Originally Posted by JMBroad

Absolutely. If you are fluent in Portuguese or have contact with someone who you trust and who has the time and resources to do some research into the market, go for it and good luck. Otherwise, I'd suggest doing some research into companies in Europe and asking them what they have available.

Might even be worthwhile speaking to Brasilian agents and European agents and comparing what they offer you and the amount of information they are willing to share about the market and how much they actually know about the market.

To find out whether you are paying the Gringo price or the local price it's actually quite simple. Call up the agents and ask them what they are offering - try to contact several agents both in Brazil and in Europe, then do a checklist.

Who knows the country well, who has visited the country (for European agents), what product are they offering and which would they suggest for resales to the Brazillian market.

Make sure you specify that you are looking for something which can be resold to the local market otherwise most competent agencies would steer you towards the what many people assume are "Gringo priced developments" however also offer "gringo qualities". Don't forget that local priced developments come with local qualities (aka roof vs cielings, kitchens are not installed, ac not installed, thin walls, small units - 55 m2 for a two bed is not unheard of, potentially closer to lakes than to the sea, etc, etc).

Whereas if you just say you are a European looking to buy a property in Brasil they may assume that you are looking for something you can use yourself and therefore will steer you towards lifestyle units, which are generally speaking larger units, with kitchens and ac installed, cielings, parking, facilities, seafront, 24 hr security, on site restaurants, etc. etc. Of course the higher the qualities, the more the facilities, the higher the prices. Now when the qualities are the lowest and the prices the highest, that's the true definition of "Gringo" prices and if you are offered any of those, you should be able to recognise them pretty easily.

With regards to Loteamentos there are literally dozens of differences which affect the price but also the quality of life which the end user will experience.

Then once you have all the suggestions, compare prices, take the time out to fly to Brasil, go and visit each of the developments and compare qualities for yourself. Or find an agency you can trust who has done all of the above for you and can recommend something - all depends on how much time, effort and money you are investing into deciding what to invest in.