Buying in Miami from outside the United States
What’s allowed, what’s required, and what you need to start on months ahead.
Investing · 13 points
Who it’s for
For the international buyer who wants a property in South Florida.
What’s on the list
- 1
You don’t need to be a U.S. resident or citizen to buy property in the United States.
- 2
You can pay cash or finance it. Foreign-national programs exist, with their own requirements and down payments — get the terms from your lender in writing.
- 3
You’ll need a valid passport and, depending on your situation, an ITIN for tax purposes. The ITIN comes from the IRS and it takes time.
IRS — Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) - 4
Open a U.S. bank account before you start looking. Closings get funded with domestic wires.
- 5
Document where your money comes from starting day one: home-country bank statements, translated, plus a bank reference letter.
- 6
Sit down with your attorney and your accountant on whether to buy in your own name or through an entity. That call affects taxes and estate planning, and it shifts depending on where you live.
- 7
The day you sell, FIRPTA requires the buyer to withhold a percentage of the price when the seller is foreign. There are exceptions and adjustments — plan for it with your accountant back at purchase, not at the end.
IRS — FIRPTA withholding of tax on dispositions of U.S. real property - 8
Ask your accountant whether your country has a tax treaty with the United States, and what that means in your specific case.
- 9
You can sign remotely with a power of attorney or remote notarization. But it gets coordinated weeks ahead with the title company and the lender.
- 10
Planning to rent the unit out? Check the building rules before you buy. Plenty of Miami condominiums restrict short-term rentals and require a minimum lease term.
- 11
Budget for running it from abroad: property manager, maintenance, and whoever opens the door when the A/C quits on a Sunday.
- 12
Stack your visits into one block of days. It schedules better and you get to compare properties back to back.
- 13
Watch out for wire fraud. Always verify instructions by calling a number you looked up yourself, never the one in the email. The FBI documents this fraud in real estate.
FBI — Business Email Compromise / real estate wire fraud
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