LEGAL ASPECTS TO CONSIDER
The Differences between the UK, Ireland and the US
provided by Sunrise Homes

One of the major differences between the UK, Ireland and Florida, is that the Florida property market is far more regulated. When an Estate Professional, Title Company or any other professional presents you with a document, it is usually OK to sign without reading through every single line and word. Documents are standardised and heavily regulated by law to protect the buyer. This is why most property purchases in the US take place with neither buyer nor seller making use of a lawyer. If you feel uncomfortable not using a solicitor, you can of course get one.

In the UK, it is customary to take away the forms/contracts and have a solicitor read through them first (which of course, costs money). In Florida, every professional has to be licensed and use the same standard forms for loan and real estate transactions. These are all mandated by the State of Florida and everyone involved are all highly regulated in what they do. The State of Florida is highly geared towards consumer protection and most of the forms you will sign are actually to protect you, the consumer.

In addition, everything in Florida is public record and the professionals you are dealing with can easily be checked out and their licenses and status verified online, which should give a greater degree of confidence. This, plus the strict requirements for ongoing education and training of professionals, are some of the reasons we seem to assume that people will trust in our handling of transactions. At Sunrise Homes we make sure to work with only top quality professionals.

Legal Costs to consider

In the State of Florida, one does not generally use lawyers for Real Estate transactions, as there is absolutely no need. All the legalities are taken care of by Title Companies, which are used to doing thousands of transactions, most of which are standard. They charge a set fee of only around $ 150 to $ 300, depending on what has to be done. The most expensive part of this whole process is the issuing of Title Insurance, which basically protects the property owner ( and the lender, if there is a mortgage ) from any defects on the title. Most people will be unfamiliar with the concept of Title Insurance, but it is a system that has been in use in the United States for years. Title insurance can be as much as 1% of the property value, but there is a move currently to be very flexible on that.

A Buyer can usually be pretty well assured that there will be no surprises in the future, since Florida laws are very strict on such things as the recording of liens. Also there is great protection for Florida property owners, more so than many other countries. Generally speaking there is little risk involved in buying Florida property.

Taxes

There are no sales taxes (VAT) on either the purchase or the sale of Real Property in Florida. The price you pay for the house is the total price. However, there are closing costs when both selling and buying If you are buying a property with a mortgage, then you will pay to the State of Florida Documentary Stamps on the amount of the mortgage at the rate of 35 cents for each $ 100 of mortgage. You will also pay an Intangible Tax at the rate of 2 mills (.002) on the mortgage amount. So, for example, if you have a $ 100,000 mortgage, you would pay $ 350 Documentary Stamps and $ 200 Intangible Tax.

If you are paying cash for the property, then you have none of these taxes. You will pay Property Taxes to the county in which your property is located. This property tax is paid annually on the assessed value of your property ( which is usually around 75% - 80% of the actual market value of the property). The amount of taxes varies greatly with each neighbourhood and depends on facilities and schools in that neighbourhood, but an average amount for property taxes on a $ 150,000 house would be somewhere around $ 2,000.

The only other taxes you would pay would be taxes on any profits when you sell your property, but your Accountant would be able to help you with that. A non-resident alien is usually subject to withholding tax in the USA, which he then would most likely be able to claim back as a Foreign Tax Credit on his UK or Irish tax return.

FloridaCondoConversions.net can help you make your international purchase without the headache. For more information, please contact us via email at lori@floridacondoconversions.net or by selecting contact us above.