Buying a property is not an easy task, but with the following steps we will facilitate this process for you:
Choose a good real estate agent: Make sure your real estate agent is experienced and knows the characteristics of the area and the type of property you want to buy.
Establish your financial capacity and how much money you have: Before buying you have to know how much money you have available to pay the down payment, the closing costs, the monthly mortgage payments if you take out a loan, maintenance and the annual taxes of the property. If you make the decision to buy in cash, the funds must be in a bank in the United States or you must make the transfer of funds before you start looking for the property you are interested in.
Decide your personal needs: It is very important to determine if your purchase will be a total investment property (to rent) or a main or second home. Also, you must choose the area where you want to buy the property, the number of rooms, bathrooms, size of the property and common areas such as gardens, swimming pool, gym, valet parking, etc. In addition to deciding if you want to buy a condo, townhouse or single-family home. After analyzing the personal needs together with the financial capacity, the search begins.
Start your property search: Today there are many ways to search for properties, but the most efficient is still with the help of a real estate agent. The agent does a search based on the criteria, area and price you are looking for and presents them to you to visit them and make a decision.
In Miami, unlike several countries in Latin America and Europe, real estate agents have a database system of properties for sale or rent called the MLS (multiple listing service) where real estate agents, as well as the different real estate companies they collaborate with each other and compensate each other creating a huge database with thousands of properties.
Make an offer for the property you want: After having found the property you were looking for, the offer is prepared with a purchase-sale contract, but before making the offer your real estate agent informs you of all the details of the purchase, the county’s estimated amount of property taxes, maintenance or administration costs in case the property is in an apartment building or a gated community, can also help you with the application process and the statutes and rules of the county. community.
The real estate agent should present a fair offer that the seller is most willing to accept. The purchase-sale offer is made with a good faith deposit, generally 5% to 10% of the purchase value of the property, which is deposited in an escrow account with a real estate attorney or insurance company. title, this attorney or company may be the attorney involved in the transaction or a third party.
The property transfer process begins: After the buyer and the seller sign the contract, the period for the property title transfer process begins. The purchase contract will include several dates which must be met exactly as stipulated in the contract to avoid penalties and cancellation of the contract.
Closing: It is the day agreed by contract where the seller, the buyer, the real estate agent, attorneys for each party and a notary public meet at the title company that is carrying out the closing. Buyer must have wired remaining funds to title company account at least one day prior to closing date or present with check drawn on local bank.
When you buy a property in the United States there are fees associated with the transfer which are called closing costs. These are in addition to the purchase price and most of them must be settled on closing day.
