What is Financiamento?
Financiamento is when a bank lends you money to buy something of high value (house, car, etc.) and you pay it back in installments over the years. The purchased asset serves as collateral — if you stop paying, the bank can take it.
Common Types
Imobiliário Financiamento
- Term: up to 35 years
- Rates: 8% to 12% per year
- Minimum down payment: 20% of the value
- Systems: SAC or Price
Veículos Financiamento
- Term: up to 60 months
- Rates: 1.5% to 3% per month
- Down payment: the more, the better
- The car is alienated to the bank
Tips to finance well
- Make the largest down payment possible — reduces total interest
- Choose the shortest term that fits your budget — less interest
- Compare rates between banks — the difference can be huge
- Prefer SAC — pays less interest in total
- Amortize whenever possible — every extra R$ 1,000 saves thousands
How much does a financiamento cost
A R$ 400,000 property financed over 30 years at 10% per year costs around R$ 1,000,000 in total. You pay more than double the property’s value in interest.