Don't get burnt by Florida sun

Specialist help is vital in buying homes in the popular US sunshine state, warns William Raynor

The allure of America, it seems, is as potent as ever. "A lot of people from the UK start out buying a property in the United States in order to visit it occasionally, but sooner rather than later - especially if they're retired or about to be - they seem to want to move there permanently," says George Mustakas, of the London offices of US law firm Lavigne & Lane.

"Living over there is so much cheaper. Clothes and food costs less - and housing is much cheaper than the south of England. You can go to Florida and get a three- or four-bedroom house with swimming pool new for $130,000 (pounds 80,000)."

Mr Mustakas cites Florida for two reasons. First, it is by far the most popular US state for British buyers - up to 4,000 of them a year, more than 80 per cent of the total. Second, his firm is based in Florida, where it has three main offices, the biggest in Orlando - the heart of the state's foreign-buying area - and the others in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Specialising in Florida can be helpful as US legal systems vary widely from state to state. Some are `community of property' states. Some are based on Anglo-Saxon legal codes, others on French or Hispanic codes.

Once you have decided which state to buy in - and before you've lined up a realtor, or estate agent - you would be wise to ring the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, or the nearest US consulate, and ask for details of law firms with the right expertise. "You have to have someone competent to act for you and advise you in the relevant jurisdiction," emphasises Mike Smith, an English solicitor in the London office of Baker & McKenzie, one of the larger US firms. " It's not like one of my US clients coming here and wanting to buy in Cornwall or Gloucestershire."

Mr Smith`s office, like some others of similar size in London, tends to handle commercial property or corporate finance and so, acting as liaison, would pass your enquiry on to its office in the US state concerned to provide a local service. But some smaller US firms concentrate more on private business and can provide a more comprehensive personal service, at both ends.

Mr Mustakas says: "Once we know what sort of property people want, we'll advise them how to make the purchase and through whom. We have lawyers who are also qualified as realtors, we'll do the rest. If they want to buy for rental income, we can arrange for someone to manage it."

But, says Mr Mustakas, buyers of US property must note one important detail - unlike most foreign markets, the US imposes time limits on your stay. As a British tourist with a British passport, you are as a rule limited to 90 days in the US a year, getting your visa on arrival. While there, you can apply for an extension, and if you are deemed to have good grounds, you may double your visit to six months. Of course, if you have a `green card' giving you right of residence, or if you qualify under some other categories of visa, you can enjoy a longer stay. Some firms, including Mr Mustakas's, can offer help on visas and even employment issues.

All this costs, of course, and US law firms are not cheap. But achieving longer-stay status in the US can be frustrating, if not impossible. The quota systems - for siblings, for parents, for those rich enough to take over businesses or franchises - are slow and cumbersome.

Not surprisingly, then, most Britons buying in the US seem destined to remain buyers of second, holiday homes. Jim Atkins of Sun State International, based in Bournemouth and specialising in residential and commercial property in Florida, "most buy new-build bungalows, because there's so much land, and land is so cheap". Anything over pounds 500,000 tends to be the preserve of film and sports stars.

Many Britons in Florida buy `off-plan', having visited and viewed the `models' or showhouses. "If you buy a modern property, the condition should stay good for some time. And it doesn't matter so much who the neighbours are," says Mr Atkins. If the neighbours are not other British or American residents, they may well be German or Scandinavian.

On a three-bedroom property with a pool, costing $75,000 (pounds 45,000), you would put down a 30 per cent deposit. You should more than cover the cost of mortgage and outgoings with a weekly rent of pounds 350, which in 35 weeks would total in excess of pounds 12,000.

"The market has changed," says Mr Atkins. "In the late 1980s, lots of people were buying second houses without even going there. In the past 18 months second-home buyers have come back, and people have been moving out to set up or buy businesses."

The rules governing rental can vary by county or even within smaller areas where, because of local objections, zones are delineated for short- term or longer-term lets. Short-term lets can preclude holiday lets.

Secure `gated' developments cost more, as do the two coasts rather than central Florida. Britons tend to prefer the Gulf coastline. A standard bungalow 15 minutes' drive from the beach is likely to cost $15,000 more than one inland towards Orlando. You will need a car, but hiring is relatively cheap.

Florida may well call itself the Sunshine State, but is that all its appeal for British buyers? There must be more than the sun, the sea, the golf, the Disney theme parks and the fascination of the alligator-infested Everglades.

"Florida has very lenient laws relating to insolvency and bankruptcy," says George Mustakas. "And it's one of very few states which have no state income tax." That could be the clincher.

Contacts: Lavigne & Lane, tel: 0171-264 2110. Sun State International (Bournemouth), 01202-546 622. National Association of Estate Agents' `Homelink' service can put you in touch with US property specialists; 01926-496800.