Buying a home in Brazil step by step: the process

The sequence in nine steps

1. Fix the legal basis before you search seriously. A foreign buyer needs a tax number first: see CPF for foreigners and, for the rules on who may buy what, buying property in Brazil as a foreigner.
2. Agree the price and sign a preliminary contract. Most purchases start with a promessa de compra e venda (promise of sale) and a deposit (sinal or arras). See purchase agreement and deposit.
3. Check who can sell. If the seller is married, the spouse usually has to agree: spousal consent.
4. Read the property record. The matrícula is the property’s file at the registry: matrícula.
5. Collect the certificates. Which ones the law asks for, which ones are only prudent: due diligence certificates.
6. Pay the transfer tax. Set by the city: ITBI and the ITBI tax base.
7. Sign the deed. Escritura pública. If you sign through an attorney, see power of attorney from abroad; if you do not read Portuguese, see the sworn translator at the deed.
8. Register it. Registering the purchase.
9. Close the money side. Notary and registry fees and the total in closing costs.

Why the order matters

Brazilian law separates three moments that a North American or British buyer tends to treat as one. The contract binds the parties but transfers nothing. The deed is the formal act before a notary, essential to validity for property above the 30-minimum-wage threshold (Código Civil, art. 108). The registration is what transfers ownership between living persons (art. 1.245, with its § 1: “enquanto não se registrar o título translativo, o alienante continua a ser havido como dono do imóvel”, meaning that until the title is registered, the seller is still regarded as the owner). Paying the full price after the deed but before registration leaves a window in which the seller’s creditors or a second buyer can still act. The other documents are there to make that window short and safe.

The same logic explains why the tax comes before the deed in most cities. The notary records in the deed that proof of ITBI payment, the tax certificates and the property and encumbrance certificates were presented (Lei 7.433/1985, art. 1, § 2). Decreto 93.240/1986, art. 1, II, requires the ITBI receipt, “ressalvadas as hipóteses em que a lei autorize a efetivação do pagamento após a sua lavratura” (except where a law allows payment after the deed is drawn). Whether your city allows that is a local question.

What is federal and what is local

Never assume that a rule you read for São Paulo applies elsewhere. The two lists of cities and states Payotte has read are in the ITBI guide and the fees guide.

A realistic calendar

The law fixes only some of the clocks. A certificate of the registry’s encumbrances used for the deed is valid for 30 days for that purpose (Decreto 93.240, art. 1, IV), so it should be ordered shortly before the signing date. After the deed is lodged at the registry, the registrar has 10 days to register or issue a written list of objections (nota devolutiva), or 5 days for plain sale deeds without special clauses, when there are no objections and the fees are paid (Lei 6.015, art. 188 and § 1, I). Everything else, such as how long the city takes to issue the ITBI bill or how soon the notary has an appointment, varies and is not set by federal law. Ask each office for its own lead time.

Common mistakes

• Paying the whole price on signing a private contract, before any search of the matrícula.
• Treating the deed as the end: it is not. The title must be registered, and a buyer who does not register remains exposed.
• Relying on a rule heard about another city for ITBI or fees.
• Skipping the spouse of a married seller.
• Assuming the minimum price on the deed is the price you pay the city tax on: the city may use its own value, see the ITBI tax base.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with the OAB can read the matrícula and the contract and act under a power of attorney if you are abroad. A tabelião (notary) drafts the deed and checks that the documents are complete. A licensed real estate broker (corretor de imóveis) finds and negotiates; see the real-estate-broker profession page and the property-lawyer page. A property appraiser can value the home if the price is disputed.