Learning About Luxury Real Estate

When you are selling a property, you may not care who is buying it as long as you can get a good price for the property. However, there are some potential difficulties of selling to some demographics that you should know. For example, here are some of the difficulties you may have when selling to a foreign national:

Non-Standard Purchase Agreement

Property transactions in the US tend to use more or less the same purchase agreements. For example, property buyers and sellers in the US are used to the inclusion of a mediation clause, which requires the parties to a transaction to go the mediation route (before trying anything else) in the case of a dispute.

However, if your buyer is a foreign national, they may not be used to the same purchase agreement clauses, which means you may end up using a non-standard purchase agreement. That may be unfortunate for you it if includes clauses you aren't used to or excludes those that you may not be comfortable with.

Clearance of International Funds

The United States government has laws in place to prevent money laundering. These laws ensure, for example, that terrorists don't bring their money into the country and use it to harm the public. These laws are good, but they also make it difficult for clean money to come into the country. Therefore, if the foreign buyer is using overseas money for the purchase, you may experience some delay related to the clearance of the international funds.

Currency Conversion Delays

You don't have to worry about currency conversion while dealing with a domestic buyer because you will both be dealing in US dollars. However, a foreign buyer whose account is in their country's currency has to convert the money into US dollars. Don't be surprised if such a person asks for a little delay so that the currency conversion rates can be favorable to them.

Mortgage-Related Delays

Most foreigners who buy properties in the US opt for cash purchase, but some of them take mortgages just like domestic home buyers. However, the mortgage process is more complicated for foreigners compared to domestic buyers. The complications arise due to many things such as the difficulty of confirming identities and credit rating issues, among others. Therefore, expect a little delay if your buyer is taking the mortgage route.

These potential complications should not bar you from selling to a foreign national. What you want is for your property to sell at a correct price; get an experienced realtor to help you overcome any hurdles.