The cost of buying property in Florida

Buying property in Florida, indeed anywhere in the US, is remarkably safe and straightforward as local laws and protections are rigorous and well developed. 

It is common when buying property in the US to buy Title Insurance as part of the transaction.  This confirms and insures that you have proper title to the property and protects against unforeseen claims arising after the purchase (for example, in the US an unpaid tradesman has a claim against any property he has worked on – not something that is easy to check prior to purchase).

Many people opt to buy resale properties in Florida and, especially recently, foreclosure property in Florida has received a lot of attention in the media (foreclosure property is where the bank has repossessed the home and is selling it to recover as much of their debt as possible).  In truth, such transactions can be more risky, costly and difficult than buying a new-build property from a reputable developer.  Typical additional costs for a resale property in Florida include replacing fixtures and fittings (vital if you plan to let the property and it hasn’t been adequately maintained), obtaining a Certificate of Safety (can cost up to $1,000), pest control and pool renovations. 

 
If you are considering making an offer on a foreclosure property in Florida, remember that you will need to obtain a full survey before you make the offer and if you are not successful in your bid this will be a sunk cost – unrecoverable.  Furthermore, just because the bank has set the price you should not assume this will cover all the necessary costs.  It is not unusual for the bank to seek to recover additional funds from the current owners to repay the balance of the mortgage and to expect them to cover the tax charges.  If the current owners don’t have this money the sale can easily fall through, potentially at quite a cost to you in terms of fees already incurred.

If you plan to make an offer on a resale property in Florida make sure you do your research.  If the property looks particularly good value it may well be in the wrong area, need some renovations or be poorly maintained.  Florida is “zoned” by the local government and if a home is not in a designated short term rental area then you will not be able to let it to holidaymakers which may be a key consideration in your purchase decision.

Of course, travelling to Florida to view property and make offers is hardly cheap.  The airfares are only part of the cost – you will need to set aside a number of days to achieve everything and you want to avoid having to go across frequently.  Many owners have bought very effectively without ever visiting the property but this is only advisable when buying a new build home from a reputable developer or where you have a licensed realtor you are sure you can trust to find you exactly the right sort of property.
The UK habit of preferring a house or villa over a condominium should be resisted wherever possible if you plan to make money from renting it to visitors. 

Villas in Florida can be significantly more expensive to run than condos meaning that the return from rental income can be much lower – or, put another way, a villa will not be covering its own costs until it has been rented for many more weeks than is the case with a condo.  Just because the Brits love to live in a house do not assume that either they or the US visitors to Florida prefer to holiday in one – condos remain very popular as holiday lets as people see them as a base from which to explore rather than a permanent residence.

Read more about owning or buying a property for sale in Florida from Overseas Property Centres.

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