Today the Global Business Council of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors held its Gainiing The Global Edge Seminar and it was an outstanding event. The organizers drew speakers from every angle of an international transaction, including law, finance, and culture.
Here are a few highlights from the time I was able to attend due to schedule. I can assure you, if they do this again, my schedule will not conflict.
Florida has the largest number of international buyers annually. 20% of the people who purchase a home in Florida are foreign nationals.
If you are interested in international real estate, pick one or two countries to concentrate on. You can't be an agent to the world.
It is important to learn and be able to quote numbers in the way that the Buyer understands them better, eg, meters vs. feet and Euros vs. Dollars. Fortunately, there's an app for that!
Remember that currency fluctuations can affect the cost of a transaction and even blow the deal if there are shifts of thousands of dollars. Keep up with what the currency of the country's exchange rate is. Also, know that there are services available to lock the exchange rate for a time period.
Florida Association of Realtors' web site has contracts that are translated in Spanish, Portugese, and German. They expect to have a French translation contract soon. This is in the Tools and Support - Forms Section.
There are two types of international buyers: those coming from their mother country, and those already living in the United States. Decide which group you want to work with. Persons who have not lived here need much more time to explain our process in real estate.
Real estate is not practiced the same way in the rest of the world as it is here.
If your real estate organization puts on any type of global event, I highly recommend it. Our world is becoming smaller all the time and it pays to be up to speed when you get that phone call and the buyer is half a world away.
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