Yes. There's no impediment in U.S. law to the purchase of real estate by foreigners, either to live in or as an investment. Even the process for foreigners to buy real estate in Florida has little bureaucracy and some U.S. banks and financiers are specializing in the foreign public because of the many businesses they do.

You need to keep in mind what type of property you want to buy and what you will use it for. With that, you should look for a Realtor licensed in the State of Florida and associated with a credible real estate company.

The options are single family home, townhouse, duplex, condos, land, commercial space and industrial spaces.

You can buy a property in Florida as your official residence or your vacation home, as an investment in the short term rental vacation home market or in the long term rental market. You can also invest in commercial space for your business in Florida or to earn rental income, or in space for an industrial business. If you want to build something from scratch, you can buy land and start a real estate project from scratch.

Define the purpose of the purchase, choose the Realtor who will assist you in the process, open a bank account, define the form of payment, search for the property, make an offer for the property, have the offer accepted, inspect the property and close.

No. The entire buying process can be done with the buyer in another country without the need to be in the United States. Signing documents electronically, sending money, all this is assisted by one of our Consultants from beginning to end.

A copy of your passport and visa is required to open a bank account in the United States. In some cases a minimum deposit of $25.00 is also required for opening.

You can pay for your Florida property in cash or with a mortgage.  

If it is cash, the money must already be in a U.S. bank account to make it easier to do business. In many cash transactions, the seller wants to see proof that the buyer has all the money for payment. The transaction time to close will be around 15 days.

If you choose to pay for the property with financing, it is necessary to have a pre-approval letter issued by the financing bank before an offer is made on the property. This letter represents that some of the buyer's documents have already been evaluated and pre-approved. Therefore, for financed properties, the sooner you send the documents for evaluation and get approval from the financing bank, the better and more convenient it becomes to purchase the property. In the case of financing, the operation time will be at least 45 days.

In most cases, it is possible to make an initial deposit of about 30% of the value of the property.

The rest of the value can be financed in 30 years fixed with an average interest rate of 5 - 6% per year, in 15 years fixed with an average interest rate of 5% per year or in 30 years variable, being that the first 5 years will be fixed and with a much lower interest rate, around 3 to 4,25%.

You only need a copy of your passport and visa and a copy of a bank statement or financial application proving the availability of the property to be purchased.

The documents vary according to the bank you choose, but in general, you need to present copy of passport and visa, bank account in the United States, letter from the Employer indicating the income of the last 2 years, copy of the last 2 years of personal and company income tax, if any, copy of the last 3 most recent bank statements, two credit reference letters, negative debt certificate - SERASA, proof of the down payment plus 6 months corresponding to the installments of the loan in account or bank application in the United States.

Yes. Acquiring on behalf of a legal entity has its fiscal advantages as well as asset protection. Therefore, it is recommended to open a company, because besides there being no bureaucracy for that, the maintenance of the company has very low cost and its patrimony is more protected.

There are several companies that provide exchange services, such as the local banks themselves, so each one has its own rules for the transfer. We always recommend sending according to the Central Bank guidelines. When the value is sent from individual to individual, there is the IOF of 1.1% of the value sent. If the value is sent from an individual to a company, the IOF is only 0.38%.

The time it takes to find the desired property varies according to the purpose of the property and the buyer's profile. Usually visits are made to 3 to 5 properties a day, which are indicated by the Realtor and pre-selected by the buyer.

After finding the desired property, an offer is sent to the seller. And, the value of this offer will be based on the value of the last properties sold in the same region and with the same profile. From that moment on, we await the acceptance of the offer by the seller, or a counter-offer. There is also the possibility of the offer being denied or the request for reassessment of the offer, since there are already several other offers on the same property offered by other brokers.

When the offer is accepted, an initial good faith deposit is required. This deposit ranges from $1,000 to $10,000, which is placed into an account with the title company responsible for the entire transaction. The title company will be in charge of all the paperwork for title transfer, deed and registration. If the property is paid for in cash, the closing, or deed costs average 2 to 3% of the property value. If the property is financed, the closing costs average 5 to 6% of the financed value.

The inspection of the property is an important step before closing. It is done by a specialized company, hired by the buyer, which will check the conditions of the property before the purchase. The inspection observes details such as: existence of infiltration, painting conditions, operation of the air conditioning, and all other appliances; swimming pool, heater, piping, etc.. After the inspection the buyer receives a detailed report with everything that was seen and what was found with their proper recommendations. The value of the inspection and the time varies according to the size of the property and the cost of the inspection is always the buyer.

On the date set for the closing, or better bookkeeping, the value of the property must be in the account of the security company, as well as all documents signed by both parties. The closing costs will vary between 2% and 5% of the value of the property. These costs are divided between the buyer and seller or as pre-established in the contract. Closing for cash paid properties can be within 15 days. For financed properties, the closing time is at least 40 to 60 days.

Yeah. When the property's chosen on the floor plan, there's not much negotiation with the builder. In this case, there is no need for an inspection, because it is a new house and the builder ensures the appliances for a time set by the builder after the deed. On the day of closing, there is a "walk thru" in the property to check if everything that was seen and agreed before is in agreement to have the "closing".

The payment of the broker's commission is always the responsibility of the seller. In the case of buying a property with a construction company, it is they who pay the broker's commission. The responsibility of the Consultant who represents the buyer is to represent him, getting the best deals, checking all the documentation before completion.

It depends. In cases of acquisition of real estate with cash payment, there is no obligation to take insurance, however, it is recommended if the intention is to rent the property to a third party or to protect your property in case of environmental damage. In cases of financed payments, banks will require an insurance policy to prevent losses and damages to the property.

If the acquisition is from a new property, kitchen appliances will most often be part of it. We indicate companies specialized in decoration to assist you in the acquisition and decoration of all environments. If the property is purchased for season rental, the decoration is one of the most important items for a good return. Choosing a good professional in this area will make your investment more profitable.

Regardless of the purpose of the acquisition, specialized companies can help you in the administration of your property. Making the payment of bills such as IPTU, community, light, telephone, water, in addition to the maintenance of gardening, cleaning, swimming pool and eventualities that may occur. If the property is for seasonal rental, there are companies specializing in this type of management, because in addition to all care with the house, the manager will have to rent your house and do check in and check out guests.