Praia do Forte

Federal Law No 4.591,1964 refers to Real Estate Incorporations.

It is the legal document that explains the condominium's purpose, detailing private and communal areas, form of use, characteristics and data on the development and project, information and documents for the building developer and all other legal requirements, as set out in Article 32 of Law 4.591/64, among others. This document must be filed at the Property Registry Office.

Brazilian law states that a building developer can only trade autonomous units for buildings under construction or to be built following registration of the Condominium Plan and Declaration. The reason behind this requirement is that the Plan presupposes approval of the construction project, documental regularity of ownership and the developer's documental situation, which corresponds to legal security for purchasers of future items.

It is important that you check if the property is a correctly approved project and has a permit issued by the respective municipal authorities. It is also fundamental that the property's registration certificate is checked, which should state that the Real Estate Incorporation is duly registered. The draft Condominium Agreement filed in the Condominium Plan and Declaration registration which details future condominium rules should also be verified.

It is a private or public contract through which someone agrees to acquire a property from another person (individual or legal entity) who undertakes to transfer it following receipt of the stipulated price and while observing pre-agreed conditions. The buyer becomes the holder of the property's acquisitive rights on signing the contract and the law assures the buyer's rights with the seller to demand the property's effective transfer.

The following clauses are essential on a purchase and sale contract: characteristics of the property and development where it is located, price and form of payment, form of calculating monetary correction, if this is the case, application of interest, the rates and when it is applied, penalties to which the buyer is subjected in the event of default and delays in paying the sum in the agreed form, delivery date for the units and other obligations taken on by the building developer.

A purchase and sale contract is the instrument by which one of the parties agrees to sell a specific property to another at a specific price and under certain conditions. A purchase and sale contract or agreement can be brought into effect by a private (with the presence of two witnesses and evaluation of the parties' background needs to be observed in this case) or public instrument (document for an agreement to purchase and sell) which is drawn up by the Public Registry Office in this case and which has public faith. On the other hand, the purchase and sales deed is the instrument through which someone definitively transfers real estate to another, often in compliance with a previously signed contract (agreement). The deeds for an autonomous unit is drawn up when it has been duly completed or, in other words, with registration of the development construction at the appropriate Property Registration Office as the unit has been paid for or the purchaser has obtained a loan necessary to pay off the remaining balance.

In order for the transfer of the property's ownership to take place effectively, the transfer title needs to be registered with the appropriate Property Registration Office, in compliance with Article 1245 of the Brazilian Civil Code.

On signing the public purchase and sale deeds, the purchaser of a property is responsible for paying property transfer tax (Imposto de Transmissão de Bem Imóvel - ITBI / ITVI), registry office expenses for drawing up the deeds and registering them at the property office. The percentage and form of calculating the tax varies in accordance with each local authority. Registration costs with the Public Notary and Property Registration also vary from one State to another and should be requested at the appropriate registry office. The purchaser should alter details of the property contributor at the local city hall to state that he has become the property owner on receipt of the deeds, so that the IPTU bill is sent directly to him as he is the only one responsible for payment.

A foreigner, whether resident or non-resident in Brazil and holding a permanent visa or not, can acquire property in the country, which originates from a Real Estate Incorporation, under the terms of Law 4.591/64. However registration on the Taxpayer Identification Register (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas – CPF) is necessary, in accordance with the requirements of article 20 of Normative Instruction No 461/2004 from the Inland Revenue office. A foreigner cannot sign a public or private instrument to purchase or sell a property and request its registration at the appropriate property registration office without a CPF number in Brazil. The following documents are necessary for a foreigner to register for a CPF number: (a) a valid passport and/or Brazilian ID card (b) Birth Certificate translated into Portuguese by an accredited translator and certified by the Brazilian Consulate in the country of issue and (c) a completed Taxpayer Identification form. A request for CPF registration can be made at Brazilian Consulates abroad and Inland Revenue offices and started at a post offices or branch of the Banco do Brasil. A CPF request by a foreigner can also be made through an attorney. Building developers usually require that foreigners who are non-resident in Brazil nominate an attorney in Brazil to fulfill subsequent obligations taken on in the contract and for sending any information regarding the development, construction progress, etc.

A contract is the instrument by which all and any obligations taken on between the parties (buyer and seller) will be conducted and will remain until their final settlement. Therefore, in the event of any future queries and especially if there is a need to submit these doubts or conflicts for resolution with the Judicial Authorities, the signed contract will be the instrument used as a basis for this evaluation. It is therefore important that all negotiations and agreements are correctly anticipated in the signed contract.

It is not necessary if the purchasers are married under a prenuptial agreement, as each spouse has the freedom to administer his property in this case and also to acquire rights and obligations. However, it is necessary for a spouse to be mentioned in other types of marital property systems (total and partial ownership and final participation in property) as when signing a contract to agree to purchase and sell units there are various obligations that are contracted by both parties, such as receiving the keys and granting guarantees (eg: mortgage and Chattel Mortgage) for example. If the acquisition was made through an attorney, it is also necessary for both spouses to nominate an attorney through a public Power of Attorney with powers to acquire property and other correlated obligations in these cases.

As a rule, the deeds should be issued in the name of the estate and therefore presentation of a legal permit will be necessary so that the estate receives property ownership. However, if the rights to receive the property are shared between the heirs, it will be necessary to present the form of division or public deed for division duly registered with the appropriate Property Registration Office to the building developer and respective registry office, so that the property deeds are directly granted to the heir(s) of the deceased.

When a property is sold at a profit or, in other words, when the sales value is greater than the purchase, there is a 15% tax payment on this difference (capital gains). This tax should be paid using a Inland Revenue Collection Document (Documento de Arrecadação de Receitas Federais – DARF). There is tax exemption if the property sold has a value of less than R$440,000.00, is the taxpayer's only property and if he has not sold any property in the last five years. There are other specific rules which can be consulted in the Inland Revenue's Income Tax regulations.

Payment should be made by the last day of the month following the property sale and is equal to 15% applied to the difference between the property sales and purchase value stated in the previous Annual Income Tax Declaration. It will always presume that the sales value was higher than the purchase value. The unit purchaser should provide details of the property transfer in his Annual Income Tax Settlement in the year following the operation. The specific rules that govern property sales tax can be consulted in the manual available on the Brazilian Inland Revenue's site (www.receita.fazenda.gov.br).

According to Inland Revenue normative instruction No 84/79, property acquisition takes place at the exact moment of contracting the operation, even if it is through a purchase and sale agreement and when suspensive conditions to which the business is subjected are implemented.

It is a Property Transfer Tax (Imposto de Transmissão de Bens Imóveis). It is always charged by the city hall when there is a property transfer. This tax varies in accordance with the city where the property is located and the buyer is responsible for payment.

IPTU – Urban Regions and Building Tax (Imposto Predial e Territorial Urbano) is the municipal tax that is applied to land and buildings and the reason for this charge is ownership of property located in a local authority's urban zone. The basis for its calculation is the property's venal value, attributed by the municipality where it is located and using their own
criteria which usually take the property's size, location and construction standards into consideration.

IPTU is calculated based on a percentage decided from the property's situation in relation to its venal value by the local authority. This, in turn, is decided in accordance with the built area and the area that it occupies on the land or part of. Therefore, before the development is handed over and work is completed, a prevision of the estimated value of IPTU to be paid will depend on prior consultation with the local city hall, which will indicate the approximate and estimated IPTU value depending on the criteria used for the calculation and on presentation of the requested documentation. Additionally, municipal criteria for IPTU discounts or exemptions can also be discovered through consultation with the local city hall.

The remaining balance is the value remaining for full payment of the property. The remaining balance is readjusted monthly in accordance with the rates and interest agreed in the contract.

A Letter of Credit is a document granted to the buyer of a property with approved credit by a financial institution. This document can be used to acquire any property whose construction is already registered.

A bank transfer is obtaining resources in a financial institution for final payment of a property with a construction company.

Financial institutions require the property's legalization to have this as a guarantee for payment of a debt in order to make credit available, whether through a mortgage or chattel mortgage. Property legalization constitutes a series of related acts, following completion of the construction, with an average duration of 90 days. Letters of Credit supplied by financial institutions are valid for an average of 90 to 180 days. Therefore the start of a bank transfer process should take place between 30 and 60 days before construction has been completed.

Costs related to the transfer process are the purchaser's responsibility and include advisory body fees, notary and registration charges and Property Transfer Tax (ITBI). These amounts vary in accordance with each property's value. The tax and fees are due as there is a definitive transfer of the property to the purchaser who offers it as a guarantee to the bank for the contracted loan.

The documentation may vary according to the financial institution. However documents for the seller, the property, personal documents and buyer's proof of income are always requested.

An assessment is carried out by a specialized company that assists in the credit analysis, documental and legal process, aiming to speed up and ensure the perfect formalization of property credit contracts, according to legal and normative requirements in force, as well as parameters and policies established by the contracting institution in order to obtain a loan.

Credit analysis entails a study of the property sale conditions and buyer's characteristics, aiming to ensure that the operation is carried out in accordance with credit parameters and policies accepted by the bank market, so as to make the transfer viable in the future, while noting that the existence of a cadastral restriction is not accepted in credit analysis. Credit analysis always takes place on two occasions: initially, at the time of purchase and secondly when the transfer is made.

The last three pay slips, income tax information or bank statements are usually requested as proof of income.

It is the rate agreed in a contract for monetary correction for the values involved.

It is a financing system in which the installments are equal, amortization increases and the interest rate decreases. It is also known as the French Amortization System.

It is a financing system where the installments decrease, with constant amortization and decreasing interest payments.