Airbnb alternatives in Brazil

I wouldn't hold my breath trying to find anything in which you're paying the same [fair] price as the locals. The Brazilians make an extreme effort to exploit foreigners whenever and wherever possible... and the housing/rental market is scam/overcharge-central. For example, I signed a rental contract for an apartment with a condominium fee of R$1,200 per month. I only paid that amount in the first month and then the fee increased to $R1,500... and within a year the rate had increased to $1,734.

Besides that, depending on where you're located it's difficult to find anything at a reasonable price because we're heading into the high-season (the summer, New Year's, and Carnival months). Moreover, all the prices shoot up and the best Airbnb listings are probably already booked. The more reasonable month-to-month listings are likely located in more dangerous areas, which 'in my opinion' aren't worth the risk.

10/20/22 @jasonlovesdogs. You're in Brasília, right? I'm seeing a good number of one-bedroom units in the Plano Piloto in the $550 to $1000 US per month range. Are you looking for something bigger, or something in a different price range? If you're looking on AirB&B's BRL site and you can pay in USD (that's what we usually do), check the same property on the USD site -- the price is often lower.

I wouldn't hold my breath trying to find anything in which you're paying the same [fair] price as the locals. The Brazilians make an extreme effort to exploit foreigners whenever and wherever possible... and the housing/rental market is scam/overcharge-central. For example, I signed a rental contract for an apartment with a condominium fee of R$1,200 per month. I only paid that amount in the first month and then the fee increased to $R1,500... and within a year the rate had increased to $1,734.

-@dgwarmyman

In my 15 years of renting places in Brazil as I travel around, and in our owning a rental apt in SP, I have NEVER heard of this or seen this

10/20/22 In my 15 years of renting places in Brazil as I travel around, and in our owning a rental apt in SP, I have NEVER heard of this or seen this
-@rraypo

Oh, I've seen some of it! 😂

It happens a lot less to foreigners who speak good Portuguese,  and still less when they're accompanied by a Brazilian who's been around the block a few times.  But there are no doubt a lot of Brazilians who see a foreigner as a potential walking ATM with an easy to guess PIN.

10/20/22 In my 15 years of renting places in Brazil as I travel around, and in our owning a rental apt in SP, I have NEVER heard of this or seen this

-@rraypo

Oh, I've seen some of it! 😂

It happens a lot less to foreigners who speak good Portuguese, and still less when they're accompanied by a Brazilian who's been around the block a few times. But there are no doubt a lot of Brazilians who see a foreigner as a potential walking ATM with an easy to guess PIN.
-@abthree

I agree, but I usually travel alone and my Portuguese is still horrible. The only times I have felt taken advantage of have been by auto mechanics, kkkkk

@jasonlovesdogs You can message the owner, there is an option on Airbnb to do this.

@abthree That seems crazy money in relation to purchase price Abthree, they normally work on 8% of value per year as a rule of thumb. There must be cheaper places here with the minimum salary being so low?

@rraypo It's the same in Portugal the immigrants and tourists pay a higher price unless they can speak Portuguese.

@dgwarmyman If you rent an apartment in a building with a condo association, it's customary for the renter to be charged rent and to pay for the condominium association fee in addition to the rent.  If those values are that of the condo fee, it's not unusual for the condo fees to go up in a situation where the building is doing renovation or the building fund needs more capital for some reason.  It's called chamada de capita for reference.  For instance my building is putting in new elevators so the condo fee is going up by several hundred reais/month for several years to cover the expense that is not already in the association's reserves. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner did not disclose an upcoming change to the condo rates, or, didn't even know if they don't pay attention to condo assn. meetings.

10/21/22 @abthree That seems crazy money in relation to purchase price Abthree, they normally work on 8% of value per year as a rule of thumb. There must be cheaper places here with the minimum salary being so low?
-@ltoby955

That depends on how you want to live. I'm not sure where that rule of thumb comes from; it wouldn't work here in Manaus, and Manaus is cheaper than Brasília.

As dgwarmyman and BRBC point out above, Brazilian apartment rents in condominiums generally include the entire monthly condominium assessment of the unit, as well as the property tax. Property taxes in Brazil are low, but condominium assessments are not, and can be equal or even higher than the nominal rent, and can increase during the lease term. The renter is usually responsible for any special assessments, as well.

There ARE apartments available in any large city that fit with average salaries in Brazil, but unless you like roughing it, they're not places in which you'd like to live, or in areas where you'd feel safe.

@dgwarmyman I totally agree with you. What helps, though, is speaking fluent Portuguese. When we learn the language fluently and know how to defend ourselves, even at times arguing loudly, we get taken advantage of way less. I have experienced lots of problems here because of my gringo face (lol) but I know how to defend myself, curse, even threaten in Portuguese which has saved my neck a few times. One should never think about living in another country without speaking the language fluently. It is arrogant to imagine that the Brazilians would cater to the whims of an English speaking individual who makes no attempt to learn even basic Portuguese. They like to practice English with us when they do speak it, but, that is about all. Day to day stuff... you need to know the language.

By the way, only 3 percent of Brazilians speak English! Most do not and do not speak Spanish either. We offer excellent Portuguese teachers if that helps! Do not hesitate to ask!

As far as cheap rentals while trying to get a citizenship here... or whatever, I agree with this gentleman. Things are really expensive and the prices are just going up due to the holidays and inflation in general. It is highly recommended that one comes with a nice cash flow... (working on line... IT TECH... marketing... digital influencer... or just independently wealthy) while waiting for the papers to come through. Good luck!

Devorah

Languages4Brazilians

@abthree Good information. I'll check the Brazilian Airbnb.

Some Airbnb's are reasonably priced if you rent them by the month.  We ended up in an Airbnb for 3 months when we arrived in Campinas, we had to keep extending bc our permanent rental got delayed, and it was about 1/3 of what we would have paid by the week.

There's Facebook groups for renting all over the country and sometimes they rent by “temporada” but you have to be careful of scams, as well as misleading and useless ads which is the bread and butter of those groups.