Best cities to own real estate

2 hours from São Paulo is a mountain recreational area with good restaurants, nice views, good recreational facilities, but very touristy. Campos do Jordão is filled with Swiss-like architectural homes with the year round pleasant temperature because of the more than 1,600 meters of altitude. That amount of money would buy you a gated community with the guard, swimming pool and a nice garden.

In Minas Gerais, the same pleasant weather is found in Monte Verde with predominantly German colonization. About the same altitude. There´s a local brewery like Campos do Jordão. I know Belgians love beer and I sampled a lot there when I was stationed in Europe.

The number one area where retired people are is Santos, SP. It´s a beach/port area. I would recommend Florianopolis for a beach area investment but it´s in Santa Catarina.

Any of the 3 areas above are good for real estate investment....

robal

I have investments in real estates in Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. There were a few terrible deals with one lawsuit that I filed that is still pending.
ALWAYS buy from a reputable imobiliaria (real estate agency) and make sure that there are no "hipotecas" (liens) on the property. Don´t buy private because most cannot be trusted. Make sure that you have direct access to the property from the street, all taxes also paid and always do everything in writing. Make sure it´s not Indian land or indigenous territory and if it´s a big piece of land to put your wife´s name on the sales contract because foreigners have limited areas for purchase.

On payment, wire directly the money to the seller´s bank account. You should instruct the imobiliaria to stipulate this provision that the sale is contingent upon the receipt of the payment.

robal

robal wrote:

I have investments in real estates in Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

With the intention of renting them out for profit? Or for living in various places depending on the season. Renting out for profit is very risky business since many tenants cause damage to properties, or refuse to pay. I can imagine it's a pain in the ass to solve these problems in Brazil. It's already a nightmare in my own country.

There were a few terrible deals with one lawsuit that I filed that is still pending.
ALWAYS buy from a reputable imobiliaria (real estate agency) and make sure that there are no "hipotecas" (liens) on the property

I heard about this in some European countries too. My parents own real estate in the Canary Islands, which belong to Spain. They arrange their purchases with Belgian real estate agencies because Spanish ones have delays, or cause various problems.

In Brazil, which real estate companies would you recommend? I look for apartments on zapimoveis.com. It gives me a good impression of what is available and for what price. But I read that most of the properties are listed simply because the owner wants to know the value. If I do decide to purchase something, my wife would have to do all of the negotiating without mentioning me. I have spent enough time in Brazil to know that foreigners are assumed to be rich, and therefore they pay gringo tax on every purchase. The seller would never offer a good deal when he knows that a gringo is involved.

Don´t buy private because most cannot be trusted. Make sure that you have direct access to the property from the street, all taxes also paid and always do everything in writing. Make sure it´s not Indian land or indigenous territory and if it´s a big piece of land to put your wife´s name on the sales contract because foreigners have limited areas for purchase

I know a very wealthy Belgian lady who ran a multinational, with franchises in Argentina. She does not have the Argentinian nationality. When the crisis hit in the early 2000s, her land was confiscated and there was nothing she could do about it. They can't do this if you're a citizen. Because of that, and because the judiciary that simply does not function in Brazil, I would be extremely hesitant to invest in real estate at this point in time.

I'd consider it in the future, but only when I hold the Brazilian nationality, and otherwise I would have to buy in my wifes name

"With the intention of renting them out for profit? Or for living in various places depending on the season. Renting out for profit is very risky business since many tenants cause damage to properties, or refuse to pay. I can imagine it's a pain in the ass to solve these problems in Brazil. It's already a nightmare in my own country."

I have two more residences up north. I don´t rent them because like you said, they destroy and don´t repair. You cannot throw away an old man (60 and above) who can´t pay rent if he doesn´t have a place to live. And so with women with children. When they go to the public defender´s office and seek the state´s protection, you´re doomed. Better to not rent.

I have agricultural lands planted with timber. Very good income! Better than raising
cows. After cutting, just replant and that´s it. There are always people who plant them for me.

"In Brazil, which real estate companies would you recommend? I look for apartments on zapimoveis.com. It gives me a good impression of what is available and for what price. But I read that most of the properties are listed simply because the owner wants to know the value. If I do decide to purchase something, my wife would have to do all of the negotiating without mentioning me. I have spent enough time in Brazil to know that foreigners are assumed to be rich, and therefore they pay gringo tax on every purchase. The seller would never offer a good deal when he knows that a gringo is involved."

What I do when I research properties is just to Google the city´s real estate agencies and go from there. Yeah, ZAP would be routinely included and so with others...

"In Brazil, which real estate companies would you recommend? I look for apartments on zapimoveis.com. It gives me a good impression of what is available and for what price. But I read that most of the properties are listed simply because the owner wants to know the value. If I do decide to purchase something, my wife would have to do all of the negotiating without mentioning me. I have spent enough time in Brazil to know that foreigners are assumed to be rich, and therefore they pay gringo tax on every purchase. The seller would never offer a good deal when he knows that a gringo is involved."

Yes, there´s a Gringo price apart from the local people. But I can´t complain when I´m looking for a hard to find item. I raise the price intentionally and the item appears
all of a sudden despite their warning that it´s non-existent in the area!

"I know a very wealthy Belgian lady who ran a multinational, with franchises in Argentina. She does not have the Argentinian nationality. When the crisis hit in the early 2000s, her land was confiscated and there was nothing she could do about it. They can't do this if you're a citizen. Because of that, and because the judiciary that simply does not function in Brazil, I would be extremely hesitant to invest in real estate at this point in time."

I´ve been lucky so far. There are a few hiccups every now and then but otherwise everything´s fine.

robal wrote:

I have two more residences up north. I don´t rent them because like you said, they destroy and don´t repair. You cannot throw away an old man (60 and above) who can´t pay rent if he doesn´t have a place to live. And so with women with children. When they go to the public defender´s office and seek the state´s protection, you´re doomed. Better to not rent.

I don't see the point of owning multiple residences if you can't rent them out. In my homecountry the cost of an apartment is roughly 250 000 euros. Let's equate that to 1 million reais to make it easy.
Rent is 700 euros per month, or 8400 euros (about 35 000 reais) per year. So for a 1 million real investment, 35 000 reais/ year of rental income is a 3.5% return on investment. Which I think is decent. There are some costs though, like renovation and taxes. And I know horror stories about people who have bad tenants.

My parents rent out 2 apartments in Europe. Both with agencies, and the agencies have very clear guidelines about who to take as a tenant and who not to take. It is not politically correct, but absolutely necessary to avoid serious problems.

Also, it's a safe strategy to rent out holiday homes in exclusive destinations. Not apartments.
Because these holiday homes are rented out for a couple of weeks, or sometimes a month or 2, there is no risk of not getting paid. The audience of visitors only has rich people who can afford holidays in it.

My parents rent out in the Canary Islands. Which is in the EU and therefore it is well regulated.
If a tenant causes damage to the property, he will be forced to pay. 

I have agricultural lands planted with timber. Very good income! Better than raising
cows. After cutting, just replant and that´s it. There are always people who plant them for me.

My girlfriend told me she owns land in Brotas.
But the last time she saw it was 15 years ago. She thinks that it is inhabited now, and that therefore she lost the land. Imagine if a foreigner bought it..

I'm not very keen to invest in Brazil yet simply because of unreliable policies.

"I don't see the point of owning multiple residences if you can't rent them out. In my homecountry the cost of an apartment is roughly 250 000 euros. Let's equate that to 1 million reais to make it easy.
Rent is 700 euros per month, or 8400 euros (about 35 000 reais) per year. So for a 1 million real investment, 35 000 reais/ year of rental income is a 3.5% return on investment. Which I think is decent. There are some costs though, like renovation and taxes. And I know horror stories about people who have bad tenants."

I use them as my office when I visit during planting and cutting season. I have to sleep somewhere, especially if caretakers call me of problems. I built them especially for that purpose and renting them is a far possibility. The caretakers´ residences - I also can´t rent. They take care and guard the land while I´m away...robal