The down payment is the part of the price table that shows up in the ad. The balance due at handover is the part that decides whether the purchase works.
The stages of an off-plan payment schedule
Every Brazilian launch price table (tabela de vendas) follows the same logic: part of the price is paid while the building goes up and the rest falls due when construction ends. What changes from one developer to another is the weight of each stage.
Reading the table means adding up each line, understanding when it falls due and finding out how much is left for handover day.
Unlike off-plan markets where a bank mortgage is lined up from the start, in Brazil most of the construction phase is paid straight to the developer, in reais, and the large balance at the end is settled separately.
Deposit and down payment
The deposit (sinal) is the first payment, made when you sign the offer or the contract. The down payment (entrada) can be the deposit itself or a larger amount split into a few installments.
In launches on the Santa Catarina coast it is common to see the down payment split into 4 or 6 installments, which reduces the cash needed in the first month.
A split down payment does not change the price. Whatever is not paid at the start shows up in the following lines.
Monthly installments
These are paid during construction, usually until the delivery month. They are smaller amounts over a long period, following the construction schedule. Check whether the number of monthly installments ends before, at or after the expected delivery date, because a construction delay may or may not lengthen that period, depending on the contract.
Balloon payments
Balloon payments (reforços, popularly called balões) are larger installments, every six or twelve months. They ease the monthly installments but require cash on fixed dates. Investors tend to match each balloon with a predictable inflow of money, such as a bonus or the sale of another asset.
Keys installment and balance
Some tables include a specific installment in the month of the occupancy certificate (habite-se), called the keys installment (parcela das chaves). After it comes the outstanding balance (saldo devedor), almost always the largest slice of the price.
It can be paid in cash, financed by a bank (the repasse) or paid in installments directly to the developer, with its own index and interest.
What INCC adjustment does to the math
During construction, the unpaid balance is usually adjusted every month by the INCC, the national construction cost index calculated by FGV, a Brazilian research foundation. Later installments are recalculated on the adjusted balance. That is why the total paid by handover ends up above the price table on signing day, even with no delay at all.
The index is not fixed. According to FGV IBRE's September 2026 release, the INCC-M accumulated 6.61% over 12 months to September 2026, against 7.07% in September 2025. How the adjustment works month by month is explained in our guide to the INCC construction cost index.
After handover, the INCC leaves the picture. If the balance is financed by a bank, the bank's rules apply. If it is paid in installments to the developer, the contract sets another index, such as the IPCA (consumer inflation) or IGP-M, and usually starts charging interest.
An end-to-end simulation
Simulation with round, hypothetical numbers, only to show the structure. It is not the price table of any real development.
| Stage | Terms | Amount in the table |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | 4 installments of R$ 10,000 | R$ 40,000 |
| Monthly | 36 installments of R$ 2,000 | R$ 72,000 |
| Annual balloons | 3 of R$ 30,000 | R$ 90,000 |
| Keys installment | 1 of R$ 40,000 | R$ 40,000 |
| Balance at handover | cash, bank or direct | R$ 558,000 |
| Total | R$ 800,000 |
Assumptions: a R$ 800,000 unit, 36 months of construction and a constant INCC of 6% a year, a round number close to FGV's recent 12-month figure.
Under that assumption, the R$ 558,000 balance alone would reach handover worth R$ 664,600 (558,000 × 1.06³). The monthly installments and balloons rise too, so the total paid exceeds R$ 800,000.
For reference only, R$ 800,000 is about US$ 153,000 at the Central Bank PTAX selling rate of October 2, 2026 (R$ 5.2238 per dollar). </simulacao>
Two readings come out of this table. First: during construction, the buyer pays R$ 242,000 at table values, 30% of the price. Second: the day that weighs most is handover, when the adjusted balance needs a destination.
If the plan is to finance that balance, the bank looks at your income at the time of the repasse. Caixa Econômica Federal, the federal state-owned bank, states on its home financing page terms of up to 35 years and installments of up to 30% of gross family income, rules checked on October 4, 2026 and subject to change.
In the simulation, that means a family income compatible with an installment financing something close to R$ 665,000, checked only at handover. Both routes are compared in our article on financing an off-plan apartment (in Portuguese).
Paying the balance directly to the developer
Some developers let you pay the balance in installments after delivery, with no bank. For buyers with income abroad, or who prefer to skip a bank assessment, this can simplify the purchase. In return, the term is usually much shorter than a mortgage, the contract starts charging interest and the index changes, usually to IPCA or IGP-M.
Get that condition in writing before signing. If it is not in the summary sheet, do not count on it.
If you pay from abroad
Every line of the table is in reais. If your income is in dollars, euros or pounds, each installment costs whatever the exchange rate is on the day you send the money, and a 36-month construction phase is a long time to carry that risk.
Send funds through a bank or institution authorized to operate foreign exchange in Brazil and keep every exchange contract and receipt: they show where the money came from at registration and at tax time.
You will also need a CPF, the Brazilian taxpayer number, which foreigners abroad can request free of charge through a Brazilian consulate, according to the official gov.br page.
How to evaluate a down payment in a few installments
Terms such as a down payment in 4 or 6 installments show up often in launch campaigns. They help buyers who have income but not a large amount saved. The test is simple: the condition is only good if the rest of the schedule fits too.
Four questions settle most of the analysis:
- How much does everything due until handover add up to, already with an INCC assumption?
- What is the balance at handover and where will that money come from?
- Does the condition apply to every unit or only to certain floor plans and floors?
- Is there a discount for paying more during construction or prepaying?
How the split down payment works, with examples, is in our guide to the off-plan payment plan.
To compare two tables, put the lines side by side in the same spreadsheet, with the same index assumption. The difference shows up in the balance much more than in the first installment.
Simulation with hypothetical numbers: two apartments at R$ 800,000. The first asks for 30% during construction and 70% at handover; the second asks for 50% during construction and 50% at handover.
The second requires R$ 160,000 more until delivery, but reaches handover with a balance R$ 160,000 smaller, before adjustment, and exposes less money to the risk of credit being denied. </simulacao>
Neither is better by definition. The first suits buyers who expect to have the balance at delivery, from selling another property, for example. The second suits buyers with strong income now who prefer to reach handover with little debt.
What the contract must show before you sign
Since Law 13,786/2018, a contract to buy a unit in a Brazilian development opens with a summary sheet (quadro-resumo, article 35-A of Law 4,591/1964). It works as a reading guide for the schedule. Among other points, it must show:
- the total price and the down payment, with the payment method;
- the due dates of each installment;
- the adjustment indexes and the period each applies to;
- interest rates, if any, and the amortization system;
- the deadline to settle the balance after the occupancy certificate;
- the consequences of cancellation, with penalties highlighted;
- the development registration number and the final date for the occupancy certificate.
If any of this is missing, the law gives the developer 30 days to correct the contract. Without the correction, the buyer has just cause to terminate.
The same law accepts delivery up to 180 days after the expected date, when that is stated clearly and prominently. It also allows the developer to keep up to 25% of what was paid if the buyer cancels, or up to 50% when the development is under the segregated-assets regime (patrimônio de afetação).
These numbers show why the schedule must fit your budget from start to finish.
The risks of any off-plan purchase still apply: construction delays, design changes, a developer in financial trouble, INCC above expectations, credit denied at handover and difficulty reselling before delivery.
The development registration, the segregated-assets regime and a carefully read contract reduce these risks but do not eliminate them. This article is for information only and does not replace advice from a lawyer licensed in Brazil.
The right table is the one that still closes after handover
Buyers who look only at the down payment tend to discover the size of the balance too late. Once you read the table line by line, the question changes from "can I start?" to "can I finish?".
Three rules of thumb come out of this:
- Add up the whole schedule with an INCC assumption, never just the table of the day.
- Have a plan for the balance before signing, with an alternative in case the bank says no.
- Read the summary sheet as if it were the table: indexes, interest, deadlines and penalties are all there.
Tomorrow you can already ask for the full table of two developments and build the same spreadsheet for both.
In the online consultation, our specialist presents the region's current tables and builds that comparison with you; if you are on the coast, you can arrange a visit to the show unit and the site and see up close what you would be paying for.
The price of an off-plan unit is the whole schedule, adjusted, down to the last installment.
Run the numbersINCC calculator for off-plan installmentsINCC-M over 12 months: 6.61% (FGV)Open the calculatorRun the numbersOff-plan property or fixed income: compare the same moneyCDI: 13.65% a year (Central Bank of Brazil, 01/10/2026)Open the calculator
