Buying
A House In Rio
Part
2 ~ by Romel Fajardo
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joined the Smiles Program offered by Varig Airlines since I was becoming
a regular on the flight to Rio and they now offer an unbelievably low price
for the flight from Miami (MIA) to Rio (GIG) $420 + taxes roundtrip and
nonstop, except for the stop in Sao Paulo, which I still don’t understand
what the nonstop thing was all about since we always stopped in Sao Paulo.
I had the deposit
on the beach house, my CPF, Brazilian ID and a bank account in Brazil,
all the necessary things to complete this much anticipated transaction.
While I was in Miami, Citi Bank wired the necessary funds to Banco de Brasil
and I was now flying to Rio, alone, to sign the final papers at the bank
and wait the 30-day waiting period, at the end of which, Banco de Brasil
would transfer the funds to the seller and give me the Title to the property.
While shopping
for a house on the last trip I brought a friend, Laura along, which was
really fun but when Marcia, my Brazilian friend from my very first visit
to Rio, stopped by the one bedroom condo to visit, she got slightly upset
when she discovered that Laura and I were sharing a king-sized bed. Well,
after numerous phone calls and false promises, she is picking me up from
the airport. First stop my favorite Kioski in front of the Barra Bella
in Barra de Tijuca where Marcia and I share a caipirinha and a stiff glass
of Domecq. She is still a little upset, but luckily she only gets mad in
Portuguese. After a couple of drinks it just blends in with the waves and
the wind. Sure is nice to back. |
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I’m meeting
Renata from the Imovies the next day so we wake up early, eat a late lunch
and head to her office. She has a wonderful surprise for me, the estate
has agreed to sell the adjacent vacant parcel and the parcel with the guest
house for a very reasonable package price. I was overjoyed. In our previous
negotiations, the sellers were reluctant to arrive to an agreement any
where close to these numbers, so I had backed off and agreed to just the
main house. They also graciously agreed to let me pay the additional amount
over 12 equal monthly payments. No mention was made of interest so I didn’t
bring it up and as it turns out none was required.
We immediately
headed to Shenanigans to celebrate and to reunite with other friends.
Shenanigans has two locations in Rio and is owned by 2 Americans,
Chris and ?, who moved here about 10 years ago. The first place they opened
was the Lord Jim which is still open and doing well in Ipanema.
The best shopping in Ipanema is on a street named Visconde de Piraja; there
are bars, restaurants and typical boutique shops in contrast to the chains
stores and chain restaurants in the malls. Later that night I had a huge
daiquiri at Guapo Loco’s with Millinha, a gorgeous carioca, I really
blew it with her on a previous trip, and her beautiful girlfriends Ursala
and Roberta. Now that I have a place here I’ll have to see if I can rekindle
this relationship. You can’t blame me, the girls are all so beautiful here!
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The
beach house is similar to the other homes in the area, made of concrete,
it is two-story Mediterranean-style bungalow with a tile roof and a 8-foot
tall concrete wall that surrounds the property. The entrance has huge Brazilian
wood double-doors for the garage and a people entrance also of Brazilian
wood. The place needs plenty of care, it’s missing a couple windows and
most appliances seem dated and in need of replacing. An area that was probably
a garden surrounds the home, although it’s now completely overgrown and
in need of a small brush fire in order to clear the weeds and high grass.
I intend to remodel the property over the next year or so and have made
plans with local workers in order to carry out renovations.
Good places
to hang out and meet new people are Baixo Quitéria on Rua
Maria Quitéria (between Prudente and Visconde streets). Also, Baixo
Farme which is near Bar Bofetada on Rua Farme de Amoedo, near
the corner of Barão da Torre. Both Baixos are gathering places in
close proximity to a variety of venues. My friend Millinha has introduced
me to these places during our travels around Rio: we meet her friends in
each spot and they are always very friendly. |
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I am still
just a tourist with a vacation home here so I’m limited to staying just
6 months of the year. Chris from Shenanigans told me if you stay
longer you just have to pay a small fine, no big deal. I would love to
own one of the kiosks on the beach or some other bar-type investment, but
at this point I’m restricted to owning a business, unless I can deposit
a quarter million dollars and leave it sitting in a bank account for a
couple years or marry one of these beautiful Brazilians, if only I could
get someone to love me long enough to get me to the altar. In the meantime,
I will continue to wait until my visa gets approved, which I’m told by
the consulate, will be much quicker now that I’m a property owner.
The following
is the first article Romel wrote for the Offshore Real Estate Quarterly:
Rio de Janeiro / Buzios - A
Month To Buy a House In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ...and The Good Life In
Buzios
To contact
Romel Click Here
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