I order to enter Brazil, US and Canadian citizens are required to have a tourist VISA. The VISA is applied for at the nearest Brazilian Consulate.

Everybody can own a Real Estate Property in Brazil, independently of nationality and with the same constitutional rights as Brazilian citizens.

The ownership of a property in Brazil is like in many other countries obtained via a Title Deed that is duly registered in the City Hall.

It is also possible to obtain a permanent visa in Brazil, from a retirement visa which is easy to obtain, to an investment visa which would require an investment oif $US 50 000 (February 2009).

Brazilian banks are reluctant to open bank accounts to foreigners, although some banks would do it.

Mortgaged based financing is only available for Brazilian residents, and foreigners ought to finance the home purchase in their home countries. There are however some possibilities to obtain a seller's financing, particularly from developers of new apartment buildings but also to some extent from the owner of an existing property. It must however be mentioned that the interest rate on loans in Brazil is very high, often around 20% on annual basis.

There are no dedicated Property Managers as such in Brazil, but there are well worked patterns of how to resolve all issues like rent-out, payment of bills, cleaning, maintenance, etc.

It is common in Brazil that the buyer and/or the seller use a representative for some or all of the work to conclude the purchase and to transfer the title. Also a foreign buyer can use a representative to perform part or all of the paper work needed to conclude a purchase.

As a foreign buyer of a property in Santa Catarina, there are a lot of issues that need to be resolved. We support all our customers to resolve such issues, to a highest degree of safety and satisfaction.