sconie

Hi all, nice forum, I am contemplating buying a holiday home for family and friends to use and hopefully for my wife and I in our retirement, we looked at the usual Orlando vacation homes around eight years ago, but were put off by all the management fees and reports of management companies ripping Brits off.

As such I have been thinking of a condo or townhouse, that would be more of a turnkey operation, as we would not be renting out to tourists, I also feel we could get more bang for our buck, does anyone here have any experience of doing this ?, ideally we would be looking for a coastal property like Clearwater, Sarasota or similar.

Cheers.

Bill_S

What is your citizenship (you + spouse)? If both British, what is your immigration status in the US? If none at the moment, what is your plan for obtaining a status that would let you retire in the US?

Pardon the blunt questions, but the answers are important to your plans.

JulesNYC

He said this was a holiday home, not a retirement home. Interesting question though, are there some sort of immigration rules if you are just buying property here?

Anyway, I manage my boss' holiday properties - both of which are Condos in Fort Lauderdale, FL. (Come to think of it, he's looking to sell - interested? lol)

Never experienced any issues pertaining to these properties - I just deal with the management company. If there is anything specific you would like to know, don't hesitate to ask - I manage his properties and will try and help.

Others can probably assist with regard to the immigration thing or if there are certain rules before you can buy property here.

Bluegrass Lass

There are no certain rules to buy property in the US. However, a foreigner may find it difficult to find a lender with the current credit crisis/crunch whatever you want to call it (unless they plan on paying cash obviously).

The immigration aspects come into play because Sconie and fam will need to actually obtain a visa in order to be in the US for longer than 90 days at a time (probably a B1/B2 visa). And if they decide to not get a B visa, and do multiple 90day entries a year, they could easily find themselves on the wrong side of the POE (i.e. getting sent back home). There is no such thing as a 'retirement' visa to the US, which is why the question of a visa comes up.

sconie

Thanks for the replies folks, unlikely we'll be looking to have permanent retirement in the US, as like most Brits, I don't have $500'000 dollars lying around, we would have to opt for the 6 months, unless uncle Sam decides to let old Brits stay longer, we have vacationed there with our extended family for around 15 years, with some years two or three times.

So hence we are looking to simply buy a two or three bed condo/townhouse with minimal but good honest management, I'm not interested in all the fantasy rental schemes either, our buy will be a simple cash purchase, I want to find out more about buying a residential property, and which coastal area's that people have experience of.

I should say that I am 10 years from retirement but would like to take around 6 weeks holiday/vacation in the mean time.

Cheers

Bill_S

ahem...

hence my question. The "we're British and want to move to Florida after retiring" issue comes up regularly. Usually the future retirees have no chance of getting a visa, but don't realize that. Since that was sconie's first post here, there was no way of knowing how informed he is. What I was really getting at is the question of whether they really want to buy a home in a foreign country if they have no chance of ever living in it on a permanent basis. It sounds like sconie knows the score... not something I'd want to do but it isn't my money. Good luck sconie, I hope it works out for you.

sconie

Thanks again for the reply, that's one problem with forums, one persons interpretation is different from the next, but please don't fall out over my question, I suppose we will be UK snowbirds if you like, we would downsize our UK home and have a US one as well, our kids and their families could come and stay or use it when were back in the UK, don't get me wrong, I love the USA, I love the way people use "Sir & Mam" I like the tougher law enforcment coming from a military and Police background, I like the family sporting events and many, many other things, however although we had our fallout in 1776, we have been loyal allies and friends with the US even recently, so I do ponder as to why we still do not qualify for the Green card visa program ?.

Anyway, still looking for ideas on location's and any other tips.

Thanks again.

meauxna

I don't understand, you think that Brits specifically do not qualify in some way? You said you do not have the $$ for an investor's green card; the only other ways for anyone are through family or employment. I think you'll find this typical for most any country.

Kate2112

I think he is referring to the GC diversity lottery.

sconie

I was referring to the "Green Card lottery" that often pops up in my email folder, I gather UK citizens have not been eligible for many years, but Irish folks can still apply, .........now was it my great Grandad or great great Grandad that was Irish...Hmmm.

On a more serious note, can someone give me the US to UK translation of property sale prices, here in Scotland, we have offers over or fixed price, whereas in England the have a price they are aiming for and buyers usually offer less, is this similar to the US system and if so, I take it you would simply submit your "Offer" via your Real estate agent ?.

meauxna

Oh, that.
Even then, Britons are not specifically excluded; there are ways to qualify. I think JAJ recently said something like.. oh, well here it is "you probably have about 10% of British citizens eligible."
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=611168

That thread would be a good one for you to read, just to make sure!
If you ever do apply, make sure to NOT use one of those thingies that pop up in your email. Apply only through the free, government site. They will always end in 'dot gov'.

Bluegrass Lass

Pretty much markets in the US are what you described as the English system. If a house is listed for $100k, you can submit an offer for $75k. If they don't like it, they counteroffer and it goes back and forth until a price is accepted by both parties. In some areas, though, it could be more beneficial to offer at least the list price or more if you really like the house and it's a good deal to ensure you get the house (esp if it's a multi-bid situation).

What's the term used in Scotland, gazummped? Once a contract is agreed upon by both parties, the seller cannot accept another offer from someone else offering more.

sconie

In Scotland it's offers over or fixed price in a slow market, put a house on overs over for £100K you can expect 15% more on average, but thanks for clearing up the US system, when I spoke to an estate agent there years ago, she never mentioned offering less than the list price.

In my case now, I am a cash buyer (non resident) looking at say a $125'000 condo in Clearwater, I need to find an estate agent that is a "Buyers" agent (not the sellers) then through them submit my offer of say.....$100'000, if that is accepted, I close the deal, what are the closing fees and who pays what between the buyer and seller ?, so on a $100'000 sale what would be the additional fees/costs to pay ?.

Thanks.

sconie

One other thing, when we looked at buying a "Vacation home" years ago, my wife and I applied for US NI numbers, however those numbers were sent to the Kissimmee estate agent, will I need there NI numbers and if so can I trace them somehow, as I have lost the estate agents details.

meauxna

The US 'NI' number is called a Social Security Number. You are issued one and only one for life, and you can contact the Social Security Administration at ssa.gov about finding your number and getting a replacement card.

About the real estate negotiating and purchase questions, you should probably find a site that explains that in detail (closing costs etc) as negotiating that can be an art, and much will be state-dependent. A Realtor will charge you a hefty fee for that education, but if you get a grip on it yourself and are making a cash sale, you may want to work with a real estate attorney and save some on the commission.