• Ever dreamed of owning a vacation home in Florida?
• Maybe a nice one- or two-bedroom winter getaway near the beach and a swimming pool in the courtyard?
• U.S. developers are hoping that snowbirds from cities such as Toronto will take advantage of bargain-basement prices to make that dream a reality. With one in about 454 U.S. homes now in foreclosure and a huge oversupply of condos on the market, prices for Florida condos are indeed at fire-sale levels — as much as 50 per cent below what they were selling for last year.
• That means prices as low as $200 (U.S.) — or about $240 — a square foot compared with average condo prices nudging the $500-a-square-foot mark in the Greater Toronto Area or Montreal Area
• SHORT SALES are defined as a transaction where the title transfers :where the sale price is insufficient to pay the total all liens ans costs of sale;and where the seller does not bring sufficient liquid assets to the closing to cure all deficiencies including closing costs such as property taxes,transfer taxes and real estate practitioner's commission.
• FORECLOSURES are defined as the legal process by which an owner's right to a property is terminated, usually due to default. Typically involves a forced sale of the property at public auction, with the proceeds being applied to the mortgage debt.
• Due to the current economic climate, many listings are disclosed as short sales. Short sales bring a large number of additional considerations.
• DEFINITION SHORT SALE  FRANCAIS

• Simple, Canadians are the largest single foreign buyer of U.S. residential property. Last year alone, Canadians snapped up 56,000 Sunbelt properties, says Brian Ellis, vice-president of Brampton-based Florida Home Finders of Canada Inc.
• Equally important, U.S. mortgage lenders are more than willing to make loans to qualified Canadian second-home buyers for up to 80 per cent of the purchase price, adds Harold Green, a partner in Central Showplace Corp., which has just opened an office in downtown Toronto to market residential properties in the U.S. Sunbelt.
• "While many U.S. buyers are having a hard time getting financing, almost all major banks in places like Florida are not just willing but eager to lend to Canadians," 
• REPORTAGE RADIO-CANADA Decembre 2009 (allez a06:30 mins )
• www.CANADA-FLORIDA.ca

People don't talk about it a lot but finding the right real Realtor can be the difference between a happy, stress-free home buying or a selling experience, and an unhappy, stressful experience.

Le choix d'un bon Agent Immobilier - Realtor peut faire toute la difference entre une transaction reussie avec succes & sans stress ou une mauvaise experience sans resultats.

Transnational Referral Certification TRC

INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION IMMOBILIERE INTERNATIONALE

• So, that is the overview: great deals, available mortgage money — rates are usually about 1.5 percentage points above those available to U.S. borrowers, or around the 7-per-cent mark right now — but uncertainty about the future of the Canadian dollar.
• But before catching the next plane south to find that perfect pied--terre in the sun, understand a few things. Florida's second-home market is very different indeed from that in Downtown West or along the Yonge Street corridor.
• Bargain-basement prices and low mortgage rates can be dramatically offset by the task of managing a property 2,000 kilometres away. The off-season rental market is as soft as two-week-old banana. U.S. taxes can eat up a fair chunk of rental income and impose a huge estate tax burden on anyone inheriting the home.
• And finally, buy the wrong unit in the wrong property and you could face lengthy battles with a bankrupt developer getting that condo completed or with previous owners or tenants who trash the place before being forced to move out by foreclosure. There is no statewide builders' warranty program such as Tarion in Ontario.
• "Many people who go there one or two weeks a year think they know the market," Mr. Green says. "Bottom line, they do not. Owning and caring for a second home in Florida is much more complicated than owning a condo in Toronto.
• "What is more, the market varies widely from geographic area to geographic area and from project to project."
• USA 21 TV ( FRANCAIS)