Is American misfortune British Luck? It would seem so at the moment – the perfect storm has combined to allow British investors interested in Florida real estate an incredible opportunity. A weak dollar, a crash in Orlando home prices and rapidly increasing oil prices make Orlando real estate purchases a bargain for foreign investors. For some Orlando real estate sellers, foreign investment is a welcome phenomena. This injection of overseas buyers is helping to keep many of the Florida markets alive and will ultimately aid in tipping the US real estate scales back to health.
Lee Weaver of British Homes Group was recently interviewed by Hot Property Overseas. Weaver notes that 2008 business at British Homes Group is up threefold as compared to the last half of 07 thanks to British investors. His advice for UK real estate buyers?
"One thing UK buyers of US property should do is familiarize themselves with the buying process, which is quite different from the UK’s solicitor-based one."
Weaver notes some basic differences:
- Typically you don’t need a solicitor, instead you have a closing or title company
- The American MLS System is different from the British system in that agents share the data and split commissions acting as an incentive to show prospective buyers a wider range of properties
- The lending culture in the US is different, home loans bought through mortgage brokers often get sold to other financial institutions – often times you don’t know who owns the loan
Lee believes the window of opportunity is still open but narrowing – those who have been thinking about getting into the Florida market should not wait to investigate!
Call British Homes Group Today for help with purchasing or financing your Orlando area dream home!
