Buying property in Orlando from abroad

You don't need a green card, you don't need an investor visa and you don't need to come here. You need to understand eight things. They're here, in the order they show up in real life.

First of all: buying property does not get you a visa. I say this first because it's the wrong information that circulates most in WhatsApp groups and Instagram lives. Buying a house in the United States does not create a visa, a green card or a right to live here. There are visas that involve investment, and they have their own rules that aren't about residential property — that's an immigration lawyer's territory, not a realtor's. If someone sells you a house claiming it solves a visa, walk away from that conversation.

1. Foreigners can buy, with no status restriction

There is no immigration status requirement to own property in the United States. You buy in your own name, with your passport. There is a declaration to sign at closing because of a 2023 state law restricting purchases by citizens of certain countries — confirm the current list.

2. ITIN

It's the tax identification number for people without a Social Security number. You'll need it to declare rental income and for the sale process. It isn't hard and it isn't expensive, but it takes time — so start early.

3. Foreign national financing exists

It isn't the ordinary American mortgage, and nobody should promise you it is. Foreign national programmes usually ask for a much larger down payment — the down payment usually runs 20% to 30%, reaching 35–40% in non-warrantable condos — and a rate above market, without requiring US credit. Plenty of people buy cash and refinance later. I introduce you to the lenders and you compare; I earn nothing from that referral.

4. Property tax: you pay more than your neighbour

And it matters to understand why. Florida gives residents a partial exemption (homestead exemption) and a cap on annual increases in assessed value (Save Our Homes). Someone who doesn't live there gets neither. In practice: your tax is higher and can rise faster than your neighbour's on the same street, with the same house. It isn't a trap, it's public rule — it just needs to enter your maths beforehand, not after.

Rectangular pool under a screen enclosure, with a covered lanai and seating area alongside

Aerial view of an Orlando subdivision: tile-roofed houses, palm trees, backyard pools and a retention pond with a fountain

5. Short-term rental: the question that decides the deal

This is the one that hurts most. Not every house near the parks can be rented short term. Two different authorities decide, and both have to say yes: the city or county zoning, which varies a lot inside the same metro area; and the HOA covenants, which can prohibit short rental even where the city allows it, or require a minimum lease term. There are communities purpose-built for short-term rental, with licensing and management in place, and residential neighbourhoods where renting short is a violation. The listing photo is identical.

What I doBefore the offer, I confirm zoning and covenants in writing. Not by phone, not by “the agent said so”.

6. FIRPTA — what happens when you sell

When a foreign person sells property in the United States, the law requires the buyer's side to withhold a percentage of the sale price and send it to the IRS. It isn't a penalty and it isn't the final tax: it's advance withholding, and much of it usually comes back when the return is filed. There are reduction routes with a certificate, which have to be requested before closing. You plan this at purchase, you don't discover it at sale. And the person who settles that account is a CPA — I introduce you to one, and I'm not one.

7. Buying without coming here

Video tours, electronic signature and a power of attorney for closing. What I never recommend: buying without someone you trust having physically walked the house. Even if that someone is me, phone in hand, opening cupboards, running the shower and pointing at the bathroom ceiling.

8. After you buy: who takes care of it

Property manager, insurance, annual tax, maintenance, and who answers when a pipe bursts at two in the morning and you're in another time zone. That gets solved before closing, not after.

One thing I won't do

I won't tell you how much the house will yield. Nobody can, and whoever promises it is selling you something they can't deliver. I show you observed numbers, with a date and a source, and you decide. Order of magnitude, not a quote.

Tell me your situation on WhatsApp

Nothing on this page is legal, tax or immigration advice. Zoning, tax and immigration rules change. Confirm your situation with a lawyer and a CPA — I introduce you to both.

Buying property in Orlando while living abroad: the whole process, without the gloss