For Sale: “Castelo Atlântico” - Spacious Mansion with Ocean View in São Luís, MA, North-East Brazil.

Summary

“Castelo Atlântico” is a beautiful Ocean View Mansion with lots of character and handcrafted details rarely found in other modern-day buildings in Brazil; excellently suited for permanent living or as a holiday retreat; for combined residence and home businesses (clinic, lawyer´s office, consulate, etc.) or exclusively for larger businesses (Fine-dining Restaurant; Bed & Breakfast; Wedding Venue; Luxury Holiday Rental; Corporate Retreat Center, Luxury Spa, etc.) Located close to everything that you normally need in the city, yet being surrounded by green in a spacious environment and with lots of privacy, right in front of the ocean; it is the ideal ‘Home away from Home’.

We have extensively upgraded the structure of the mansion and are in the last stages of renovating the finishes throughout the building. A large part of the outside of the building and the streetside wall have all been cladded with high-quality porcelain tiles, with special high-precision decorative cuts, giving the whole mansion a castle-like look. Some areas we will continue to work on in the coming weeks, until it is sold (adjusting the price accordingly when justified) other details we will leave slightly unfinished on purpose for the next owner to install (like the kitchen countertops and cabinets; as they highly depend on your personal taste). Wherever the space needs some finishing touches to fit the full description, we will try to specify this for clarity (between braces {*…}).

Ground level:

• Plot of land: Street Front 22,7m (74,5 feet), just over 1200m2 (13,000 square feet) total; fully documented;
• Main Building:
  • Large covered Porch;
  • Hall with small Bed-/Changing room and full Bathroom*;
  • Large Multi-function room in L-shape (could be divided into 3 or 4 rooms for business use);
  • Bar area with Washroom;
  • Staircase with storage area;
  • Large ‘open plan’ Kitchen, Living, and Dining room**;
  • *{Except for the new front door, the structure is completed with all water, sewer and electric pipes in place, but it needs all finishes, depending partially on the intended use (business / private or whether you need a room for your housekeeper, bodyguard, etc.};
  • **{countertops, cabinets and some other related finishes we will leave for the next owner to install according to personal taste (e.g. I´d prefer Taj Mahal Quartzite, whilst you may prefer all white quartz or even black ‘Ubatuba’ granite)}.
• Side Building*:
  • 2 or 3 car Garage;*
  • Separate room for a Hobby space;*
  • Wash and Ironing room.*
  • *{The structure is there, but it needs a complete renovation still.}
• Adjacent to the House:
  • Room for 2 or 3 more cars;
  • Large terraces (can easily sit 50+ people) with outside Cooking Space with BBQ*, Projection Screen, Washroom**;
  • Swimming Pool (roughly 4mx10m/ 13x31 feet), Pump house with Bathroom***;
  • Spacious Garden with several types of fruit trees and bushes;
  • Separate Grass Playing Area, with Outside Shower***;
  • *{The structure for a high, ventilated roof is all finished (concrete) with Porcelain tile cladding, only requiring the wooden or metal structure for the covering (depending on whether you want to cover it with the cooler traditional terracotta roof tiles or a lightweight automated (opening) roof for more light and ventilation in the evening); electrics and counter-tops need to be installed to combine with the chosen finishes for the kitchen area.}
  • **{If so desired, a toilet can be easily installed here, but it can also be a handy storage room, since there are several other bathrooms available nearby.}
  • ***{Needs finishes.}

First Floor:

• 10+ areas / 5+ bedrooms, i.e.:
  • 1 Master convertible Suite (with Ocean View (O.V.)) containing:
    • large Bathroom,
    • Walk-in Closet,
    • small Kitchen,
    • Private Balcony (with O.V.),
    • TV-room (with O.V.),
    • Library,
    • Office (with O.V.),
    • ample Balcony with panoramic Ocean View;
  • 3 large suites;
  • 1 smaller bedroom/2nd office.*
  • *{2 bathrooms need to be renovated still; part of the Master Bedroom area needs some floor tiles and repainting.)

Possible Usage

The Mansion is considered a very large city residence for Brazilian standards. We ourselves have used it mainly as a family home with all the space we could wish for. But at some stage we even used it to accommodate a church and a photo studio downstairs.

It is ideal for combining a residence with a small business. It would be excellent for a doctor’s or dentist’s practice; impressive enough for a lawyer’s office; spacious enough even for a restaurant or holiday accommodations, etc. As a residence it is a great family place to throw parties and receive the extended family and friends or just to relax in your spare time.

There is also enough space to expand, if so desired. (We were originally planning to build a large terrace above the garage and at some stage even designed an extra guest-house there and two towers to complete the ‘castle look’; but time did not permit to get to that.) There is also plenty of space to develop the garden into a little paradise. Our goal was to give it a charming ‘resort feel’, where we could relax and entertain lots of friends.

Condition of the house

Ever since we bought this mansion 20 years ago, we have been modernising and improving it. The original building was started in the nineteen sixties and was very well built (as I studied civil engineering when I was young, this was one of the main reasons for choosing this house, as most newer houses in Brazil are not very well built and use inferior materials). The whole house is constructed out of thick brick and strong armoured concrete (no dry-wall, plasterboards or other weak materials). Only the best local hardwood (Pau d’Arco; a.k.a. Dark Ipe) was used for doors and windows and pure brass or stainless-steel finishes, to withstand the salty ocean breeze, so close to the water. As the ‘bones’ were very well constructed, most of our efforts were subsequently spend modernising it into a well-structured, more functional building; allowing more light in, adapting it to air-conditioning, etc., as well as renewing large parts of the water and electrical system, etc. We always made it our goal to only use the best materials (some imported when not available locally) as we appreciate quality and hate to have to renew the same thing twice.

Having said this, the original builders incorporated some really nice antique features (original Portuguese tiles, huge hand-cut pavement stones, doors and trelliswork, etc. rescued from centuries old colonial houses that were being torn down) giving the place a very unique historical feel. This was one of the reasons we chose to continue with the decoration designs in a more romantic ‘Castle style’, rather than trying to make it look ‘modern and simple’ like all the houses that are currently build.

Recently we have been cladding a large part of the house in high-quality porcelain tiles, adding some more insolation and water proofing to the already more than 30cm (1 foot) thick walls (downstairs); removing the need to keep painting the whole place and adding to its charm.

Unfortunately, just before we get to completely finish it, we have felt a calling to move on to another part of Brazil to continue our ministry there, meaning that we will probably not get to finish the redecorating 100%. This has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it means that the buyer should calculate to spend a number of months to finish the renovation project. (Our current cost estimate for us finishing it with the same quality and eye for detail would be another £26.000 / €30.000 / US$ 34.000 depending on current exchange rates), but of course that depends a lot on the materials and contractors you choose and you could easily double that if you are in a hurry or want imported materials. (We will be able to indicate some trustworthy professionals we have been working with and the places where you can find the best materials in town.) On the other hand, the great advantage of it requiring some finishing touches is that the new owners can buy the place below market value (making it an interesting investment) and also that the finishing touches can be adapted exactly to one’s own taste (e.g. the colour of the granite counter tops, etc.).

Location and Neighbourhood

The house is extremely well situated, on top of the dune (about 20 meters above sea level), with a panoramic view of the ocean (something very few city houses in São Luís have) with an almost constant pleasant breeze (but without too much salt, like the houses at sea-level); just over 200m (220 yards) from the beach and the long ocean-side boulevard, very close to several large supermarkets, a hospital (with 24h emergency attendance), the best schools in town and a commercial area that provides everything one needs on a day to day basis; also not too far from some of the best Shopping Malls and the largest stores in town. It is at a short walking distance from the SESC Turismo Hotel and facilities, where one can become a member to have access to sport facilities (including a large modern gym) and a good and very affordable restaurant. There are several hotels and AirBNB accommodations nearby and of course driving along the coastal boulevard that basically starts in front of the house, many more hotels, bars and restaurants can be found. You can go and walk on the beach whenever you feel like it, do sports, cycling, etc. all right at the gate.

Although it is a bit of an upper-class neighbourhood of course; all the neighbours I have met over the years have been very friendly and we maintain contact via WhatsApp, also for security reasons, news about road maintenance, etc. But if you need a high level of privacy, the high walls permit you to live secluded from the outside world, if so desired, and of course these add to the overall security. Some of the neighbours have also positioned a 24-hour street watch about 3 houses away from ours, which has also contributed to avoid security problems. The new boulevard adds security as well, as police vehicles are now constantly patrolling the area.

The mansion can be seen from the beach and by anyone driving up the main road. Its ‘castle style’ finish not only gives it a special charm, but also makes it a very easy reference point for visitors or clients, as everybody knows where to find ‘the little castle on top of the dune’.

Preis

As the ocean-side boulevard was recently build, the neighbourhood is now seeing a high increase in investments, both by businesses and for residential usage. Property values are expected to soar in the coming years, as it is now becoming the most desirable neighbourhood in the city.

Although in the coming weeks we will still be finishing some loose ends from some of the renovation projects we started, we do not expect to finish the whole house before it gets snapped up by an interested buyer. The asking price, at the time of writing, is around £697.000 / €809.000 / US$ 899.000 (depending on current exchange rates). This price reflects the fact that the buyer would still need to put some work in it at the start; which means it is a great opportunity for those who want to buy it cheaper and put their own finishing touches on it. We are open to reasonable bids (close to the above-mentioned values), but of course the longer we go on renovating, the more we will raise the price to its proper market value once completed. If you are interested to live here or to invest in property, please contact us to ask for the latest price and details.

Buying and Selling Process

We realise that offering the house to international buyers comes with some extra challenges. As a foreigner myself (from the Netherlands), I am aware that it takes some extra steps to assure a good and safe transition when buying a house in Brazil; but we are more than willing to help with the whole process and guarantee we leave nothing to chance. If so desired, you can have a local lawyer or your own real estate agent accompany the whole process, to make sure all details are considered. If preferred, as an additional safety measure, we can also use the Dutch Notary Office and banking system for creating a safe ESCROW transfer, as these offices have the highest possible security for property transfers.

If you do not know this part of Brazil yet, it is an amazing place to live; either full-time or during the holidays and it could also be a great place to start a new business, as well as being a good place to invest whilst prices are still relatively low, compared to other parts of Brazil. Of course, we speak English and Dutch, as well as Portuguese (and we can understand some Spanish, French, and German, if necessary) so feel free to communicate with us in any of these languages for any further questions you might have.