This is why you never buy a beachfront home or plot in Brazil

I do not understand in this day and age why anyone in their right mind would buy property that close to the ocean, especially at a low elevation.  Also, isn't Ubatuba surrounded by protected rainforest, a park and protected marine areas.  You'd think developers would be wise enough to double and triple check they aren't violating a protected area before building - but obviously not.

A lot of gullible buyers and enablers. That is the recipe for disaster.

You have the right people to shuffle paper at the Registry of Deed ( Cartorio ), with unescrupulous brokers, attorneys, some clerk at the City Hall, even the Mayor can be bought.

The only time you can buy property at a waterfront, not a beachside one, is when the settlement is already well past  developed ( thickly settled ).  That is your coastline in waterfront strips s like Camboriu-SC, Santos-SP, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Praia da Boa Viagem in Recife-PE and other similar ones.

Outside of that' there are  no records you can cook, nor  enough people you can bribe your way through.

Federal judges and Public Servants are well paid in this country, or at least way above what their Brazilian peers do take home.  They do not care about one's little scheme to whitewash and legitimate land records.

And yes, it is asinine to buy beachfront lots of homes. Floods, high tides.   And you are getting this from a Real Estate Broker, the last person motivated to say no to these shady deals.

All it takes to make these deals go sour is a disgruntled party, or someone to rub wrong on locals.

@sprealestatebroker

I have never heard such asinine BS in all my life!

Because 3 properties on a beach in SP were built illegally and ordered to be demolished, you advise your clients that all 7500 km of Brazil coastline must be the same, (and that is without including all the inland tidal waters on rivers and lagoons that would probably double this figure)?

Clearly your experience of buying, selling or developing on the beach is absolutely zero, and you just want to sell concrete boxes in an awful concrete jungle of a city! Trust me - there are millions and millions more illegally built homes away from the beach in Brazil, than on the beach. But that is not in your agenda, I guess, so everyone must be tarnished with the same brush? Your clients would be better advised to steer well clear of you if this is an example of the advice you proffer.

Of course any illegally built property in any location anywhere in the world may, at some time, be subject to the forces of national law, with or without local approval previously having been granted. That is a given. So is the fact that demolition of mangroves or other natural coastal defenses is abhorrent, and should never occur.

But to suggest this is the same everywhere is just plain ignorant and stupid. Lots of people want to buy a home on a beach, and not necessarily in a big city. Lets us hope none of them cross your path! I imagine that 99.9999% of homes in this location in Brazil are quite legal, and the 3 you quote are just part of the 0.0001%, and absolutely deserved to be demolished.

You did mention the SPU - but clearly you have had little dealings with them, so please allow me to educate you. They allow LEGAL construction on the beach, (or within 33m of the 1831 high tide mark on any tidal water, whether currently in existence or not), and you pay an extra tax when you buy plus an extra annual tax for the privilege of this location. It is impossible to register ownership of any property in this location without their approval. In the past it may have been possible to get a local authority to turn a blind eye, but certainly not the Notary, and definitely not the SPU - the federal authority in these matters.

Just to clarify, I am not talking about building on the sand here, but legally owned, privately held land FRONTING (or near to) the beach. It is a matter of public record, so that any property can be researched to find out if it is legal or not, without a great deal of effort or cost. That would be my advice to potential buyers anywhere in Brazil, apart from, of course, the need to avoid American brokers in SP who think they know everything, but actually know nothing other than their own market - which they should stick to.

In addition to all of this, doesn't the prohibition stating that foreigners cannot own property within 100 metres of the Brasil coastline (with the exception of properties inside a condominium) still exist? Lei 9.760. It did years ago when I was looking beachfront properties, and I don't recall it being repealed.

    In addition to all of this, doesn't the prohibition stating that foreigners cannot own property within 100 metres of the Brasil coastline (with the exception of properties inside a condominium) still exist? Lei 9.760. It did years ago when I was looking beachfront properties, and I don't recall it being repealed.
   

    -@jonesio

No. I have owned beachfront properties for over 17 years, with no restrictions, and I know numerous other foreigners who own in this location. However there are some restrictions on foreigners - large tracts of farm land, close to military installations, etc.

I do recall that, at one stage, permission from the President had to be sought, but the responsibility was deferred to the SPU many years ago.

Out of interest, in any condominium you do not own the land or construction that your home sits on or occupies.

You own a share of the condominium association, (which in Brazil has to be a legally registered Brazilian entity, and it is this association which owns it all. Normally this actually means that you own more than just your home, because it may include public areas, pool gardens, parking, etc.

       

No. I have owned beachfront properties for over 17 years, with no restrictions, and I know numerous other foreigners who own in this location. However there are some restrictions on foreigners - large tracts of farm land, close to military installations, etc.
I do recall that, at one stage, permission from the President had to be sought, but the responsibility was deferred to the SPU many years ago.
   

    -@Peter Itamaraca

Interesting. Have you solely owned beachfront non-condominium properties with no Brazilian citizen (spouse, for example) on the escritura? I'm assuming you don't have Brazilian citizenship, which would probably be a way around this.

@jonesio

Yes. My wife and I are both British, with permanent visas but not Brazilian citizens, and we have both owned non-condo property on the beach in our own names. So have many others that I know.

    @jonesioYes. My wife and I are both British, with permanent visas but not Brazilian citizens, and we have both owned non-condo property on the beach in our own names. So have many others that I know.        -@Peter Itamaraca

I'm happy to hear that, although I can find no repeal of either article 100 or 205 of lei 9.760, which were the basis of my lawyers' caution about buying a Bahia beachfront house within the 100 metre limit that I was interested in some years ago. They advised me to have the escritura only in the name of my Brazilian wife. In the end, we decided to not buy the property, so I haven't paid much attention to that law since.

http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/De … el9760.htm

    @sprealestatebroker
"I have never heard such asinine BS in all my life!
Because 3 properties on a beach in SP were built illegally and ordered to be demolished, you advise your clients that all 7500 km of Brazil coastline must be the same, (and that is without including all the inland tidal waters on rivers and lagoons that would probably double this figure)? "

You can present  all the paperwork in order upon being summoned up , if the Federal Government deems you are encroaching on  a public domain area, or an environmental restricted area, no matter how long ago, all the submitted land records matter diddle squat.

Local authorities, city hall, lawyers, registry of deeds, their rubber stamping  matters nothing. Notice in the deposition, the MPF even  cited  against the Union ( That is Federal Government  ) , and Sao Paulo's Environmental Agency ( CETESB ) in the citation, as co-defendants.   

And for all of you,  this is the list of coastline areas under the  environmental protection edict. Straight from the Government website:

https://www.gov.br/mma/pt-br/noticias/d … a-costeira   .  Updated on  12/20/2018]

Folks,  you want your beachfront property, and you want to play safe, eschew coastline land deals and free standing beachfront homes facing the coastline. Go for thickly settled areas.    If the parcel  is  not laid out through grandfathered  thick settlement, you should not be looking into it, for as long as you care to keep it.  And that includes walled in resorts, now under severe scrutiny.

Playing safe with your options.... Take for instance, as a template, settlements in towns like  Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Salvador, Florianopolis. The aforementioned are what I would call, safer options..   If you do not fancy living in a condo, or can't afford a free standing home facing the water, go further back a few blocks away from the coastline.

While at it, the issue of blocking the coastline with  private beach fronts on former  unspoiled land is incensing your garden variety Brazilian who is not your average billionaire. The MPF,  specially under Lula, is listening to the commoner, and they will move a case if they see merit in it. 

To mention some of you folks desired settlement destinations...

The regional Procuradoria da Republica / MPF occupies an entire office building.   Sao Paulo's Capital  alone, there are 129 on retainer lawyers under employ.   And they do occupy entire office buildings everywhere they are. And then there are regional offices.

The State of Recife, has its own building, and about 5 other regional offices in state. Probably the most understaffed of them all.

The State of Santa Catarina has its main Regional HQ in  Florianópolis, and then regional branches in

15 municipalities. 

The State of Rio Grande do Norte has 6 branches and 16 attorneys under retention.

I could go on, just so you know, every State in the Federation has a Procuradoria da Republica ( MPF ) own fully staffed building, plus all regional offices to meet demand.

And for the record, I do not care in brokering coastal and rural land deals for the sake of keeping my Brokerage License. I've seen enough through my lifetime in Brazil ( 33 years and counting ) to stay clear from them.

And Petey,.....    I could care less about your demeaning remarks  on " You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. "    , "where is your licensed number" ( I do not respond to veiled threats ),  " you have no experience as I do for 17 years, bla, bla bla."  ( correct I don't have experienceo on coastal land deals, nor I want to touch them, all the easy money , not worth in soiling my reputation as an unbiased broker ). 

Oh, and by the way, your town is under the Government published list. 

@sprealestatebroker

I much appreciate, as I am sure does everyone else, your confession that you know nothing about buying and selling property on or near the beach. Probably best if you avoid trying to comment on matters that you admit knowing nothing about, then?

As I have already explained it is very easy, if you know how, to verify if ANY property in ANY location is legally registered. and therefore if you may be liable for ANY potential action - federal or otherwise.

Unfortunately there are some (wealthy, normally) Brazilians who think they should be above the law, but they are very rare along Brazil's 7500 km coastline, and it is very easy to spot them with just a little research.

Buying property anywhere in Brazil is a crapshoot at best. So many things to look into and can go wrong. So if you're  buying you better make damn sure it can be financed. This way you at least know most all the documentation  is there. It might not be correct so ALWAYS use a really good lawyer like I did. I am weeks in and still sorting out the matricula paperwork.... specially for foreigners it is even worse.

    Buying property anywhere in Brazil is a crapshoot at best. So many things to look into and can go wrong. So if you're  buying you better make damn sure it can be financed. This way you at least know most all the documentation  is there. It might not be correct so ALWAYS use a really good lawyer like I did. I am weeks in and still sorting out the matricula paperwork.... specially for foreigners it is even worse.
   

    -@Cserebogar

Correct.  Financing eliminates most if not all of the roadblocks.  Banks don't undersign shady deals, at least at retail level. 

On the flip side,  most expats or foreigner, do not have access to commercial bank  lending in the first  place.  So most of the deals they enter upon are all cash deals. 

The entire Decree with the specifics on limits where new settlements can be build can be found here....

https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ … /d5300.htm

( I saved the legal definition to be translated later if there is time for this )

Best effort translation  of  summary from the link below  on this post reply...

https://antigo.mma.gov.br/gestao-territ … teira.html

According to the Decree # 5.300/2004, the Brazilian Coastal Region corresponds to a geographic space that interacts with air, sea, and land, including renewable resources or not, reaching to a maritime and land strip, with the following limits:

Sea Strip: Space that stretches far out to twelve nautical miles ( about 14 land miles ) , measured from the low tide baseline, comprising , under this yardstick, the totality of the territorial coastline;

Land Strip:  Space that stretches from the Town Limits that are under the direct influence of coastal region, and are under influence of environmental occurrences in the coastal zone;

The land strip within coastal regions, with variable width, also comprising  also of a portion of the land and maritime strips, is defined as seafront (Orla Maritima). Such definition is also extended under the Decree # 5.300/2004, whose limits to the seafront were established under the following criteria:

I- Maritime: the curve that represents the same isobath depth of 10 meters, under which the sea waves undergoes influence of the topographic variation from the bottom of the seabed, thus promoting the transport of sediments;

II-Land : Fifty meters in urbanized areas (about 54 yards), or two hundred meters(218.7 yards),   in sparsely populated areas, with the end point  landmark from the high tide line ( preamar) or the ecosystem final end limit.

WHAT YOU ALL NEED TO KNOW...

1.Any sand strip from the sea tide line out to the coastal vegetation and including the vegetation as well ,  ( including estuaries, marshland, back drop vegetation, also known as restinga   https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restinga ) is subject under Federal  environmental protection.  Any papework won't change these seth forth guidelines.

Folks, all it takes is...

-A disgruntled ex employee

-A rabid environmentalist about town

-A trespasser you ordered out of your backyard

-A local fisherman

-A Bribe seeking official

-Some Vlogger or blogger

-Anyone rubbed the wrong way.

-Someone who fills is being pushed from their birthplace grounds for any reason  ( all of the Hawaiians in the room know what I am talking about ) ...

All of the above with the knowledge to who to call to air their complaints.

And BTW, locals in these hamlets do resent carpetbaggers, weekenders. I know this since as a 15 years old by actually spending time rubbing elbows with them.

Land can be easily surveyed by Satellite, matched against topography and  patterns, and GIS databases. They don't have to show up at your doorstep to hit you with  an inspection order.

By the time they hit you with the summons, you are in a world of hell. 

There is a reason why local firshermen ( not your typical commercial fishermen who sails on trawlers )  lived in these places free of being inconvenienced. it is because  most of them held no title to land , and did not put up walls ( at best, a wired fence ).  They just plied their trades peacefully in their rickety boats. 

As far as any deriding or mightier than thou remarks here, I could care less.  I do not have to know about land deals are to be made, because I avoid them entirely. I've seen enough illegal land grabbing in these communities  to stay clear out of it.

O

@sprealestatebroker

Your premise for starting this thread implied that is was dangerous or unsafe for foreigners to consider buying on the beach anywhere in Brazil. That is misguided and misleading in equal measures.

As you have told us, you know nothing about buying or selling on the beach, so allow me to enlighten you. The due diligence any buyer should undertake, is exactly the same for real estate on the beach as it is anywhere else - whether this is done by an experienced buyer himself, or a qualified representative such as a bilingual licensed real estate broker or an attorney. My only caveat to a first timer is do not buy direct from a seller if you are not 100% certain of the process.

As part of the due diligence, naturally the Cartorio (Notary Office) will provide details of the history of the real estate, and this contains most of the information a buyer will need to ascertain propriety.

If, for example, the name of the seller does not match the name in the escritura, then that is a big red flag. Among other things there will be a history of any mortgages, if they have been paid off, and if there are any liens.

There will also be the IPTU (annual real estate tax) reference numnber, and a quick search on line will determine if there are any debts there. (For the sake of completeness, this is slightly different for rural property, but irrelevant here)

All this is the same everywhere for every land, home, commercial premises, etc, and certificates can be printed as proof.

But for beach property, there will also be a SPU reference number, unique to that property and impossible to register ownership without it. A quick search on line will again tell you if there are any debts or any other problems.

The SPU is a federal body that, in effect, gives permission for that property to occupy that position on that land. Therefore with this authorisation you will never have a legal federal problem. Simple as that.

This is why, with just normal due diligence, it is perfectly safe to buy a beachfront home or land in Brazil.

    Buying property anywhere in Brazil is a crapshoot at best. So many things to look into and can go wrong. So if you're  buying you better make damn sure it can be financed. This way you at least know most all the documentation  is there. It might not be correct so ALWAYS use a really good lawyer like I did. I am weeks in and still sorting out the matricula paperwork.... specially for foreigners it is even worse.
   

    -@Cserebogar

Do you mean buying on your own as a newcomer is difficult? I agree completely, but with simple due diligence through a qualified bilingual licensed real estate broker or attorney makes it very easy - certainly not a crapshoot as you describe it.

Also it is impossible for a foreigner to obtain a mortgage, unless he has at least 6 months employment record with a long term contract, a good credit rating in Brazil, and a hefty deposit to put down. So using this to ascertian propriety will not work.

However, due to bureaucracy and an over-complicated system, it does take time to finally achieve your escritura (title document), but a little patience goes a long way, and using experts (as you suggest) will help. The matricula on the escritura is just the unique number allocated to the property, it never changes, and is used by the Cartorio to identify it - it means nothing on its own.

I have been asked, so I will clarify here: if you want to check if your beach front escritura is correctly registered with the SPU, the number you need to look for is prefixed with the letters RIP.

    @sprealestatebroker
Your premise for starting this thread implied that is was dangerous or unsafe for foreigners to consider buying on the beach anywhere in Brazil. That is misguided and misleading in equal measures.
As you have told us, you know nothing about buying or selling on the beach, so allow me to enlighten you. The due diligence any buyer should undertake, is exactly the same for real estate on the beach as it is anywhere else - whether this is done by an experienced buyer himself, or a qualified representative such as a bilingual licensed real estate broker or an attorney. My only caveat to a first timer is do not buy direct from a seller if you are not 100% certain of the process.

As part of the due diligence, naturally the Cartorio (Notary Office) will provide details of the history of the real estate, and this contains most of the information a buyer will need to ascertain propriety.

If, for example, the name of the seller does not match the name in the escritura, then that is a big red flag. Among other things there will be a history of any mortgages, if they have been paid off, and if there are any liens.

There will also be the IPTU (annual real estate tax) reference numnber, and a quick search on line will determine if there are any debts there. (For the sake of completeness, this is slightly different for rural property, but irrelevant here)

All this is the same everywhere for every land, home, commercial premises, etc, and certificates can be printed as proof.

But for beach property, there will also be a SPU reference number, unique to that property and impossible to register ownership without it. A quick search on line will again tell you if there are any debts or any other problems.

The SPU is a federal body that, in effect, gives permission for that property to occupy that position on that land. Therefore with this authorisation you will never have a legal federal problem. Simple as that.

This is why, with just normal due diligence, it is perfectly safe to buy a beachfront home or land in Brazil.
   

    -@Peter Itamaraca

You are  going in circles with this  "Escrituras" ( Title of Ownership ) and Registry of Deeds ( Matriculas ), IPTU, bla, bla, bla. 

All of that land registry  paperwork is State issued, and Municipality endorsed. |If you are subject to any probe by Federal Authorities, none of that pile of paperwork will make any difference.

And as  I recall,  on this very forum, an American family lost Rural land bought and paid legitimally, because they failed to check on Farming Land Registries ( through INCRA ).

Never mind the fact illegal land grabbing can be made into a legitimate real estate transaction through  fudged paperwork and rubber stamping from local yokels in high places.

The Federal Guidelines were made into Law in 2004, and any settlement built  since, short of any Federally approved structures ( meaning Fortifications, buildings of Historical Significance, Piers, Tide Protecting Structures ) protect  the designated strip of coastal land, upon the designated regions and municipalities outlined by their decrees.  ( which I generously provided all the links ).

The rent collecting "Laudemio da Marinha" is out, last I  checked. But the Environmental Protection Mandates that apply to coastal regions , including estuaries, mangroves, marshlands, shorelines, they all are  in full force. 

Brazil is called  "Republica Federativa do Brasil" for good reason. This is not a States of Brasil Country.  States cannot invoke their own by-laws and mandates to challenge Federal Guidelines, and specially under Environmental Guidelines. The Brazilian Federal Government , in all matters of law, supersedes States' Authority on various matters of lawn, including the use and occupation of Coastal Regions, the Amazon Region, any Federal land or piece of property ( Bem da  Uniao ). 

And last I checked, the Environmental Ministry is headed by Marina da Silva, and she is a fierce Pro-Environment , herself bootstraped by her own grassroots efforts to the top of her post.  She ran her ticket for the Presidency, and she is Lula's right arm on environmental issues.

And the Procuradoria da Uniao ( Ministerio Publico Federal ), the very same ones who are running the lawsuit on the Ubatuba-SP case, are all made up by Government Paid Career Attorneys.   They are looking for cases like this.

It matters nothing if you bought by a private party. if they find you are building on the designated coastal strip,  just as those three in Ubatuba did, all of that paperwork and challenging lawsuits won't matter. In fact, they use that very same paper against you and your enablers. 

I would daresay, without specific knowledge of the case particulars ( i have not read the case docket ) ,  the defendants, all of them land owners in Ubatuba,  might had all of the legitimized land record where they illegaly buil their beachside homes. If they  owned land in these designated areas, but used  the land untouched  as a sanctuary, no one in the Federal Government would pay attention to them.  But they decided to build their own sand castles, and they got nailed.

If the Procuradoria da Uniao  had the balls to name CETESB as a co-defendant in the Ubatuba case, do you think they are going to care about your rights on the land you claim  own on some remote sand bar?  A Foreigner amongst all people ?  Seriously?

Folks, environmental disasters have been making headline news in Brazil. Minas, Sao Sebastiao-SP, Rio Grande do Sul.  Brazil is  not your average Banana Republica anymore. And our  Executive Branch, for all the  past issues with corruption accusations, is not bougtht and sold by the CIA or the European Union, or China.  Unlike Bolsonaro, they are emboldened.

AGAIN, AND THIS IS TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE ON THE MARKET  FOR THESE TYPE OF PROPERTIES.

1.Always Check the Federal Letter of Law and Edicts on any coastal region, if you are to build on sparsely populated areas.  Be thorough on your research. If you can't read on the language, hire someone to check on documentation, guidelines, laws.

2.Take with a grain a salt anything told you by local attorneys, the registry of deeds, City Hall folks ( who by my own experience tend to be very inconsistent on legal advice and interpretation of registry rules ). Stuff like this tends to fall through the cracks.

3.in Coastal Regions, play safe, choose inland subdivisions before you think that house  facing the beach.  You can always grab a towel, your sandals, and walk a couple blocks to gaze at the ocean.

4.A house on the beach is often a straw purchase whose motivation, short of resort projects,  tends to be an emotional acquisition. As the economy shifts from booming to dooming, lots of these properties are lost of the account of unpaid property tax, as owners give up the burden of keeping these places for leisure getaway. if you are a savvy buyer, you are a patient one at it. You buy these places for "pennies on the dollar" as they economy falters.   I know of investors ( who I will not divulge ) who make a run at these properties at auctions.

And  to be fair to you all I have no skin in this game, simply because I refuse to take these deals, and I am certainly would not be procuring anything in behalf of anyone  on these areas.   They are a minefield on its own.

And in closing....

Peter, i  have a bigger fish to fry, and I could care less about your little carpetbagging racket on the boondocks. 

Stop wasting my precious time. And don't go out to misrepresent advice that colludes with your business practices, no matter how long you've been doing this.

Folks here deserve better advice, for the benefit of the doubt.

    I do not understand in this day and age why anyone in their right mind would buy property that close to the ocean, especially at a low elevation.  Also, isn't Ubatuba surrounded by protected rainforest, a park and protected marine areas.  You'd think developers would be wise enough to double and triple check they aren't violating a protected area before building - but obviously not.
   

    -@mikehunter

You are right in principle.

And Ubatuba, from Santa Catarina, through Parana, up to Espirito Santo, it is all Atlantic Florest ( Mata Atlantica ).

Now, most of the Mata Atlantica under protection  is at the hills and foothills.  The oceanside natural vegetation is not thick forest, which can lead to many misinterpretations on what can be razed or not. 

The proper designation for the coastal vegetation is "restinga" which has sparse amount of trees and plenty brush vegetation.

Just one clarification to all, and not Peter.

1-The Environmental guidelines do not prevent one to buy coastline property.

2.The Environmental Guidelines only prohibits to build structures on sparsely settled coastal regions.  All such regions are outlined, so you have to look it up to see if your targeted area fall upon the mandate. 

3..A property can change hands a number of times, and yet,  a title of ownership  does not make it suitable to build structures on the beach side, where the Federal Land Use Guidelines for Coastal Land specifically outline forbidden.

4.As I can see from the edits , the limits are clear. A thick settlement, minimum recess away from the high tide mark is 50 meters.  On sparsely populated areas, minimum recess away from the high mark is 200 meters. The latter only applies if the building is not sitting atop of native vegetation, a.k.a. restinga    https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restinga ( Portuguse more extensive on Protective Legislaton )   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restinga  ( English Edited for your quick comprehension )

5.Foreign Ownership is an entirely different subject with its own sets of rules.   These guidelines we are touching here are equally applied towards Brazilians and Foreigners. 

6.You might often spot a fishing village or free standing homes  with housing structures, mostly rickety or poorly constructed. And you might be tempted to question  the fairness of you not being able to build, but them been settled right at the place you targeted . 

Their settlements  are mostly acceptable. Most of these folks might  not even have deed to their lots,. They are grandfathered in.   They are almost like land chattel themselves .   The Federal Government is not going to go after them. They recognize these folks  right to have a roof over their heads in the very same place they draw their subsistence. You see them at coastline, you see them at the river bed on the Amazon. They are part of the landscape. 

7.Some structures are allowed in such places, such as piers, old fortifications.  That is public domain, with or without restricted use or access.  They are allowed in. 

8.Some of you might argue about beach side resorts having the right to operate in the very same strip you are forbidden to settle.  These are recent developments, and there has been a lot of controversy over.

There are politicians taking money for these projects to be jettisoned, and in the same token, there is popular outcry over these projects, as they block beach fronts to the populace,  as private encroachments with forbidden trespassing.

First of all, there is no approved bill on this, despite the pressure from both sides of the isle. And secondly, most of you do not have the clout to stand on this and not risk having to deal with the Government. So, just don't go in there.

9.The reason I stress the importance of  seeking alternatives for your dream beach home, is because there are safer ways to purchase your property on these places.     

I touched base briefly on some places you can buy risk free of having your place taken away from you and heavy litigation costs.   

Here are some of them, again....

a. Under sparsely populated areas, seek inland parcel developments, built or not. Use the buffered distance to make sure you are in the clear ( the links are planted above over this thread ).   You still can enjoy the experience on living in a coastal community, to stride towards  the beach leisurely, nod to your neighbors, just not facing the beach.  That is what most Brazilians with a second home do anyways.  Take your clues from locals.

b.Pay very close attention to infra-structure tell tale cues.  Light posts, water, broadband. Not all places might be served by sewer lines or drain . And many places do not have paved streets, which might be just ok.  At the very least, seek out for concrete curbside gutters.

This is important, because most licensed utility companies do keep GIS databases, and they know where to run pipe or poles, and where not to.  There won't be truck rolls in places they are not authorized to lay pipe or string wire.

A seller might claim he brought in the utility company. Paying a linesmen under the table does not make it legit. You do not know if the performed work was legitimized on the utilities databases.   As a token of an example, most hillside slums  in Rio do have illegal wiring ( ligação clandestina de energia  or "Gato de energia" ). They can provision an electrical connection from the utility company's OSS systems , but they cannot dispatch a truck for an illegal wire run.

c.And above all, be wary of what sellers and enablers say. Buyer beware. You are responsible to due diligence. You can sue a misrepresenting broker, but it won't give you recourse on recouping your losses.  Get your discovery and search going on before you commit to a purchase.. Every piece of document and posted information counts.  Only fools rush in.

d.And , by my own experience as a former emigre, do not fall into trust on what your own kind says. They are the first ones to pray upon yourself. This is a very commonplace situation where you came from. You are a mercy of these vultures.  And you owe to yourself to learn the language.

e.Whenever possible, bring an outsider with the knowledge of the language. On retainer! Assign them to collect information, check on communication cues ( aka body language , cultural mores ).

f. Over inland settlements, avoid places that are on the base of a hillside. The Sao Sebastiao-SP landslide of last year is a classic example of where  to avoid buying and building .

The upper crust folk bought into plots of  lands sandwiched between a hill ( not quite a mountain ) and the beacfront. That forced the pre existing locals to build illegally at the hill incline.  Striped vegetation gave in under heavy rain falls, and a mudslide ran aground washing several homes on its path towards the beach.

Folks, I have no skin on the game. I do not broker these deals.  They often tend to be way too murky. And Brazil is a ripe country for these quick buck artists. 

And for those who dismiss me as a huckster moving stacked  match boxes in the urban envionment, well, most of my transactions fall under repurposing and reuse of old structures.

The only time I file these developments, is  to understand ownership patterns, look into supply and demand, find the real players in the property market.

I seldom ever do retail deals.  These buyers, locals or foreigners, have plenty brokers to induce them to buy on emotional impulses.  I do not dwell well in these types of situations.   

My clientele is exclusively made up of people who actually want to see  tangibles, numbers, upsides, downsides.

And, no offense to anyone here, most expats are a waste of my  time in matters of real estate acquisition. They are tourists.  And clueless. 

And this forum, it is not a money maker, by any measure.  Just a place I can keep my writing skills sharp.

@sprealestatebroker

To an outsider it might appear as though there is no minimum  brain cell requirement to stand in the November US Presidential election - to be an American real estate broker in Sao Paulo it seems that there is no need for these brain cells to have any synapse connections.

You repeatedly state that foreigners should not buy on the beach in Brazil in case of Federal legal action. And I have repeatedly told you that it is impossible to register ownership of any real estate on the beach without the authorisation of the SPU (Secretaria do Patrimônio da União), WHICH IS A FEDERAL AUTHORITY.

Therefore, with this Federal authorisation, there can be no risk of Federal legal action. End of discussion. Please stop misleading people.

@sprealestatebroker

Interesting info! And good for the MPF!! Greedy people building at the expense of the entire country and the environment make my blood boil! Brazil can be both a world power and an environmental leader with application of the right tools, and I hope that happens. And I hope the same agency goes after the people conducting intentional burns just so they can build on the property!

Good cautionary tale