Buying property in Miami as a Brazilian

Where a purchase made from Brazil actually starts

Most buyers arrive with a listing in mind. The professional sequence is the opposite: first the criteria, then the neighbourhood, then the building or street, and only then the unit. A purchase made remotely fails more often because the criteria were never written down than because of price.

Two decisions have to be taken before the search begins: who will hold the property and how it will be paid for. Both change what you can look at.

Who holds the property

Buying in your own name, in a company or in a trust are different decisions, and each one affects succession, liability and the way a future sale is handled. There is no answer that fits every family, and this is not a decision to take from a forum thread.

The structure is defined with the attorney and the cross-border tax professional of your case. What we do is make sure the question is asked at the right moment — before the offer, not after the closing.

How a foreign buyer pays

There are, broadly, four routes: cash, financing in the United States, financing in Brazil, and the payment plans offered by developers on pre-construction. Each has a different rhythm and a different level of documentation.

Financing in the United States is available to foreign nationals through specific programmes, usually with a larger down payment and a longer approval process, and the terms depend on your profile, your documentation and the property itself. This is where most timelines slip: the approval is not simultaneous with the search.

The costs that sit outside the price

A unit that looks expensive next to another may be cheaper over ten years, and the reverse is also true. Association reserves and the history of special assessments are part of the price.

• Transaction costs at closing, which are itemised in the closing statement
• Title insurance and the title search itself
• Escrow and the professionals involved in the closing
• Condominium or association fees, monthly and in some cases quarterly
• Property tax, which in Florida is a state and county matter, not a federal one
• Insurance — and in coastal areas, the flood and wind question is not a detail
• Inspection, and any renovation the unit requires before you live in it

Due diligence: what is verified before signature

In a pre-construction purchase the object of the diligence changes: it becomes the developer's track record, the contract's delivery terms, the payment schedule and the conditions for assignment.

• Title search and the status of any liens or encumbrances
• Association documents: budget, reserves, pending works, litigation
• Building permits and any unapproved alteration in the unit
• Physical inspection of the unit and of the common areas
• Flood zone, insurance history of the building and of the region

Closing, and the first months of ownership

Closing happens through escrow, and it can be signed remotely with the correct instrument in place — which is what allows the buyer to remain in Brazil until the keys are handed over.

After closing comes what most buyers underestimate: insurance, utilities, association registration, and, if the property will be empty for part of the year, someone local who is accountable for it. An absent owner needs a responsible presence, not a favour from a neighbour.