Deposits
The minimum deposit required on a new home in Florida is 20% of the contract
price, which is paid in instalments. Most builders require a $5,000 deposit,
to enable the contract to be written and to protect you from price increases.
The next instalment is due approximately 30 days later, before construction
can begin, bringing the deposit paid so far to 10% (assuming a 20% deposit).
The balance, a further 10%, is due when building is complete (on completion).
Example
If the contract price of your new villa is $300,000 and you are paying
a 20% deposit, based on an exchange rate of $1.88 to the pound, the breakdown
and costs are something like this:
| |
US
|
UK
|
| 1. Initial Deposit (at contract stage) |
$5,000 |
£2,660 |
| 2. 30 Days Later (prior to construction) |
$25,000 |
£13,300 |
| 3. After 8-12 Months (on completion) |
$30,000 |
£15,960 |
| Total Deposit |
$60,000 |
£31,920 |
In addition, you will have closing costs, which consist of legal fees,
searches, etc. and, as the name suggests, they are paid on completion
of your home. Closing costs amount to approximately 4% of the house price
which, using the previous example, would be around $12,000 (£6,385).
Sometimes builders will pay an amount towards closing costs.
All the above is based on you taking out a US mortgage. If you finance
your home another way (e.g. UK mortgage, loan, cash) it then becomes a
cash-buy in Florida and the figures and timescales are slightly different.
Closing costs are much reduced for a cash buyer.
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