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The Lopes Enjoy Guide
Buying a home is a milestone. To make sure the process is secure, transparent and free of surprises, we have laid out every stage of a Brazilian property purchase in detail. Get to know the steps, the terms you will hear along the way and the safeguards that will be part of your transaction — whether you are buying from Brazil or from abroad.
Part I
The ten steps of a purchase and sale at Lopes Enjoy. Each stage is structured to protect the buyer and make the transaction entirely predictable.
If the purchase is financed, the first step is getting your bank credit approved. That establishes exactly how much you can spend and steers the entire search, sparing you time on properties out of reach.
Tip: Look into the credit lines available (SFH and SFI, the two Brazilian housing finance systems — SFH is the regulated, lower-rate one, capped by property value), into using your FGTS (the mandatory severance savings fund a formally employed Brazilian may put toward a home) and into government programs that may carry reduced rates. Lopes Enjoy advises you on finding the best options in the market.
With the budget settled, the curation of the right property begins. Our specialist agents advise on the best location, the character of each neighborhood and the potential for appreciation, right through to negotiating the offer with the seller.
Once both sides agree, an Instrumento Particular de Promessa de Compra e Venda is drawn up — the private purchase and sale agreement that binds the deal before the deed is signed. The buyer puts down a deposit, usually around 10% of the transaction value. At Lopes Enjoy that deposit is structured as Arras Penitenciais: either side may still change its mind, but at a price — if the buyer walks away, the deposit is forfeited; if the seller walks away, the deposit is returned twofold.
The safety of the transaction comes first. We run rigorous checks in advance — an up-to-date matrícula (the property's registry record, which carries its full ownership and lien history), searches at Serasa (Brazil's main credit bureau, especially where there is financing) and the issuing of clearance certificates. This keeps to a minimum any legal risk or future debt that could later fall on the buyer.
Where there is financing, the bank process runs alongside the document review. The lender carries out a surveyor's valuation of the property and a legal analysis of the parties — buyer, seller and the property itself.
We work with complete transparency: if an unfixable document problem comes to light, or the financing is refused for reasons outside the buyer's control, the deal is unwound with no charge or penalty to either side, and the deposit is returned.
With everything validated, the ITBI falls due (Imposto de Transmissão de Bens Imóveis — the municipal property transfer tax, around 3% in Rio). Next comes the Escritura Pública de Compra e Venda, the public deed of sale executed before a notary (on cash purchases, at the moment the outstanding balance is paid), or the Contrato com Força de Escritura issued by the bank where there is financing — a contract that carries the same legal force as the deed.
Ownership only actually passes on registration of the deed or contract at the property registry office (Cartório de Registro de Imóveis, RGI). Signing is not the finish line — registration is. Where there is financing, it is only after this registration that the bank releases the final payment to the seller, the moment that effectively closes the transaction.
Possession — the handover of the keys — normally follows payment of the price in full. Depending on what was agreed, it can be brought forward to before the deed is signed, or deferred for a set period so the seller can move to another home.
The buyer: ITBI, the notary's fees for the Escritura Pública, the registry fees (RGI) and the bank's financing and valuation charges.
The seller: the issuing of certificates where these carry a fee, payment of the Laudêmio (where the land is not held outright — very common along the Rio de Janeiro waterfront) and settlement of the condomínio dues and the IPTU, the annual municipal property tax, up to the date of possession.
Quick reference
See every term in the full Brazilian real estate glossary.
Part II
Rio de Janeiro's high-end and luxury market draws investors from all over the world. Buying property in Brazil while living abroad — or as a foreign national — follows the same method described in Part I, with a few additional formalities around documents and foreign exchange.
Any foreign national, or Brazilian living abroad, who wishes to acquire property in Brazil must hold a CPF — the individual taxpayer number. Nothing is registered in your name without it. The process is simple and can be handled through a Brazilian consulate abroad or directly online with the Receita Federal, the Brazilian federal tax authority.
If the buyer cannot be in Brazil to sign the purchase agreement or the Escritura Pública, a Procuração Pública has to be issued — a power of attorney executed before a notary, which is the form Brazilian registries require.
Important: Documents issued abroad must be apostilled (Hague Apostille) or legalized at a Brazilian consulate, and then translated by a sworn public translator in Brazil, before they are valid here.
Payment for the property — the deposit as much as the final balance — must go through a foreign exchange transaction registered with the Banco Central do Brasil, the Central Bank. It is essential to use accredited banks or licensed exchange brokers, so that the incoming foreign capital is properly recorded (RDE-IED, the electronic registration of foreign direct investment). That record is what allows the capital to be repatriated without friction later on.
Local banks are highly restrictive about mortgage lending to foreign nationals without permanent residency, or to Brazilians with no income in Brazil. The great majority of purchases in this profile are made in full, in cash. Expatriate Brazilians who still file a Brazilian income tax return, or who can document income solidly, can nonetheless have credit approved.
For anyone who is not physically in Rio, or who does not know the local particularities, Due Diligence is the pillar the whole transaction rests on. Our team runs the complete audit — matrícula (the property's registry record), clearance certificates, liens, tax standing — making sure the foreign investor takes on no invisible liability.
Many luxury properties in Rio de Janeiro (especially in beachfront neighborhoods such as Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Barra da Tijuca) stand on land owned by the federal government — the terrenos de marinha, a strip of former Crown foreshore land — held under occupation or long lease rather than outright. On those, a Laudêmio falls due when the property is sold: a transfer fee of around 5% of the transaction value. Under the general rule Lopes Enjoy applies, this cost is the seller's — but it is vital for a buyer to know that, in the future, when it is their turn to sell that property, the fee will be theirs to pay.
Once the deed is executed and the property registered, possession is handed over. For long-term investors, our service can extend to partnerships for managing and letting the property, so you can earn on it remotely and securely.
Quick reference
This guide describes general market practice in the city of Rio de Janeiro and is not legal or tax advice. Rates and requirements are set by municipal, state and federal rules that change. Confirm anything that affects your decision with a Brazilian lawyer or accountant before you commit.
Our team is with you from the first budget to the handover of the keys, with full legal transparency and advice at every stage. Shall we talk?