International buyers

U.S. real estate is still considered a prime investment opportunity and a "safe haven" for foreign buyers to put their money. For those in a position to take advantage, there are some great investment deals in today's market. In a survey of Realtors last year (NAR), more than 8 out of 10 respondents said foreign transactions accounted for up to 25 percent of their sales. A large portion of their international clientele came from Mexico, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Florida is the destination of choice for many international buyers - 26 percent of foreign buyers represented in the survey purchased in the Sunshine State. 16 percent bought real estate in California and 10 percent purchased in Texas.
In today's economic climate, international buyers are recognising it's a great time to buy.

Living in Orlando

When you live anywhere, life revolves around work, school, shopping, paying bills, etc and some times it takes an outsider to remind you of what makes your area special. My daughter and her family have just left and we spent two weeks doing the tourist side of Orlando, which meant I saw it through the eyes of my 4 year old grandson, Jack. When not floating in the pool, we took him to the parks. His fascination with dinosaurs made the Jurrassic Park ride at Universal Studios "Awesome" (Well, "Awthome" actually because he hath a lithp!) Also the new dinosaur cafe at Downtown Disney was a hit. But the highlight for him was meeting his heroes - Spongebob Squarepants (Wow), Buzz Lightyear (I'm a thpathe ranger) and Spiderman (stunned silence, eyes on stalks). When he did recover, he told everyone he saw that 'piderman knew his name! Last year another daughter was here with my 5 year old grandaughter so we lived the Disney Princess life for two weeks. I love it. Both of them think that I am responsible for the magic and fireworks so, naturally, I must be Tinkerbelle. (Hence the Tink necklace on my profile photo - a Christmas present from them.)

They've left now and I've spent this week helping 12 golfers find accommodation and courses for next year's vacation, a huge learning curve but a pleasant departure from my normal real estate work. I do love living here!

An immigrant's tale

The phone rings, I answer it.
"Hi, this is Dave calling from Coventry in England. We want to buy a house in Orlando. We're moving over, can you help?"
"Of course I can" I reply. "Which area do you want?"
"Well ,anywhere really, it's all nice" Oh dear, my heart sinks.
"Where will your job be?" I ask.
"We'll sort out jobs once we're settled, so it doesn't matter where we buy" says poor Dave.
"If you don't have a job, how have you managed to get a visa?" I ask.
"What visa?"
This conversation happens all too frequently. Since Britain (UK) joined the European Union back in the 70's and the borders opened, any member of the EU can work and live in any member state. Add Canada, Australia and New Zealand to the list and you can understand how Brits think that emigration is just a case finding somewhere to live and moving there.
My heart goes out to them. For some it's just the post-vacation honeymoon period. Many return to work and normal lives with a heavy heart, but recover quickly once their routine starts again. For others it doesn't happen. I was one of them.
I first landed on American soil in 1986 and as my feet touched the ground I felt like I had come home. Don't know why, can't explain it, just did. So started a long and difficult battle to move from England to the USA which I shall be telling over the coming weeks in the hope that it offers information to those that need it and hope to some that are travelling that path.