Make no mistake—foreign buyers are keener than ever to buy property in the sunshine state.
Overseas holidaymakers visit Florida in large numbers, attracted by the year-round sunshine and the world’s best theme parks. Some will want to take the plunge and buy a permanent base in the state. And now is such a great time to buy in Florida. Everyone likes a bargain and property prices in the state still haven’t fully recovered from the 2007 slump.
But that situation isn’t going to continue much longer: property prices are expected to rise next year. Investors need to act now if they want to get a great deal.
And yields on letting out Florida properties can be attractive too, making it ideal for the property investor. Your role as a real estate professional will be to help show investors just how easy it is to buy a property in Florida. They will also be comforted to know they will be dealing with a well-regulated, sophisticated property market and one with few of the restrictions seen in some other places.
You can also offer overseas buyers invaluable advice on the mechanics of buying a home in Florida. Buyers will need to transfer funds from their home country to the state to pay for the property. And after the transaction has gone through, they will often need to transfer money regularly to pay ongoing costs such as for property maintenance—as well as moving the money from the rental income back to their home bank account.
You can explain how a foreign exchange specialist can help with moving their money between countries. A currency expert can help overseas buyers by trying to prevent exchange rate fluctuations from spoiling their property deal.
For example, in mid-March 2014 the Euro-Dollar exchange rate was Euro1=$1.393. By November it was Euro1=$1.237. If investors were transferring Euro200,000 for a property purchase, that would have meant a difference of $31,000 between the high and low points.
That’s just the kind of concern a currency specialist can help with. They might suggest using a “forward contract” which allows your buyer to lock into an exchange rate up to 24 months in advance. And that’s not all: using an expert is going to mean typically getting a more competitive deal than your client would get from their bank. So by suggesting your client seeks the help of a specialist, you’re protecting their pockets too: that’s got to be worthwhile.
For more information visit www.moneycorp.com/usa.
