Well Folks, I am off to Brazil again tomorrow flying into Natal for the 4th time then later across to Fortaleza for the 5th time, it been a year since i was last in Natal so will be good to see if they seems more tourism there and is any of these off plans have come on more so will report back in a few weeks. If anyone wants me to try find anything out more on there projects i will try so ask quick as ill quickly check emails here n there?
See ya sPaul

Hmmm. In my experience those who buy prior to the Licences being issued do take a risk but generally see a big hike in asking prices as soon as they are granted. (If they are granted of course)

Mind you I am the person who flaffed around in Morroco for a year before getting his deposit back 2 days before the licences were granted.

I do think though that developers could be a bit more open about where they are in the planning processes otherwise the little birds start whispering !!

K

The last stage in licensing is by the state "greenbelt" people. Here in Sergipe they are called "Adema". And naturally one cannot destroy sand dunes that are more than 2 meters higher than road level. If this indeed will be the case, and the greenbelt people will not approve their project, they sure as hell wasted a lot of money when they should've went directly to the director of the state greenbelt beforehand and asked them to provide a "pre-survey". If one knows people in the local/state gov't. it's normally not too hard to achieve.

And naturally you guys that posted about investors investing in a project without full building permissions are 100% correct. That's just not wise.

There is no need for an Idema pre-survey, even I can walk on the land and tell you what is likely to be approved or not.

I am a Brit who lives and works in NE Brazil, with a permanent visa, and I own property here.

I have read the thread and a couple of questions come to me:

1/ Why has no one mentioned obtaining a CPF card? It is impossible to legally buy property here without one.

2/ I trust all your contracts are in Portuguese and officially notarised here in Brazil otherwise they are not worth a cent under Brazil law. Naturally you have to be present if you have not given a power of attorney.

3/ The Brazilian Real, (by the way the plural is Reais - it concerns me that some investors appear not to have even researched the currency!), IS traded internationally, you CAN pay from the UK in Reais, and your funds MUST go through the Brazil central bank if you ever want to get your money out. Furthermore you can only buy property in Brazil in Reais. Only European developers here deal in Euros - probably because you CANNOT have a bank account here if you are not resident.

4/ Please do not forget that Brazil is not part of the EU, and the laws and practices are distinctly different. What you might expect in Europe from a developer has no relevance here, and there are numerous examples of foreigners being ripped off by unscrupulous foreign estate agents and developers who sell at inflated prices. If you want a good deal buy through a Brazilian licensed broker from a Brazilian.

5/ I hope that this has not put you all off because it is a great place to invest, but do it wisely...it is still possible here, and quite acceptable, to escape a speeding ticket by buying the policman his lunch!

__________________
Jose C. Santiago, J.D.
Licensed Attorney – Brazil
Licensed Real Estate Professional – USA
Phones: (55-11)9348-5729 - Brazil
(786)513-1655 - US
www.lawofficeinbrazil.com

Since when is a registered Brazilian broker any better than a foreigner? I have dealt with both a few times and I can honestly say that the numbers of shady vs. honest are equal.

Well, there you have it, folks...

A British citizen (resident in NE Brazil who is experienced in all matters 'real estate' and who has been through the whole immigration process), and an esteemed attorney, with great Brazilian experience, both agree 100% on all the above matters.

Could it be that we are both wrong?

I should also make it clear that, while I have heard of Jose Santiago and have even read some of his excellent articles during my research, we have never met or even communicated before.

Thank you, Jose, for your ringing endorsements of my comments, and I hope some readers may knock on your door to ensure that they satisfy Brazillian law with their investments. It is necessary that us Europeans learn how things are done here in Brazil, and not assume it is the same as in the EU.

By the way, Jose, where are your offices? I may have some business for you in the future...!

I am sorry to hear that you may have had bad experiences with Brazilian brokers. Years ago they were bad, but are now heavily licensed, controlled and regularily checked, as well as having to go to college and pass numerous exams to get a license to practise in the first place.

As I am sure you know, this is similar to the USA and totally different to the UK and some of Europe where anyone can sell property.

To clarify my point, I know of a large detached beach house on the island where I live in NE Brazil, which is advertised on one UK website at £102,000 and on another at £85,000. You think that is bad? The real price of that house is £52,000. It is not the local Brazilian broker who will pocket all that profit, and certainly not the seller...

debzor, do you know of porto dos corais or any of the other developments mentioned here?