our building.  As we've discussed before, if you confine your housing search to safe, low-crime neighborhoods --  which your school will certainly be able to recommend -- your chances of having sketchy neighbors are pretty low, about the same as in New York.

thanks

No you won't.  I would clear if there is possibility of getting a sublet.

But beware of such arrangements.  Before you know, you might end up picking the grocery tab, the car loan, the utility bills.   People often see Brazilians as Friendly and unassuming just to then learn the uggly side of them. 

And if you doubt my judgement, go see how they treat Bolivians, Venezuelans, Haitians, Chinese, Indiginous People.
Not quite as same as they do toward Americans, Europeans.   

Double Standards.

"No you won't.  I would clear if there is possibility of getting a sublet."

it seems like the "no you won't" is referring to my question of "if i find someone who already has an apartment, and i become their roommate, will i need to get a guarantor/cosigner or pay renter's insurance?"

i don't understand the second part of your answer, "I would clear if there is possibility of getting a sublet."

thanks

misterinternational,

When someone rent a house or an apt in Brazil through an imobiliaria (Realtor) they require an "avalista" (guarantor or cosigner). However, sometimes they opt for "Seguro
Fiança" (rent insurance) which is expensive and non-refundable.

There is another option they call "Caução." This is a security deposit of 1-3 months worth of rent. Advantage: They deposit that money to a bank where it earns interest and later given back to you when you bail out of the property assuming that you completed the lease period which is usually a year and automatically renewed if that´s what you want. If you get out early, there´s a fine which will be stipulated on the contract. YOU CANNOT SUBLET A PROPERTY YOU OCCUPY and it will also be stipulated on the contract.

There are landlords that collect only month to month rent but paid in advance...

robal

thanks