Property in Brazil: The Sultry Northeast

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle3245446.ece

January 27, 2008

Where to buy property in Brazil: the sultry northeast

As the locals prepare to samba, British buyers are starting to make a real song and dance about Bahia, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceara.

The world’s largest and longest street party will erupt this week into a bright flurry of feathers, booty-shaking music and white-toothed smiles. Amid the throngs of carnival-goers will be thousands of Britons dressed in little but flip-flops and the pink beginnings of a tan – many of whom will decide to carry on after the party and invest in a second home in Brazil.

Most potential buyers head to the northeast of the country, where, along more than 1,000 miles of coast from Salvador to Fortaleza, fishing hamlets are being swallowed up by gated resorts with private pools, golf courses and spas. In a reflection of the continent’s obsession with beautiful bodies, some of the developments even have plastic-surgery clinics and rehabilitation spas.
If you can put up with the flight (at least £400 and 8½ hours, often with one or two changes), then the attractions are obvious: long, pristine white-sand beaches, temperatures that reach 30C in January and February, low living costs and properties that are up to a third cheaper than their equivalents in southern Spain. Indeed, many of the developers andimobiliarias funding the building boom cut their teeth on the costas and have crossed the Atlantic in search of a stake in the country Goldman Sachs predicts will have the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2050.

Property prices have seen stratospheric growth, fuelled by an emerging Brazilian middle class, an international campaign to attract investors, and the 2014 World Cup, to be staged across the whole country. “Some locations have seen capital appreciation of more than 1,000% in five years,” says Felipe Cavalcante de Melo Lima, president of the Association for the Development of Tourism and Real Estate in the Brazilian Northeast. He predicts a more modest 12% increase for this year.

“It is like southern Spain 10 or 20 years ago,” agrees David Gordon, commercial director of Qualta Resorts, which is behind two of the largest upmarket resorts in the states of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte. “Brazil is a fabulous alternative to Spain and is more affordable than the Caribbean. People are fed up with the classic Costa del Sol pitch, which has become one big ghetto of British people.”

There may not yet be a fully fledged expat community, but those Britons who have moved there are seeking each other out to share tips on living in a tropical climate. One couple already living their Brazilian dream are Chris Cakebread, 46, and his wife, Collette, 50.

Two years ago, they fell in love with a banana-coloured granja, a smallholding 30 minutes’ drive from Joao Pessoa, in the state of Paraiba, the most easterly part of the Americas.

The couple, who spend half the year in Worcestershire and half in Brazil, and intend to retire The region boasts a seductive mix of sun, sea and samba, as well as elegant old towns such as Salvador, above right there, paid £42,000 for the plantation-style bungalow, which had holes in the roof, no lavatory and only an outside oven. They spent £12,000, and it now has a new roof and a fitted kitchen.

“I watch the sun rise above the mango trees, then hop out of bed and lie by the pool,” Chris says. “I love being in my Brazilian bubble.” The couple regularly go for supper with Jeremy Baker, 68, and his wife, Gemma, 67, from Birkenhead, who have retired to a similar property 15 minutes’ drive away.
Other British neighbours include a policeman from Dover, a Hollywood stunt man and one who works as a volunteer bouncer at Tambaba, the world-famous naturist beach – all of them trying to make a new life in the country. So is it paradise? Almost.

“You can’t buy an electric kettle, so pack one in your suitcase,” Baker says. “And the best way to get rid of the cockroaches that live in the coconut palms is to pack sea salt in newspaper at the top of the trunk. When it rains, this coats the tree and stops the pests wandering indoors.”

Given that Brazil is a vast and diverse country – the northeast region alone is the same size as France, Germany, Italy and Britain combined – what and where should you buy? To help you choose between a granja in the interior, a villa on a golf course or a flat on the beach, here’s our guide to Brazil’s northeast coastal states. Remember, too, that English is not widely spoken, so, if you don’t speak Portuguese, you will need someone who knows both languages to guide you through the buying process – and help you to deal with everything from repairs and renovations to paying your electricity bill once you have acquired your home.

Bahia
Five years ago, the state capital, Salvador, was regarded by most tourists as a grimy, crime-ridden no-go area. Today, the old town is being restored: its peeling pastel facades are getting a face-lift, the Hilton chain is moving in and double-decker tour buses with adverts for village-style gated resorts travel the cobbled streets. Even a couple of years ago, it was possible to pick up a run-down property in the Pelourinho district, in the 18th-century centre, for less than £50,000, but derelict townhouses now start at £150,000 or more; count on spending the same again on renovations. And check out the neighbourhood by night as well as day: as in many Brazilian cities, crime can be a problem. You’ll need a good guide, and a number of long-term British residents in the city are offering just such a buying service. Daniel Daly, who has lived in Brazil for more than 20 years, (www.salvadordaly.com.br), describes himself as a “professional baby-sitter” and charges a fixed fee of £1,400. Further away from the tourist hang-outs and steamy nightlife, you can buy a smaller, less picturesque flat for £40,000. Prices for three-bedroom flats in secure blocks in swisher middle-class suburbs such as Barra or Corridor Atlantico start at £80,000, but can rise to £600,000 for the best locations and sea views (020 7538 0102, www.propertybond.co.uk). Most househunters, however, head north out of the city on Coconut Road to one of the resorts lining the beaches where the turtles nest. The trend for gated communities began about a decade ago at Praia do Forte, 50 minutes’ drive away, but prices have risen since the early days, and British buyers looking for profit as well as pleasure are looking to newer condos (communities) in resorts such as Sauipe, another 15 minutes or so along the road. Off-plan flats around the golf course there start at £84,000 (020 7016 3740, www.sauipegolfterraces.com.br). The developments south of Salvador tend to be more expensive. Situated high on red cliffs near Trancoso, the Terravista resort has evolved from a hippie hang-out and now has a Club Med on the site. Prices for villas next to the golf course range from £128,000 to £926,000. Those bordering the air-field have their own hangars for the private jet.

Paraiba
For many years considered one of Brazil’s poorest and least developed states, Paraiba is largely overlooked by the package-holiday and property-tour crowd. It has fewer flights, and a poorer infrastructure, but there is a greater feeling of getting away from it all. “You can pick up a one-bedroom flat for £25,000, but it will be in a secondary location, cramped and without air conditioning,” says Esther Dyer, Property Bond’s representative in the state (020 7538 0102, www.propertybond.co.uk). “Most of our buyers are looking for a getaway in the sun, but not one in a mass-built gated community.” Dyer spends increasing amounts of time driving up dusty red tracks in search of granjas, on which you can build almost anything you want provided you (or your caretaker) keep a few animals. Prices vary enormously, but expect to pay £55,000 for a three-bedroom bungalow with 10 or so acres. Plots of land near the coast are also popular: there is one stretch at Praia Bela where five Britons in a row are all building dream homes within earshot of the Atlantic Ocean.

Pernambuco
The beautiful colonial town of Olinda, which adjoins Recife, the largely industrial state capital and site of the airport, is popular with sightseers, but most buyers head for the coast. One of the most attractive, upmarket schemes is the Reef Club, at Porto (020 7034 4757, www.thereefclub.com.br), set in 500 hectares of Atlantic rainforest and mangroves, an hour’s drive from the city. Buyers will have access to a planned VIP lounge at the airport. There will be 4,000 residential units; flats start at £60,000, and three- and four-bedroom Balinese-inspired villas cost up to £371,000. All have views of the golf course, ocean or rainforest. As well as enjoying the spa, health-conscious owners can opt into a bio-metric scheme that will measure their calorific intake and blood-sugar levels.

Rio Grande do Norte
If you need more extreme help to keep in shape, then one of the 13,500 properties planned for Lagoa do Coelho, a 35-minute drive from Natal, might be ideal. Purchasers will have access to dentistry and plastic surgery. AGS Properties has one-bed flats from £53,000 (020 8144 4994, www.agsproperties.com). Tourism and property prices look set to receive a further boost from the planned expansion of Natal’s airport. The hot spots are Ponta Negra and Pipa, where the beaches are consistently voted among the best in Brazil. They attract a younger crowd, looking for a laid-back lifestyle of kitesurfing and cocktails. Prices for hotel-style flats at the Reef Club Pipa start at £60,000. A second phase of larger villa-style holiday homes on the 350-hectare site will be released later in the year. In Pipa Paradise, a high-density community built on the clifftop above Praia do Amor (Love Beach), two- bedroom flats start at £67,000, three- bedroom villas at £145,000 (0845 643 1036, www.uv10.com, or 0800 612 0901, www.experience-brazil.com).

Ceara
The most developed spot on the northeast coast, Fortaleza is fast becoming the Torremolinos of Brazil. If that’s your sort of thing, two-bedroom flats typically cost about £90,000.

How to buy
- To buy property, you need a CPF or tax identification number, which you can get from the Brazilian embassy
- Buyers pay 3% of the value of the property in tax, and another 2%-3% to the public notary on registration of the sale Tourists can stay up to 180 days a year in Brazil. Any longer and you need a permanent visa
- When buying off-plan, always view the site and check there is a building licence

Get a Brazilian
- Prices for villas next to the golf course at the Terravista Condominio, Resort & Golf, between Arraial d’Ajuda and Trancoso, in the south of Bahia, range from £128,000 to £926,000. This one is £343,000; 00 55 11 3709 4680, www.terravistabrasil.com

- A renovated three-bedroom townhouse in the historic centre of Salvador, this former pousada (guesthouse) has solar panels ensuring a plentiful supply of hot water, and two private terraces. For sale for £250,000; www.hotelredfish.com/houseforsale

- Due to be completed by 2010, this two-bedroom flat is in the first phase of the Reef Club at Praia do Porto, 50 miles south of Recife. Owners can use the spa, golf course and equestrian centre. For sale for £121,530, through Qualta Resorts; 020 7034 4757, www.thereefclub.com.br

This two-bedroom apartment with sea view at Pipa Paradise, a gated residential resort in the surfing hot spot of Pipa, comes with use of the on-site spa, gym and pool. It is an hour’s drive from Natal airport. For sale for £60,000 with Experience International; 0800 612 0901, www.experience-brazil.com

Gentlemen -

For some of us interested in investing abroad, in Brazil or Colombia, Here is an interesting exchange I found on the internet about a guy from Europe looking to invest in a new development near Fortaleza Brazil and the responder is a an American real estate guy based and established in northeast Brazil.

Who is this ***? I mean, when do we draw the line, we can all ask, "oh yes, they say there is Air all around us but can we really believe there is because I cant see it!" If any naughty or forged docs were in place it would be on the internet. So I can't see anyone being that stupid to forge a document from a minister of the Government, I think good luck, they have done the right thing I feel, no one else has this on their project as far as i know so, they must have done something right. Plus it is really well written if you read it in Portuguese, anyway, I asked about this point, and basically their answer was: "The project was presented to the office of The Minister Of Tourism in the fall of 2007, who after reviewing the project and plans, was very enthusiastic because of the new opportunities it will create for this area, North of Fortaleza not been growing as much as south of Fortaleza, so a project of this size, mixed with the way the developer is involving the entire 3 local villages and community has infused the local Government, because it will give a huge lifestyle improvement to the local people."Now I sound like they have brainwashed me. I am in the retail business and I believe it is all about service, quality, value for money and keeping a good name so I feel good about my decision to buy. Is it me reasuring myself? Maybe but I have spent a week on this now, and I have been very thorough I think. So I am comfortable.

Mister, once again, please excuse me for being cynical, but it happens in this country (Brazil) after spending a decade and seeing gringo after gringo, literally by the hundreds, falling prey to the same horse****. Don't get me wrong, you may have invested in a legitimate project and it may turn out to be the best investment of your life......but there is a chance it won't as well.

As I stated before, a letter from the secretary of tourism is nothing but a tool in an attempt to gain confidence. In practice.....it means absolute NOTHING.....ZERO!

A letter from the governor of the state MAY mean a little something, but once again, in reality, it doesn't mean much either. In order to get building approvals development or construction companies here in Brazil have to get approvals and jump through dozens upon dozens of hoops from branches of the city/local gov't., state gov't., and ALSO federal gov't.!

I have yet to see ONE major builder or major company that has more than a few days experience here in Brazil present a "letter of recommendation" from a politician and that is because they know that it doesn't mean diddely. Companies that are serious start the approval process immediately, naturally relationships can be important in this process but normally it's a matter of conforming to the norms of the local department of planning and existing laws in respect to building in the area of interest and the state and federal environmental departments.

A letter from the secretary of tourism saying, "This is a real, valid, project"? Really? One should be able to verify that by seeing land titles, architectural projects, engineering projects (this is a great way to discover if a project is "real" or not, as it is IMPOSSIBLE to enter any required dept. to get building authorizations without them, and most that scam, if they prepare any projects at all, they're normally architectural), "licensa previa's" or pre-approvals, building permits, etc.

When I see this type of stuff, I think of all the lures that I've seen in the past...."guranteed rent", "guaranteed yearly appreciation percentages", "enormous discounts of 25% or above", "high pressure sales techniques"(there are many), and it goes on and on.

It's kind of like a guy that I met from Sweden here in Brazil years ago that came to my apartment one day with a cashier's check for 5 million dollars from Bank of America in San Antonio Texas. He told me he deposited it in Banco do Brasil and they wouldn't cash it. Although he spoke good english he asked me to help him as I am an American. So he gave me the check, he then gave me a LETTER explaining that the check was real (LOL!), and the letter, from San Antonio Texas in the United States....was written in british english!!

Well naturally I knew something wasn't right from the very outset. He asked me to call the bank in Texas and ask why this check wasn't being cashed....so, I obliged him. I went to my fax machine and called the fraud department of Bank of America! And when they asked me if I could fax them the check I said, "naturally, I'm talking to you on my fax at this moment." Well, when the Swede saw I was faxing the check he left me all alone, in my apartment, with a 5 million dollar cashiers check!!! He said he had to go pick his son up from school. By the time he got back to my place naturally Bank of America had already verified that this check....."isn't one of ours".

Big surprise.

And he acted stunned.

And said his lawyer in Sweden gave it to him. (rolleyes)

He shortly thereafter left Brazil after living here for 7 years.

My point in all of this is that Brazil is a country chock-full of corruption. And it is a country that draws the worst type of people. Don't get me wrong, there are some lovely people as well, but Brazil, afterall, is a country where fugitives from justice in Europe and the U.S. go because extradition is so difficult, and if you have a brazilian child next to impossible. Ever hear of Ronald Biggs?

So, do your due diligence. Hire an INDEPENDANT lawyer. Confirm all necessary documents and approvals are in place. Try and protect yourself as much as possible. And even then, now and again, things still go pear-shaped.

[STM]

"Don't get me wrong, there are some lovely people as well, but Brazil, afterall, is a country where fugitives from justice in Europe and the U.S. go because extradition is so difficult"

classic quote above!

Still, I am sure its fun to go visit and live on and off.

Gentlemen -

I'm almost positive this is our old property (scam) near Natal, Brazil (Maracajau).

www.nataloceanclub.com

I can't speak about the new owners, but if you buy, please proceed with caution.

Good luck

[Khun Talung]

I must have missed your comments on this. Can you direct me?

KT

[veloire]

Brasil is a beautiful place for vacation, to eat good food, travel in places that really takes your breath away, and meet many nice and friendly people. The best place to find a wife in my opinion.
When it comes to personal safety or business you must take extra caution. In business you must keep your investment in the minimum possible and the control is to be out of the country if it is possible, always use lawyers you know and trust, must develop connection and knowledge of local people and officials related to your business.
You must be able to deal with high level of corruption and bureaucracy.
I've met from German, Russian and of course American scam artists to plenty of Chinese and Japanese as well. Real estate in Brasil can be either an excellent investment or money you flash down in the toilette. Anybody who wants to invest in Brasil, do your homework and spend a little extra time and money, you will not regret it.

[Tinto]

I thought this thread was as good as any to put this information on Fortaleza, courtesy of Escape From America Magazine (Escape Artist).

Making a Move to Fortaleza by John Mueller.

[Scholar2414]

Good Advice, and something to really think about if you want to move to Brazil

[Don]

Northeast Brazil is paradise plain and simple. Cheap, awesome beach and beautiful unspolied ladies. Going back in December to JP < Joan Pessoa > .

[John Wayne]

Dam, and not the river kind, Don,..... a short but sweet trip report.....

Come on, you are teasing us get with the program, and tell us a bit more.....

Some pictures would be fine too...