How does a foreigner buy real estate in Florida?
Posted on February 3rd, 2010 in Renting & Real Estate | 4 Comments »
tammy y asked:
My mother in law is from Russia and is interested in buying some real estate in Florida. Does anyone know what requirements and steps are needed to do this? I have been looking all over the internet and can’t really find anything on it.
4 Responses
Bozeman Mt Real Estate Listings
Cash is useful in this process! or buy it with a partner that is a US citizen. The money will need to age maybe 90 days in the US before closing. Plan a method of documenting where it came from! They will probably ask in this situation and you need to be able to “prove it.” So if there is an account overseas, bring statements that show the money has been in the account for a few months and then statements from the US Bank see? If you try to bring the money into the US and use it immediately in Florida for a closing they will hold up even a wire transfer! Maybe 3-5 days. Cashiers checks will be held in Florida for maybe 7-10 days! Even if drawn on a US bank. So best case scenario put the money into the bank that is going to give you the loan if you need a loan, then it will be able to check it’s own records and that is easy! Good luck.
Mar Vista Real Estate
Well I live in Texas so it may be different but the last answer is wrong. Any person can buy real estate. You do not have to be a citizen but you cannot finance a property unless you are a US citizen. Here in Texas we have a lot of immigrants from Mexico, so I deal with this regularly. If you bring your money in from another country, you just get a cashiers check from a local bank before your closing. You a well know real estate agent with good connections and you won’t have a problem.
Vancouver WA Homes
It is always easiest for anyone to buy any property with cash, but your mother in law can also get a loan in the U.S.A.
I am not a mortgage broker, but I do work with foreign nationals who want to buy in Florida.
For example, right now, WCI Mortgage, which is affiliated with Wells Fargo, is offering a 70% loan package for foreign nationals. This means mom will have to put 30% down on her purchase.
WCI will do an international credit check, for which they will charge the applicant $150. It is also helpful if mom has a papertrail of her income and assets (copies of paychecks, if she is still working, bank statements, stock statements, etc.).
Mom needs to determine what her budget will be -what she can easily afford to spend and what a lender can offer to help her make this purchase.
Then, when she understands what her budget is, and is preapproved by a lender, she can go shopping for real estate in Florida.
If she is interested in South or Southwest Florida, check out:
This link offers a free search engine for South and Southwest Florida – and does not require registration.
Email me if I can be of further assistance to you and your mother in law.
Good luck and best wishes.
Chandler Real Estate
Being a lawyer I’m familiar with US and Russian law. As long as she has the proper cash vested in a US bank for 60 days then she can buy any property in the US. Please note people from any country can buy property except those from kazakhstan or of kazak decent. This is mainly becuase of Borat. On another note all kazaks are set to be executed in the US on july 4th