How to Buy Property in Florida as a Foreigner

Step 1: Settle the questions that are hard to change later

Before you look at a single home, decide three things with an advisor in your home country and, if needed, a Florida attorney. This isn't legal or tax advice, and these choices depend on your country's tax rules.

• Whose name goes on the deed. One person, a couple, a trust or a company. Each has different consequences for estate tax, the eventual sale and how your home country taxes you.
• How the money arrives. Cash wired from abroad, a U.S. foreign national mortgage with 30 to 40 percent down, or a loan from a bank at home secured by property there.
• Whether a country-specific rule applies to you. Florida's SB 264 limits purchases by people domiciled in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela near military sites and critical infrastructure, and it restricts people domiciled in China more broadly. Check before you sign anything.

Step 2: Pick a price band using real values

Florida is several markets. Statewide, single-family homes run $396,809 and condos $262,592. City numbers spread much wider:

• Higher end: Key West $1,016,112, Palm Beach Gardens $696,122, Sunny Isles Beach $651,300, Miami $583,705, Boca Raton $580,267.
• Middle: Sarasota $410,998, West Palm Beach $404,711, Tampa $375,619, Orlando $372,775.
• Lower: Jacksonville $284,832, Ocala $263,895, Daytona Beach $251,316.

Foreign buyers often start in Miami or Orlando because those are the names they know. It is worth comparing at least one city outside your first choice, since similar homes can differ by a few hundred thousand dollars an hour's drive apart.

Decide early between a condo and a house, because the two lead to different problems. A condo suits owners who are away for months: the association handles the exterior, the grounds and the building insurance. It also brings association fees, rules on pets and guests, buyer approval in some buildings, and the cost of Florida's reserve and inspection rules for older towers. A house gives you full control and no association in many neighborhoods, and leaves the roof, the yard, storm preparation and the whole insurance bill to you. Condos statewide have also lost more value over the past year, down 3.9 percent against 0.9 percent for all homes.

Step 3: Prove you can close

Florida sellers expect proof before they accept an offer. Cash buyers send a recent bank or brokerage statement. Buyers using a foreign national loan send a pre-approval letter. If your funds sit outside the U.S., start moving at least the deposit amount early. International wires can take days, and banks sometimes hold large transfers for compliance review.

Title companies follow anti-money-laundering rules and will ask for identification and the source of funds. Have bank records ready that show where the money came from.

This is also the time to line up your team: a Florida agent who works with foreign buyers, a title company or closing attorney, an insurance agent, and a tax advisor who knows both your country and the U.S. Florida closings are usually run by title companies, and hiring your own attorney is optional, though many foreign buyers do.

Step 4: Make the offer and use the inspection period

Most Florida purchases use a standard contract with an inspection period, during which you can cancel. Use it for:

• A general home inspection, plus a wind mitigation report and, on older homes, a 4-point inspection. Insurers rely on both.
• An insurance quote on the actual address. Coastal premiums vary a lot from one street to the next. Check the FEMA flood zone too, and get a separate flood quote, since standard homeowners policies exclude flood.
• Condo documents, if you are buying a condo. Resale buyers can cancel within 7 days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, after receiving the association documents. Read the budget, reserves, milestone inspection and minutes.

Step 5: Close from abroad

You do not need to be in Florida to close. Title companies regularly handle mail-away closings where documents are signed before a notary abroad, and remote online notarization lets you sign over video. A power of attorney is another option, though lenders and title companies have their own rules about accepting one, so ask early.

Closing costs follow state rules. Documentary stamps on the deed run $0.70 per $100 and are usually paid by the seller outside Miami-Dade. With a loan, add $0.35 per $100 on the note and 0.2 percent intangible tax. The owner's title policy is priced at a rate set by the state, and county custom decides who pays it. Confirm the final wire instructions by calling the title company at a number you found yourself, since fake wiring emails target buyers who are far away.

Step 6: Owning the property from another country

After closing, the deed is recorded in the county records and you receive tax bills from the county once a year. Florida has no state income tax. Property tax is your main recurring cost, and as a non-resident you get no homestead exemption. Non-homestead assessments can rise up to 10 percent a year on non-school levies, and your assessment starts at market value after the purchase.

A few practical items help: a U.S. bank account or a reliable way to pay bills in dollars, a local contact for storm season, and an insurance agent who answers email across time zones. Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot could change property tax rules; it needs 60 percent of the vote and the outcome was not known at the time of writing.

Step 7: Know the exit before you buy

When a foreign owner sells U.S. property, FIRPTA requires the buyer to withhold 15 percent of the gross price and send it to the IRS, with reduced rates of 10 or 0 percent in some cases where the buyer will live in the home and the price is under $1,000,000 or $300,000. The withholding is a prepayment, and you get back what exceeds your actual tax by filing a U.S. return with an ITIN. The sale price stays the same; part of your cash simply arrives later.

Buying gives no visa. The EB-5 program is the investment route to residency, and it requires $800,000 in a targeted employment area or $1,050,000 elsewhere, put into a business that creates jobs. A home purchase does not count toward it. Once you know your budget and the region, a shortlist of homes that fit is the logical next step.