Flag of Brazil, 1960 – 1968 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ok scams have been around for a long time, especially property scams which usually get more frequent when the property market is doing well as people this that they cannot lose its a win, win situation. OK the UK property market is basically in the toilet but other countries are doing well, and countries like Brazil are doing very well especially seeing as they are the host nation for the FIFA world cup next summer and the Olympic Games 2016.
Unfortunately the success of the Brazilian economy especially the property sector has meant that we are seeing more and more scams relating to Brazil and Brazilian property, but should an investor avoid Brazil altogether? No definitely not… You just need to be vigilante.
Minha Casa Minha Vida ( My House My Life) is a government programme created in Brazil to reduce the current housing deficit and get families out of the slums and into modest accommodation, the programme was a massive undertaking so the government allowed private companies to apply to build Minha Casa Minha Vida units and building is such large scale ( larger than anything we have seen here in the UK) that developers involved in the programme look to investors for funding rather than opting for the slow process of going through the banking system.. so the phrase was coined ‘minha casa minh avida investments’
People have been made money from minha casa minh avida investments since the programme was launched in 2009, unfortunately as mentioned earlier, once something does well all the scam companies come out of the woodwork claiming to offer minha casa minh avida investments but really just want to take your money and in recent month many misinformed people have labelled all minha casa minh avida investments as a scam, which just isn’t true, Here in the UK a construction company called EcoHouse Group or EcoHouse Brazil as they are sometimes referred to are doing extremely well in this sector, getting investment from all over the world. and actively building development after development in Brazil, simply looking at what EcoHouse has achieved in the last few years convinces me that the investing in this programme is still a viable option.
Related articles
- Minha Casa Minha Vida Investments Getting Lots of Press (watchfulinvestor.wordpress.com)
- Minha Casa Minha Vida Fraud in Brazil (watchfulinvestor.wordpress.com)
- Minha Casa, Minha Vida: Federal Housing Policy in Brazil (favelissues.com)
The Watchful Investor 
This is an excellent investment, i have a couple of friends who invested and got paid out last year, and yes this was through Ecohouse via their London branch, to be honest is wasn’t aware of any other UK company authorised to build minha casa minha vida houses in Brazil?
I was looking into this investment last year and downloaded a few brochures from various websites, out of the 6 brochures i downloaded 4 where from Ecohouse anyway the other 2 where amateurish 2 page brochures offering amazing returns, they screamed scam to me so a went direct with ecohouse, i got paid out 3 weeks ago… In all my research i didn’t see any other company with evidence of building…
Has anyone out there heard of Obelisk International and the Laguna Beach Project in Tabatinga,Natal
Unless you know the developer and they have a good track record I would be cautious about anything in Brazil, anyone can buy a plot of land, put a sign up costing a few hundred dollars and claim to be building a massive resort.. Remember Harlequin!! https://www.facebook.com/#!/alternativeinvestorportfolio/posts/604773116210105
Project has been floating around for years, nothings ever been built, only artists impressions online….. make your own mind up.. I only invest in bricks and mortar FYI Obelisk International are NOT the builders… just trying to get peopel to invest in the project
Obelisk are a dodgy boiler room outfit based in the costa del sol, don’t go anywhere near them.. As for Laguna Beach,Natal, name has been floating around a couple of years… yet no signs of building, no updates…my advice… proceed with caution
I looked into this project about 18 Months ago.. still nothing built, just glossy magazines and promises… Also, Obelisk are NOT the developer, they are just a small investment company operating out of Spain.. Maybe someone else knows who the developer is?
If you’re looking to invest in Minha Casa Minah Vida and don’t want to fall for scam then go directly to ecohouse group, why even go through an agent, they could just say the money is going to ecohouse…
Yes I agree, lots of scammers and even legitimate investment companies are simple name dropping, some sneakily mention ecohouse in their sales pitch without actually saying youre investing with them, ecohouse have worldwide offices, just go direct and avoid the scams and ponzi schemes.. I read another blog recently with a comment from someone claiming ecohouse had scammed them! then i notice the ROI was incorrect, the investment sum was incorrect, so was the development he so-called invested in… victim of a scammer simply namedropping? probably
do you have the url of this blog?
it was here http://www.valuebuddies.com/thread-3074.html but it no longer exist, proving it was just bull… I find that if you go looking for bad press about anyone you’ll find it.. Disgruntled employees, rival companies, even scammer trying to discredit the legitimate company hoping you’ll choose them instead….
I totally agree with dennywild, look hard enough and you’ll find bad press on any company or any person.. the bigger the company the more bad press you’ll find… but calling something a scam without hard evidence is just moronic, I’m an ecohouse investor, have been since 2010 and have earned a lot on money from the minha casa minha vida investment, if you dont believe it then dont invest… more opportunities for me.
I agree… you can find bad press against anyone even ecohouse… i remember the tread at valuebuddies before it was taken down… it was an obvious fake post, nothing to back it up just thing like ‘20% must be a scam’, ‘ecohouse must be a scam, etc… in fact 20% IS possible when crowdfunding.. which is what ecohouse do.. there website however says up to 20%, in fact you need to invest in a number of units to get this return, but i hard they do fly to out to Brazil if you do invest in a numbe rof unit… 15% is the norm they offer to regular investors
So ecohouse are scammers then? typical bait and switch saying 20% and they giving investors 15%
I was looking at this investment last year but this post has opened my eyes.. thanks for the info, to avoid being taken in by a scam i’ll contact ecohouse direct
lol…. you can’t please some people, “they are offing 20%, must be a scam!!!!”, “15% for regular investors, bait and switch, must be a scam..” lol… remember when Banks gave you interest? you saw a big sign outside saying 12.5% for our ‘gold super duper savings account’, only to enquire and find out they the 12.5% is for people with over 20k and the rest of us had to settle with 6%.. It’s not bait and switch, its common practice to advertise your best rate…..
Now the Singapore Ecohouse company inform the investors that the completion was delay. This is going to build up some tension.
Delay’s are normal in the construction industry, hardly anything gets completed ontime, I dont think it is going to ‘build up any tension’ 100’s have invested, 100’s have already been paid out…are delay’s actually building delay’s of are they bank/inspector delay’s as this is normal too.
From The EcoHouse Investor Newsletter (Nov 2013)
As in any real estate transaction there is a period of handover that needs to be accounted for. This can be anywhere from 30 to 100 days after completion. This is completely out of our control. The additional period required is for all final paperwork to be processed by the relevant authorities and for bank and MCMV inspectors to complete final checks. Finally, this period allows for the Brazilian end buyer to take possession and for the bank to process final payment to EcoHouse. As we aim to be completely transparent in the entire process we therefore must make our investors aware of the above in light of our renewed commitment to communicate as accurately and as regularly as possible
Thanks for this…. how did you get hold of this? are you an ecohouse investor?
don’t for for a Brazilian property scam? don’t invest until you know all about the investment company and/or delevoper, scams go on all the time, some are really hard to spot
Basic rules apply whether it’s property or anything else, if it sounds too good to be true it usually is, 15-20% is good, but not too good to be true, ecohouse can offer this because they are the developer…. no middle man, it’s cheap to build in Brazil, and they have been doing it for years for have all the contacts, i new developer could’nt go over to Brazil and do this…. Now i saw one investment company ( not a developer like ecohouse) offering 75% ROI for minha casa minha vida.. you had to invest for 3 years though….what a total scam, you would have to be an idiot to think that they would actually still be around in 3 years time….. oh, and after some digging I found out that they operated from the Cost Del Sol… hmmmmmmm wonder if this is a safe investment
All the negative stuff is from a few people in Singapore, who are being coerced into kicking up a fuss by some amateur blogger called John Clare ( look him up, he’s a tool) and a few of his followers, all because a few payouts were late…
This is investing, nothing is guaranteed, it’s like buying a house and then complaining to the developers when you’re stuck in negative equity, or trying to sue them because the person buying your home can’t get a mortgage and your own move is delayed, it’s ridiculous, Singaporeans must have a very limited knowledge and understanding as to what an investment is, all investments are risky, but to be honest the ecohouse minha casa minha vida investment doesn’t really come with any, there is a waiting list for social housing, ecohouse are building some of the highest quality social housing units there are, so construction wasn’t completed on-time, what a surprise, like all the World Cup/Olympic Stations have been completed on time!!!, Fact is they WILL be completed, they will be sold and the investor will get their return.
Bottom line is…. if you can’t factor in repayment delays when investing in things such as new build property then you shouldn’t really be investing.
If you can’t afford to wait for your payment due to banking , currency, red tape and other delay’s, you shouldn’t be investing.
If your going to let amateur blogger (who seems to have an axe to grind with the developer )wind you up and coerce you into kicking up a fuss, you shouldn’t be investing.
This is spot on Greg, But, I’m Singaporean and did not kick up a fuss, but my business is investing, I myself was paid late (but i was paid) this is expected when payout depends on build completion dates.. I find Eco House to be very easy to deal with and they have never told me a single lie, The issue is that people are investing that can’t afford to and when payouts are late they find themselves in financial troubles, this IS NOT the companies fault…. I for one will be re-investing when investment opens again…
I thought escrow protected the money? In which it should be easy to return the funds.
Yes it does protect the money, It means funds can only be drawn for it’s intended purpose, i.e. building a property or properties, it also stops people running ponzi schemes as money can’t be drawn to pay earlier investors.. In my experience it can make payout slower, but I’d rather have the protection…. better than the alternative – http://thepropertysite.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/green-planet-property-investment-scam-shut-down-by-the-high-court/
Considering my positive experiences renting high end luxury villas in Europe, the US and Hawaii I assumed that an agency known as Brazilian Beach House, in Brazil operated by British expat Steven Mark Chew, and charging over $1,000 per night at a luxurious villa would provide comparable service.
Instead, after taking a $10,000 prepayment the agency, for renting a property known as Casa do Morro, owned by Bob Novogratz (http://www.thenovogratz.com) and located in Trancoso, Brazil beginning January 5, 2014, they told me that the owner of the house I was to occupy had become “difficult” and decided not to let me rent the house. No refund, no assistance, goodbye. Needless to say we’ve had to involve the authorities to try to get our money back.
Don’t be fooled by a site claiming to offer luxury services in Brazil–find someone you trust and who had a happy experience with them.
Reblogged this on scamwatchbrazil and commented:
excellent article