Blog about buying from International Seller

[JasonErpelding]

Good afternoon,

I am working on writing a blog about buying from an international seller. I wanted to ask if it is difficult for foreign sellers to get their final documents notarized (or you might call it see a solicitor). A lot of times buyers are concerned if they buy from an international seller it will just take much longer to close. In my opinion it typically doesn’t take much longer (maybe 4 days to a week longer). A foreign buyer buying from a foreign seller does have to obtain an ITIN number.

If there is anything you want me to include in the blog about buying from a international seller please let me know.

Thanks,
Jason Erpelding
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Buy and Sell DVC, inc.®

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by JasonErpelding

Good afternoon,

I am working on writing a blog about buying from an international seller. I wanted to ask if it is difficult for foreign sellers to get their final documents notarized (or you might call it see a solicitor). A lot of times buyers are concerned if they buy from an international seller it will just take much longer to close. In my opinion it typically doesn’t take much longer (maybe 4 days to a week longer). A foreign buyer buying from a foreign seller does have to obtain an ITIN number.

If there is anything you want me to include in the blog about buying from a international seller please let me know.

Thanks,
Jason Erpelding
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Buy and Sell DVC, inc.®

See more...

I do not think it takes much longer- I think unless it is California if you are buying from a UK seller a solicitor/ notary is enough for the UK so for all the Florida property. I think but may be wrong that if it is California a trip to the embassy may be required?

Getting a document notarised should only take a few days but there are treaties with the UK where only this is required- not sure all international jurisdictions are the same?

The good thing is I hear anecdotally an internationally sold contract is much more likely to sail through ROFR.

Some may be worried about the tax liabilities, but if you are dealing with a good real estate agent he will make sure the international seller gets the ITIN number or whatever it is called I would imagine?

[mousefan]

We sold a small contract a few months ago; we’re from the UK and our buyer was based in New York.
It’s relatively easy to find a notary public, especially if you live near a city, in England at least. A notary public is usually a solicitor who has received further training to qualify and therefore you’ll find most notaries within a firm of solicitors.
We were able to see a notary the following day, having made an appointment so that part of the process was quick and not too expensive.
The whole process was very smooth. We couriered the signed documents, had our ITIN numbers obtained via our tax agent and finalised our sale in a very similar time to that of a domestic ‘seller’.

[JasonErpelding]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

I do not think it takes much longer- I think unless it is California if you are buying from a UK seller a solicitor/ notary is enough for the UK so for all the Florida property. I think but may be wrong that if it is California a trip to the embassy may be required?

Getting a document notarised should only take a few days but there are treaties with the UK where only this is required- not sure all international jurisdictions are the same?

The good thing is I hear anecdotally an internationally sold contract is much more likely to sail through ROFR.

Some may be worried about the tax liabilities, but if you are dealing with a good real estate agent he will make sure the international seller gets the ITIN number or whatever it is called I would imagine?

See more...

Thanks. I have been doing this since 2004 and I think over the years it has gotten easier for Foreign Sellers. I remember back before 2010 some UK sellers telling me the notary was hundreds of miles away and that would always cause a delay. Here in the US notaries are everywhere.

Jason Erpelding
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Buy and Sell DVC, inc.®

[JasonErpelding]

Originally Posted by mousefan

We sold a small contract a few months ago; we’re from the UK and our buyer was based in New York.
It’s relatively easy to find a notary public, especially if you live near a city, in England at least. A notary public is usually a solicitor who has received further training to qualify and therefore you’ll find most notaries within a firm of solicitors.
We were able to see a notary the following day, having made an appointment so that part of the process was quick and not too expensive.
The whole process was very smooth. We couriered the signed documents, had our ITIN numbers obtained via our tax agent and finalised our sale in a very similar time to that of a domestic ‘seller’.

See more...

That is great to hear. Thank you.

Jason Erpelding
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Buy and Sell DVC, Inc.®

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by JasonErpelding

Thanks. I have been doing this since 2004 and I think over the years it has gotten easier for Foreign Sellers. I remember back before 2010 some UK sellers telling me the notary was hundreds of miles away and that would always cause a delay. Here in the US notaries are everywhere.

Jason Erpelding
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Buy and Sell DVC, inc.®

See more...

There are plenty around- no need to travel hundreds of miles-https://www.facultyoffice.org.uk/notary/find-a-notary/

It is a rather antiquated profession- most notaries are solicitors, but hardly any solicitors are notaries. Basically, if it was not for foreign property transactions and foreign wills, there would be no need for them really in the UK.

Both US and UK are signatories to the Hague Convention which means that a notarisation with what is called an apostille is accepted in each country.

An apostille is where after notarisation the document has to be submitted to the foreign and commonwealth office for authentification and stamping. That would delay matters by a few weeks.

Fortunately in Florida and many other States, an apostille is not required, so a notary can swear the document in minutes and it is good to go. So overall it should take literally a couple of days extra (or should). California is different (not sure about Hawaii or South Carolina) in that in California you do need an apostile I understand, which will cause some delay.

So in summary, buying from a UK (or any Hague Convention Country) DVC seller as long as it is Florida property and not California, should have no discernable delay and is likely to go through ROFR quicker or at least more likely to pass.

[BarryandCaron]

We sold our OKW contract March 2017.

The total time scale was 5 weeks from accepting the offer to closing. It was easy to find a local solicitor to notarise the documents.

[JasonErpelding]

Originally Posted by BarryandCaron

We sold our OKW contract March 2017.

The total time scale was 5 weeks from accepting the offer to closing. It was easy to find a local solicitor to notarise the documents.

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Awesome. Thank you!

Jason Erpelding
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Buy and Sell DVC, Inc.®

[Noodlez]

Can I be honest and admit I don't like the idea of your blog! On 'the other' board I've seen a lot of posts about how much less you should offer an international seller! I don't think it should be disclosed. Finding a notary may take a day or two longer in the UK, but there is no obligation for anyone to reply the same day.

As far as I'm aware most brokers won't say "this seller is a bit disorganised so please allow an extra few days", "this seller is often travelling and probably will forget to return their documents for a few weeks", etc. Why is it important to know that the seller is international? I'm concerned your blog may only add to the current feeling that there is an extra issue with international sellers. Given the number of weeks that resale takes we shouldn't be making an issue of the extra couple of days that it may take to find a notary. When we were purchasing our US seller was slower than us at every step! There was definitely no instant response because they weren't international.

When/if I come to selling I think I would like my broker to keep my private details, such as my location, private.

[lov2dibb]

Originally Posted by JasonErpelding

Thanks. I have been doing this since 2004 and I think over the years it has gotten easier for Foreign Sellers. I remember back before 2010 some UK sellers telling me the notary was hundreds of miles away and that would always cause a delay. Here in the US notaries are everywhere.

Jason Erpelding
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Buy and Sell DVC, inc.®

See more...

Hundreds of miles?
Can't think of anywhere in the UK that would be that far from a notary.
Even here in the north of Scotland it's easy enough to see a notary in my local town - maybe a couple of days to get an appointment and I've had some documents notarised recently no problem.
When I sold some points last year I ended up getting my forms notarised at the title company office in Florida but only because I was there on holiday at the time.