Boa tarde, caros leitores! Good afternoon, dear readers! If you are currently living or plan on moving to a Portuguese-speaking country, chances are you had to learn a few things about how it works to alugar um imóvel (rent a property). I have lived in several places abroad and I know how stressful it can be, specially if speaking a foreign language is involved.

And there’s no way around it: as far as Brazil is concerned, the better you understand Portuguese, the easier it will be to find um bom negócio (a good deal) and the right lugar (place) for you! So I have rounded up a list of useful terms and keywords that you might need as you hunt down your next lar (home), along with some examples and phrases you might hear or say. Vamos dar uma olhada?

casa, apartamento | house, apartment

procurar uma casa, apartamento | house-hunting, apartment hunting

• Estou procurando um apartamento no centro, me avise se souber de alguma coisa | I’m looking for an apartment downtown, tell me if you know about anything.

morar | live

• Preferimos morar em uma área residencial, porque é mais tranquilo | We prefer to live in a residential area because it’s quieter

alugar, aluguel | rent

• A casa era perfeita, mas o preço do aluguel estava acima do nosso orçamento | The house was perfect, but the rental price was above our budget.

imóveis, agente imobiliário, agência imobiliária | real estate, real estate agent, real estate agency

The first step is to find uma agência imobiliária (real estate agency) and have a look at their anúncios (ads, listings). Then you should entrar em contato com o agente imobiliário (contact the real estate agent). 

• Você pode me recomendar uma imobiliária de confiança? | Can you recommend a reliable real estate agency?

anúncio | ad, listing

• Eu vi o anúncio de um apartamento de dois quartos na rua Pinheiros, você poderia me passar mais informações? | I saw the ad for a two-bedroom apartment on Pinheiros Street, could you give me more information?
• Passei o dia vendo anúncios de imóveis, mas não encontrei nada que me agradasse | I spent the day looking at property listings, but I didn’t find anything I liked.

agendar uma visita | book a viewing, visit

If you come across anything that interests you, it’s time to agendar uma visita (book a visit).

• Boa tarde, podemos agendar uma visita para conhecer o apartamento essa sexta, às 14h? | Good afternoon, could we schedule a visit to see the apartment this Friday, at 2 pm?

fiador | guarantor

As it goes with most bigger financial transactions, asking for a fiador (guarantor) to back you up.

• A maioria das pessoas pede que um parente seja seu fiador | Most people ask a relative to be their guarantor 

contrato | contract, lease

And obviously, once you finally make a decision, it’s time to assinar o contrato (sign the lease).

• Certifique-se de ler o contrato com atenção antes de assiná-lo | Make sure to read the contract carefully before you sign it.

caução | deposit

You should also pay for o caução (the deposit), which will be devolvido (returned) to you once your lease is up. 

• O proprietário está pedindo mil reais de caução | The owner is asking for a thousand reais as a deposit.
• Já que danificamos uma das paredes, não conseguimos nosso caução de volta | Since we damaged one of the walls, we can’t get our deposit back.

mudar de casa, de mudança | moving in, out

And now for the best part, it’s time to mudar de casa (move in to your new place).

• Meu vizinho está de mudança, então estou ajudando ele a descer com algumas caixas | My neighbor is moving out so I’m helping him down with some boxes.
• Quando vocês mudam? | When do you move out?
• Gostaríamos de nos mudar antes do dia primeiro, é possível? | We would like to move in before the first, is that possible?

Wanna learn more? Check out this related post here. Vejo vocês semana que vem para a parte II de nosso texto. Boa semana a todos!