Purchasing Florida Real Estate

Purchasing a property over here is pretty straight forward. When you see something you like I prepare a 5 page written purchase offer with the price and terms you want to offer. This is presented to the sellers agent with proof of your ability to purchase i.e. bank statements, letter of credit or mortgage approval letter.

Once the transaction is negotiated you will sign the final contact and place a deposit, usually $1,000 to $5,000 in escrow. That can be handled by wiring funds to the closing agent(title company) in Florida.

All foreclosure properties are purchased “As Is” with right to inspect. This means that within 7 to 10 days of contract date you can have the property inspected(surveyed) to make sure it is structurally sound.

The seller makes no warranties and and after the inspection you can either move forward or cancel the transaction and get your deposit back. This right to inspect is called a contingency to the contract. Once this contingency has been removed we move towards closing.

The Title Company will do a title search and provide a title insurance policy guaranteeing you equitable title. This search and policy is normally paid for by the seller but with some of the foreclosure properties the seller(bank) will not pay for this and it becomes your cost. For a property priced below $100,000 the search and policy will be less than $1,000.

Once all the contingencies have been removed from the contract and the title has been cleared to close(settle) closing documents are sent to all parties by the Title Company either via email or FedEx. Some of the documents will require a notarized signature so you may need a solicitor for this. After you have signed and the documents have been notarized you pop them back in the FedEx to the Title Company while also wiring the funds to close. Once the Title Company receives the documents back, from both buyer and seller, the transaction is closed and funded. The house now belongs to you.

As your Broker, I will assist you with:

Finding the right property
Preparing the offer
Negotiations
Arranging inspections
Connecting you with an Insurance Company
Making sure all contracts are proper
Reviewing the closing documents
Arranging property management if needed
And what ever else needs to be done to make sure it is a smooth transaction for you.
I think this is all for now.