I had considered renting, but felt that as it was going to be for 2 years, and I was still hopeful of getting permanent status, I should maybe buy instead. I had been in contact with the charity head and she told me it was easy to buy as a foreigner (she herself had done that when she first moved there) and there was a lot of cheap housing to be found. In fact while searching online I had found an advert for a small house, fairly close to the charity, for sale by an British man, which sounded pretty much what I was looking for. I contacted him asking about it - he was in the UK at the time - and he appeared surprised that his house was for sale! I sent him the link to the advert, and he admitted that a friend was dealing with this for him - but when I showed considerable interest he started prevaricating about the price! He wouldn't give me a straight answer about how much the selling price was, but kept saying that he thought the advertised price was "probably too low"! So I told him to contact me when he had made his mind up about the final price, but that I was prepared to pay in UK pounds, which was better for both of us! He did tell me, however, that a friend in Brazil had the keys, was looking after the house and could show me it when I got there. I did rather lose interest in it at this point!
I did manage to find a small place to rent prior to my arrival, but only for a month as it was booked by someone else for Christmas, which was just over a month after my arrival. When I reached Brazil I contacted the charity head straight away, and we talked about buying a house - and she knew the man selling the house (he was a woodworking artist and had done some work for her), and who was holding the keys! So she called Muzenza, a young Brazilian man, and he came round to meet me. He would help me find a house as he knew all the places for sale, he told me, and we could meet up later for dinner and talk things over.
He arrived at the agreed restaurant with a young lady with him - he was looking after a property, for another British man, which was being converted into holiday accommodation, and she was staying in one of the rooms there. He said that we could start house hunting in the morning, so we just chatted about living in this town, and other generalities. He drank rather a lot during the meal, and afterwards sampled a selection of flavoured Cachaças on offer in their bar (which he paid for !), and before we parted he suggested that on the morrow we go on a trip out of town to see some of the sights in the National Park, rather than house-hunting, and he brings the young lady along as she is a tourist too.
I went back to my bedsit, but an hour later there is a knock on the door - it is Muzenza! He informs me that he realises he is probably too drunk to manage the trip in the morning, but suggests we meet up after lunch, at the place he is looking after, and we can start house-hunting. I arrive a little before time, am let in through the big gates, only to be told that he has not yet got up today! So I go for a wander round the extensive grounds of this property and then sit in the communal area/dining room for around 90 minutes, while waiting, and he still doesn't appear! I leave a message with my number and leave.
He calls later all apologetic - saying he was more drunk that he thought, and had to sleep it off, but would I come around the next morning at 9.00 and we could start looking. Again I was there on time, and again no sign of him! I waited an hour, and then abandoned that idea completely - and since then I have bumped into him a couple of times in town, but other than that we have had no contact!
The following day I went to see the only Real Estate agent in town - the same place I had used to book the bedsit I was now staying in. I explained what I was looking for (she already knew where I was volunteering) and she grabbed a handful of folders and we set off on foot (I had hired a car but we didn't need it as everything was so close!). We looked at a variety of different properties in and around the centre of town - some needing quite a bit of work (mainly woodworm or termites by the look of it!), but none really suitable as none had any parking space (and the streets nearby too narrow to realistically be an option), none had any outdoor space (yard or garden), and every one had issues with the legal title!
This is apparently a very common problem in rural Brazil, where "laws" are often ignored or stretched, but I felt that, as a foreigner, I needed to be 100% certain I was buying a property that was going to be "mine"! Many of the issues surrounded inheritance - a landowner had passed away intestate (who in Brazil has a formal will?) so the oldest child sells the property, then one of the other siblings claims it and also sells it - to someone else - and the spouse then does the same, or a brother, or a parent! So we end up with several people buying the same property, none having legal title, and legal disputes that go on for decades! There is a property opposite where I finally bought that has been walled off, by the purchaser who then found out it was under litigation, and 8 years later no further work has been done, and no resolution is in sight!
I did find a nice modern 2 storey property very close to the charity - it was split into two dwellings, with the upper one very spacious, including a mezzanine floor bedroom and great views, and the ground floor suitable for renting out - but the "lane" outside to rocky and rough for parking close by, and the nearest suitable place to park a vehicle at least 100 metres away, and not secure! In addition the "owner" had inherited the property from her aunt who had recently passed away - there was legal title to it BUT she was going through a divorce and her husband was claiming part ownership, so it would not be possible to get legal title transfer until the divorce was finalised or until they cane to some agreement over the property (the wife was adamant the husband had no right to any of it!), which could take years - so I passed on that one, too.
So day one ended with nothing suitable - prices were very good, but I did wonder how much of that was due to the title uncertainties, though I was assured that this wasn't the case, and lack of title shouldn't be a problem! I also didn't get good vibes from any of them - not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but I always get a feeling if a house is going to be a good "home"!
Day two the realtor sent me a little further afield with her assistant, and the first two properties I was shown were part-builds, which means they had walls, but no roof! I explained that I needed somewhere I could move into immediately and live in (I had about 3 weeks left on my bedsit rental before I had to move out for another tenant!), so that meant that three other properties on her list were also no good - one was a bare plot! Thee next was another two storey house - the ground floor was complete and beautifully finished, but the upper floor - which had spectacular views - was only half finished. It would have made a great purchase had I wished to rent out half the building, but I wanted to retain the views, and the top floor was not only unfinished, but also much smaller - and it was the most expensive property I had seen, by a long way!
The final one on her list in this area (she told me there were others to see in other suburbs), was a 4 bed-roomed house on a large plot with a garden. I was reluctant to even look at it as it was far too big for my needs, but the price was very reasonable, and she insisted that I would be impressed, especially as it had full legal title! Inside it was a mess as it had been unoccupied for some time, and there were a couple of pieces of broken furniture abandoned inside - a large insect screen was in tatters, and mail had been shoved through it scattering all over the floor. She ushered me to the kitchen window and the view was spectacular - looking Southwards across the National Park.
I was impressed, but still couldn't get over the fact it was a big 4 bed-roomed house, when all I needed was something smaller - so we headed back to the office. The owner was dealing with someone else, so I was left to think things over - and was mulling over my options (including looking at more properties, but I was led to believe I had already seen the best they had on the books) when I heard someone asking about renting the last property. The assistant replied that it was available at the moment, but that she thought I might be interested in buying it - it took me about two minutes to decide to make an offer!!
As I was a cash buyer this helped to speed up the process - though I did have to arrange a 50% deposit through my UK bank to the vendor who lived in Sao Paulo - and the realtor dealt with the initial paperwork. The vendor's daughter lived locally and she was given power of attorney to sign on her father's behalf, so we both went first to the local council for a document stating that all taxes were paid, then to the Forum, which is where all legal matters are dealt with. She had to sign a couple of documents, and I had to countersign, and sign others - then it was a case of waiting 15 days, which I took to being a fortnight, but was 15 "working days" so three weeks! This would take us into Christmas and past the date I had to vacate the bedsit. I was worried about how I could furnish the place as there was nowhere in my town that sold furnishings, so I would have to buy elsewhere and get it delivered, but I managed to get permission to have it delivered directly to the house before the paperwork was finalised, and in fact also got permission to move in once my bedsit rental finished, but a few days before the paperwork would be completed, which was a great help.
I had seen the original title deeds before completing the sale so knew it was all in order, but had been advised that one piece of documentation was missing! The deeds showed the property dimensions and correct ownership rights, there was also a copy of the architects plans with municipal approval, BUT once built the house had never been registered on the property. No-one could give me a definitive answer as to how relevant this was, but to me all that really mattered was that the property would legally be mine, so what was placed on it was secondary to that important legal status. A couple of evenings after I moved in, and before the paperwork was finalised, there was a knock on the door - it was two men from the local council who had come to verify that the house was actually the same as had been approved from the architect's drawings, and after looking around and taking a few measurements they left - and I was given confirmation that the house was now correctly registered, organised by the vendor's daughter. So now I could sleep easily knowing that my legal title would be full and completely correct!
Finally a month after moving in I received the "escritura", which is the title deeds proving I am the legal owner of the house. The process had been relatively easy, especially since Brazil is renowned for the complicated nature of the bureaucracy, but I was relieved that everything was now OK, and I shouldn't have any future problems concerning my ownership.
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| The view from the kitchen that sold the house! |
