I am married to a Brazilian Citizen and living in the states. We own a house in Bahia that we visit several times a year.

Does being married to a Brazilian help me obtain permanant visa status? If not, does it help me at all with with visa's and the possibility of getting around having to stay a limit of 90 days?

Property ownership in Brazil canīt serve even as an auxillary reason for applying for a permanent visa.

Based on your marriage to a Brazilian citizen, you can apply for Family Re-union type of permanent visa at your nearest Brazilian Consulate. Your chances are high, and once you have the visa, you will not be restricted anymore by the 90-days limit.

You need to know that there exist certain restriction based on your length of absence to Brazil once you enter on your permanent visa. Your Brazilian consulat would be the best source for more information.

Here are some links for more informaiton:

http://www.brazil.org.uk/page.php?cid=456
http://www.brasembottawa.org/eng_permanent_visa_family.htm
http://www.brazilsf.org/viper1.htm