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The low-down on buying and living in Florida

Why Florida?

It's eight hours away; it has a Caribbean climate with a first-world economy and infrastructure; and it attracts some 76m tourists a year. Property that would be considered luxurious by British standards is available in abundance and highly affordable. So why wouldn't you choose the Sunshine State for your holiday or retirement home?

  • the low-down on buying and living in FloridaFlorida has long been a favourite among British holidaymakers and holiday home buyers. If anything, its wonderful climate and natural assets have proved its undoing in the current financial crisis; during the boom years, real estate development flourished in Florida as nowhere else, so that when the crash came, Florida was hardest hit. As in Spain, on this side of the Atlantic, Florida saw vast numbers of condominiums and villas developed over the last decade, outstripping demand and leaving large swathes unsold when the downturn came.

    However, this should not distract from the state's fundamental attraction which remains as strong as ever. The good news is that prices have moderated significantly, making this a good opportunity to buy once more even though sterling has slipped significantly against the dollar. And if you want your property to prove a good investment, the key is not simply to buy cheap in Florida, but to choose your location carefully, and be aware of the local balance between supply and demand.

  • Getting there

    There are many flights to Florida from the UK every day throughout the year. The main airports for international flights are Miami in the south and Orlando in the north, though Tampa also has flights from British Airways, and Fort Lauderdale has a few international arrivals and departures. Orlando is ranked among the 30 busiest airports in the world, handling over 30 million passengers a year; 'carriers include BA, Virgin and Continental. Miami handles just over 33m passengers, and is a hub for flights to the Caribbean; scheduled carriers with direct flights are BA, Virgin and American Airlines.

    During holiday seasons, these are supplemented with numerous charter flights from around the UK, many going to the smaller Orlando Sanford airport, some 18 miles north-east of Orlando. The flight time is approximately nine and a half hours.

  • Visa/residency requirements

    Millions dream of retiring in Florida; the snag if you're from the UK or Europe is that you can't live there full time, unless you can find a way around the complex visa regulations. The most common method to do so involves investing in a business to obtain an E2 investor visa, which is a non-immigrant visa. To do so, you must be prepared to invest at least $150,000 in a business. The actual amount is not specified, but it must be an active investment, in other words you must be developing and running the business.

    With $1,000,000 to invest, you may be able to obtain an EB-5 Green Card, which does give permanent residency, again subject to stringent conditions about the nature of the business. However, in certain zones which are Targeted Employment Areas you can invest only $500,000 - which still gives you the right to live anywhere in the US.

    If you're happy to stay for less than 90 days at a time, you can enter the US without a visa under the Visa Waiver programme; however, you can't extend your stay. And of course there's a wide range of non-immigrant visas available to cater for everybody from students or au pairs to business people and journalists, for those who want to stay and work for longer periods of time.

  • How to buy in Florida

    There are many parallels between Florida and Spain, and one is the volume of high-pressure sales techniques to which would-be buyers are likely to be subjected. Real estate is a major industry in Florida, and its realtors are highly trained in selling techniques and used to earning big bucks in commission. Developers are used to spending very large sums on marketing, and agents are paid commission which may be as high as 15 per cent of the purchase price in extreme cases, when they make a sale. So the first priority for any buyer should be to find an agent who is really independent, fully licensed with access to the multiple listing system of properties, and who understands the needs of an international buyer.

    According to Andrew Bartlett, a British author and property advisor who has lived in Florida for many years, the first mistake that many British buyers make is to compare prices with those in the UK, rather than make an objective appraisal of whether a property is good value in the context of the Florida market. Although there are far fewer scams and planning scandals than in Spain, buyers are likely to be given misleading information, particularly with regard to whether you will be able to let out a property legally to holidaymakers, since this is strictly controlled by zoning regulations. If you do plan to offer holiday rentals, it's important that you obtain the correct mortgage; and a further pitfall is that agents may promise completely unrealistic projections of rental income, especially in the Orlando area where there is an over-supply of holiday properties.

    Avoid buying direct from developers and always use a buyer's agent, who is there to protect your interests as well as help you find the right property. Ideally, you should find a buyer's agent who understands the differences between buying in Britain and Florida, and who also has a knowledge of the market that is not confined to one small area, says Bartlett.

    The actual legal buying process is broadly similar to that in the UK, but there are a number of significant differences in detail; for example, although you are protected from the property being offered to other buyers once the initial contract is signed, the contract sets out a schedule which must be adhered to; Title Insurance must normally be paid for; and there may be more than one deposit required. So trying to do it yourself really is not a sensible option.

  • the low-down on buying and living in FloridaDifferent locations

    In Florida you're never far away from water, even if that's just a swimming pool. The main choices to buy are as follows: the Atlantic coast, in its various guises; the Gulf coast; Miami; Orlando; or the Keys.

    North of Miami, there's a coastal strip of great wealth and lifestyle running through Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton up to Palm Beach, with the Gold Coast giving way to the Treasure Coast. It's a world of country clubs, luxury shopping malls, exclusive communities and endless palm-fringed beaches, water sports and golf. It's all quite expensive by American standards, but good value by British ones.

    Miami itself is a big cosmopolitan city with 5.4m people in its surrounding metropolis, the seventh biggest in the US. It is often known as the gateway to Latin America for its large Hispanic population, but is also a city renowned for Art Deco architectural style and for its skyscrapers, including a wave of luxurious new residential towers. It's popular with the young and regarded as one of the best places to live in America, with South Beach probably the most desirable neighbourhood of all.

    The Florida Keys is the series of islands, connected by road and projecting from the southern tip of Florida towards Cuba, which represents another enclave of great wealth and luxury. Key West, the end of the chain, is both most expensive and most popular with British residents. It's a place where the rich like to party and the entry cost is high.

    On the Gulf Coast, the two main places of interest are Sarasota and Naples. Sarasota is renowned for the arts: it has museums, an opera, ballet and a variety of theatres, all of which has made it popular among the more cultured Brits. Naples is a smaller version, with 80 championship golf courses and a beach that has been voted the best in America, and which has attracted celebrities such as Stephen Spielberg, Bill Gates and Donald Trump to own property.

    Finally, Orlando is known for one thing only: the series of theme parks including Disney World, Universal Studios, EPCOT and SeaWorld, which together attract an estimated 50 million plus tourists a year. Few buy in the city itself, but in the endless communities scattered for miles around, which constitute one of the world's biggest holiday communities. More British own here than anywhere else in America; for many its inexpensive villas, sun-drenched pools, endless malls and restaurants represent everything you can't find at home.

  • Types of property

    Houses in Florida come generously-sized, generally one or two-storey, and in a variety of styles ranging from Colonial to Spanish Mission, with a few other derivations along the way. If you're buying a detached (single family) house, you can expect to have a pool, which fortunately does not need to be heated, and other common features include air conditioning, galleried open living areas, and giant walk-in wardrobes. Positions overlooking water - whether that's seafront or lakeside - command an obvious premium, and many properties are in gated communities which may or may not be to your taste. One of the best known is Celebration, developed by the Walt Disney Corporation. Such properties vary hugely in price - from as little as $200,000 in Orlando to a few million in the Keys - and provide an excellent rental proposition for families looking to holiday in Florida throughout the year.

    Also very popular are condominiums - typically apartments on a resort-type complex - which have the benefit of being a 'lock-up-and-leave' type property. There's been an enormous wave of condo development in recent years, and this part of the market has been hit arguably the hardest by the housing crash. In Miami high-rise living is more the norm, and there's been a spate of luxurious apartment blocks in the last few years.

    What you'd struggle to find anywhere in Florida is a property that is genuinely old and has historic or period features. This, after all, is a state where barely half a million people lived a century ago; today the population is 18m and rising.

  • Living in Florida

    the low-down on buying and living in FloridaClimate
    It's not called the Sunshine State for nothing. The sun shines in Florida throughout the year and in southern Florida, the temperature seldom drops below 15 degrees Celsius in winter, reaching just over 30 degrees in summer. Technically, the climate is described as 'humid subtropical', becoming tropical in the Keys. And although snow is virtually unheard of, thunderstorms are frequent, especially in spring and autumn, while hurricanes are an annual menace.

    Financial
    With so many Britons having bought in Florida - one estimate is that there are at least 50,000 - provision of mortgages and other financial services targeted at expats is better than anywhere else in the US. You should even be able to find a British mortgage broker there who will take you through the ropes. And while establishing yourself financially anywhere in the US is a challenge, in Florida it is easier - Lloyds TSB even has a branch in Miami.

    Healthcare
    Florida has many outstanding hospitals and healthcare centres, but free healthcare is not generally available, and you will need to take out (expensive) healthcare insurance if you do not have an employer to provide it for you. One company Mainstream Insurance, apparently has a plan designed specifically for newly-arrived Brits. Emergency treatment is available on a statutory basis at certain hospitals, regardless of ability to pay. But if you want to be assured of receiving good treatment, insurance is essential.

  • May 2009

    Alexander Garrett is a freelance property writer who contributes regularly to The Observer and British Airways' Business Life.

    The content provided in the Primelocation.com guides is for information only. In all cases, independent and professional advice should be sought before buying, selling, letting or renting property, or buying financial services products.

  • By Alexander Garrett

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