BreakThru Realty

Buying a Home in South Florida From Another Country

The rules, the money and the paperwork, settled in your language before you choose a home

Foreign citizens own homes across South Florida, bought from Toronto, Bogotá, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, London and Paris without moving here. The purchase itself works the same way for everyone. What differs for a buyer abroad is everything around it: one Florida law that reaches buyers from a short list of countries, the loans written for people without a United States credit file, the tax identification you will need, the withholding when you sell, and a closing you can sign from home. This is the service built for that buyer, in English, Spanish, Portuguese or French.

BreakThru Realty · Founder and Broker of Record: Tyson E. Sam, Florida License 3565210

Published October 24, 2026 · Reviewed by Tyson E. Sam, Founder and Broker of Record

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad

Find My Florida Home

Your first step: BreakThru International Buyer Plan

Buying in Florida From Another Country? Settle the Rules, the Money and the Paperwork Before You Choose a Home

Foreign citizens buy South Florida homes every day, and the ones who do it well settle three things first: which rules reach them, how the money will arrive and what they can sign from home. The plan starts with a consultation in your language about how you will use the home and how you will pay, and ends with a shortlist, a carrying cost review in United States dollars, and a closing you can complete without a second flight.

What you receive

  • A consultation in English or Spanish, with an interpreter arranged for Portuguese or French, about how you will use the home and how you will pay
  • A plain summary of the rules that reach a buyer from your country: the Florida ownership law, the tax identification you will need, and FIRPTA when you sell
  • A shortlist of homes and buildings whose rules allow your plans, including seasonal use and renting it out
  • A carrying cost review in United States dollars: property tax without homestead, insurance, flood, association dues and the services that run while you are away
  • Introductions to the professionals a foreign buyer needs: a lender who writes foreign national loans, a cross border tax adviser, an attorney and a title company that closes with buyers abroad
  • A tour and closing plan: live video tours now, one visit scheduled around the finalists, and the signing arranged for where you live

What happens next

  1. Tell us where you live, where you are looking, your budget in United States dollars, how you expect to pay and the language you prefer.
  2. A BreakThru agent replies within one business day to schedule your consultation.
  3. After the consultation, your agent prepares the rules summary, the shortlist and the carrying cost review, and introduces the professionals you need.
  4. You tour by video or in person when you are ready, and the closing is arranged around where you are.

Free and without obligation. Nothing you tell us is shared with a seller, and you sign a buyer agreement only when you are ready to tour.

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad · Find My Florida Home

Can a foreigner buy a home in Florida? Yes. The United States places no citizenship or residency condition on owning real estate, and a buyer abroad holds the same title as anyone else. One Florida law restricts buyers domiciled in a short list of countries. The rest is practical: a taxpayer number, a bank account, a way to move funds, a lender or cash, and a closing you can sign from home.

Who Can Buy a Home in Florida

Anyone. The United States places no citizenship or residency condition on owning real estate, and a buyer from abroad holds the same title, with the same rights, as a buyer born in Miami. You do not need a visa to own a home, and owning one gives you no visa in return; immigration and ownership are separate questions answered by separate professionals. The one exception worth knowing before you search is a Florida law that restricts purchases by people domiciled in a short list of countries, explained on its own page here. For everyone else the question is not whether you may buy but how to do it well from a distance, which is what the rest of this page is about.

What a Buyer Abroad Needs That a Local Buyer Does Not

Four things, usually in this order. A taxpayer identification number from the IRS, which a cash buyer may not need at closing but will need the first time the home earns rent or is sold. A United States bank account, which a lender requires for the payments and a title company prefers for the funds. A way to move money across the border that your bank and the title company both accept, planned weeks ahead rather than the morning of closing. And a set of professionals who work with nonresidents: a lender who writes foreign national loans, a tax adviser who files for people in two countries, a Florida attorney and a title company used to signing abroad. The plan introduces each of them, and your agent keeps them on one calendar.

Cash or a Foreign National Loan

Many international buyers pay cash, partly because it is simpler and partly because the seller of a popular home prefers it. Those who borrow use loan programs written for foreign nationals, underwritten from the income and assets you can document at home instead of a credit score here. Expect to put more down than a resident would, to leave a cushion in the bank through closing, and to have financial statements translated. What the loan costs is for the lender to say, so consult a mortgage lender early; the foreign national mortgage page describes what they ask for and why.

Taxes While You Own and When You Sell

Property tax is the same for every owner of a home that is not a homestead, which a home you use part of the year never is: the bill rests on the assessed value, which resets to the market when you buy. If the home earns rent, the income is taxable in the United States, and a nonresident owner either accepts a flat withholding on the gross rent or elects to be taxed on the net after expenses, which most do. When you sell, FIRPTA requires the buyer to withhold a share of the price as a deposit against your tax on the gain, with exceptions and a certificate that can reduce it. United States estate tax can also reach property a nonresident owns, with an exemption far smaller than residents receive, which is why how you hold title deserves advice before you buy. A tax adviser who handles nonresidents plans all of this with you.

Seeing Homes and Signing From Where You Live

Your agent tours homes for you on live video, walking the street, the lobby and the parking garage as well as the unit, and sends the recording so your family can watch it later. Inspections happen with you on the line. When the contract is ready, Florida allows documents to be signed before a notary in your country, at a United States consulate, through an online notary session where the title company and your lender accept it, or by a power of attorney granted to someone here. Funds are wired to the title company's escrow account, never to anyone who emails you new wiring instructions. One visit, timed for the finalists, is worth making; none is required by law.

Condos, Houses and the Rules That Decide Between Them

A buyer who will be here for part of the year usually looks at condominiums first, because the association insures the building and someone is always nearby. In return you accept its rules: minimum lease terms if you plan to rent the home, limits on guests, approval of tenants, and in buildings of three stories or more the inspection and reserve obligations of Florida's 2022 condominium law, which can raise the dues. A house gives you freedom and a yard and asks you to arrange the insurance, the roof and the storm shutters yourself, usually through a home watch service while you are away. Your agent reads the documents of every finalist before you tour so the building fits your plans.

Where International Buyers Look in South Florida

The region runs from Miami north through Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton to Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast, and buyers from abroad are found along all of it. Miami and its districts offer high rise condos near the airport and the business core. Fort Lauderdale adds canal front houses with docks and its own airport. Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Palm Beach County offer gated and golf communities, beachside condos and a slower pace. Stuart and the Treasure Coast trade distance from the big airports for river towns and lower prices. The plan compares the areas that fit how you will use the home, and each city page here carries the homes for sale there now.

Service in Your Language

Spanish speaking agents are on staff, so a consultation, a tour and the questions in between can happen in Spanish from the first call. For Portuguese and French an interpreter joins the consultation and the tours. The contract, the disclosures and the closing documents are in English, as Florida practice and the title company require, and your attorney explains them in your language before you sign. The pages on this site can be read in Spanish, Portuguese and French through the language menu, and every lead you send us records the language you prefer so the reply arrives in it.

Questions you may be asking

Can a foreigner even buy property in Florida?
Yes. Citizenship and residency are not required to own real estate in the United States, and a foreign owner has the same property rights as anyone else. One Florida law restricts purchases by people domiciled in a short list of countries, and the plan tells you plainly whether it reaches you.
We do not have United States credit or a bank account.
Most international buyers start that way. Lenders who write foreign national loans work from documents in your home country rather than a United States credit file, and a bank account and a taxpayer identification number can be opened as part of the process. Consult a mortgage lender early; many buyers simply pay cash instead.
We cannot travel for every step.
You should not have to. Your agent tours homes on live video, attends the inspection with you on the line, and the closing documents can be signed abroad before a notary, at a United States consulate, by remote online notarization where the title company allows it, or by a power of attorney.
What about taxes when we sell one day?
FIRPTA requires the buyer of a home from a foreign seller to withhold a share of the price for the IRS, as a deposit against the tax on the gain. There are exceptions and a certificate that can reduce it. The plan explains it in outline; a tax adviser who handles nonresident owners plans it with you before you buy.
We would rather do this in our own language.
Then we will. Spanish speaking agents are on staff, and for Portuguese or French an interpreter joins the consultation and the tours. The contracts are in English, as Florida law and the title company require, and your attorney explains them in your language.

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad

Tell us where you live, where in South Florida you are looking, how you expect to pay and the language you prefer. A BreakThru agent replies within one business day to schedule your consultation, in English or Spanish, with an interpreter arranged for Portuguese or French.

Call or email the brokerage directly: (786) 914-1017 · sales@breakthrurealty.com

Questions International Buyers Ask

Can a foreigner buy a house in Florida?
Yes. No citizenship, residency or visa is required to own real estate in the United States, and a foreign owner holds the same title as anyone else. One Florida law restricts purchases by people domiciled in a short list of countries; for every other buyer the question is how to buy well from a distance, not whether you may.
Do I need to come to Florida to buy?
Not by law. Homes are toured for you on live video, inspections happen with you on the line, and the closing documents can be signed abroad before a notary or at a United States consulate, in an online notary session where the title company allows it, or by a power of attorney. One visit for the finalists is worth making if you can.
Can I get a mortgage without United States credit?
Lenders with foreign national programs look at the income and assets you can show from home instead of a United States credit file, usually with more money down and a cushion left in the bank after closing. Consult a mortgage lender about the actual terms. Many buyers pay cash instead.
What taxes will I pay as a foreign owner?
Property tax on the full assessed value, since a home used part of the year is not a homestead; tax on any rental income, with a choice between a flat withholding on gross rent and tax on the net; and FIRPTA withholding when you sell, as a deposit against the tax on your gain. Estate tax can also reach a nonresident's property. A tax adviser who handles nonresidents plans each of these with you.
Does buying a home help me get a visa?
No. Owning real estate gives no immigration status by itself. Some visa categories involve investment in a business, and an immigration attorney can explain whether any of them fits your situation. We can introduce one, but the question belongs to that attorney, not to a real estate agent.
Can we do all of this in Spanish, Portuguese or French?
Spanish, yes, from the first call: Spanish speaking agents are on staff. For Portuguese and French an interpreter joins the consultation and the tours. The paperwork itself stays in English, which is how every Florida closing is written, and your attorney goes through it with you in your language first.

Rules, Taxes and Money

Buying From Your Country

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