A real estate transaction is not an insignificant step
especially when the buyer (or seller) is not familiar with local laws and
practices. So it's better to go to a specialist and that's good because it's
the rule in the United States. Nearly 95% of real estate transactions are between
two agencies: the one with the sales mandate and the one that brings the buyer.
But concretely, how does the process of buying or selling real estate in
Florida work?
Search for a
property: a single file
The real estate system in the United States is based on
logic of information sharing and cooperation between real estate agents, called
"Real Estate Agent" in the United States. There is almost no sale
between individuals and even less in the world of luxury. Each real estate
agency therefore has access to all properties for sale on the market through a
single file called MKS (Multiple Listing System). However, at the base of this
logic, there are exclusive mandates. To be able to expose the good in this MKS
file, there must be at first an exclusive mandate given by the client to an
agent, who can then put the advertisement in the shared file. The MKS is even
partially available to the general public.
It is therefore perfectly useless to address several agents;
it would be really a waste of time and energy for all and for more information please click here
Proposed purchase for
real estate
As in Florida when a good is on the market at a given price,
a potential buyer can make a purchase proposal. The buyer must then make a
written offer called "contract for sale and purchase", which will
stop the sale. If the seller agrees, both parties sign the contract / lease
that will become the sales contract.
Given the fact that this document will become the sales
contract, it must contain a certain amount of important information: the
proposed price, the amount of the deposit paid by the buyer to the escrow
account, the terms of payment ( cash or real estate credit - in the case of a
credit, if it is not obtained, the sale may be canceled and the deposit
recovered), the period of validity of the offer, the closing date that is to
say, the definitive signature, the choice of the notary ("title company")
and the right of inspection. Indeed, each compromise must provide for a
condition of inspection of the property ("property inspection") by an
independent professional ("home inspector"). Inspection is not a
mandatory but highly recommended step in Florida. The inspector submits an
inspection report ("inspection report"), if the inspection reveals a
defect in the goods, the buyer can withdraw his offer within 15 days and
recover his money (provided that a suspense clause is included in the
contract). If the latter is positive, the sales process continues. The offer is
final as soon as the buyer and seller, through their agents, have agreed on the
price, the terms and conditions, and have both signed the contract. At this
time, the buyer must pay a deposit of between 5% and 10% of the property on the
escrow account (through their agents, agreed on price, terms and conditions,
and both signed the contract. At this time, the buyer must pay a deposit of
between 5% and 10% of the property on the escrow account (through their agents,
agreed on price, terms and conditions, and both signed the contract. At this
time, the buyer must pay a deposit of between 5% and 10% of the property on the
escrow account ("Escrow account") of the agent who represents you or
who will perform the “closing", that is to say, responsible for the
execution of the "closing agent" deed of sale.
During this period, if the property is financed by a bank,
the bank makes an appraisal of the value of the property by an expert in order
to avoid it to finance an overvalued property.
If the purchase is made in a co-ownership, the purchaser may
have an additional cooling-off period to read the co-ownership by-law and
minutes of general meetings.
Note: To have a clear idea of the value of the property on
the market in Miami-Dade, there is a world best site
https://webuyswflhomes.com/ which allows to know the identity of the successive
owners, the estimate of the taxes and especially to see the price evolution.
Just enter the address of a property on the website to get the information.
Establish the bill of
sale (or closing)
Once the buyer has obtained financing, the closing process
can begin. The first step of the finalization is to write the "escrow
letter" to certify that the funds of the first payment are placed on the
escrow account of the real estate agency. The owner's lawyer prepares the final
acts or "seller's documents" which he then sends to the closing agent
responsible for the execution of the deed of sale. The "closing
agent" - (status of lawyer or specialized agent, but equivalent of the
notary in France and Quebec) will perform all legal and tax formalities,
searches for validity of the title deed, offers an assurance of this title that
guarantees the status of the title deed at a given moment (because there is no
official castrate),
If the foreign buyer does not need to be present for the
purchase and can sign the documents electronically with virtual authentication,
the seller must sign the documents on the spot in front of a certified notary.
In the United States, the buyer and the seller rarely meet. The
"closing" is often done by each party at his lawyer, the documents
passing between the two interlocutors.
In the case of cash payment, the acquisition can take
between two and three weeks. On the other hand, for a bank loan requested in
the United States, the closing period is approximately two months.
Costs of the real
estate transaction: who pays what?
The purchase process in the US is different from that in
France and the acquisition costs are lower than in France. The cost of buying a
property varies according to whether it is bought in cash (reduced, less than
1% of the price) or that it is borrowed from a US bank (higher, between 3 and
5%). Many investors therefore choose to pay cash to take advantage of reduced
fees or to negotiate a loan in their country, in which case they become a cash
buyer in the eyes of Americans.
The process of buying or selling real estate in
the United States is therefore rather well defined and regulated. But it is important
to learn about the different stages of the transaction and the inherent costs
as they differ from, and this can be
