What to Know About Property Selling If You’re A Foreigner

Are you not yet a citizen of the country? What if you are planning to move to another city and decide to sell your house or property? This article will discuss PROPERTY SELLING and how it can affect you whether you're a buyer or seller.

REAL ESTATE LAW IN SAN ANTONIO

Everybody knows that San Antonio is an international city.

And the chances of you, as a buyer, purchasing a property from a foreign seller are very high. That is why it's crucial to know what is indicated in our real estate law about this matter.

It is very clear what the law states:

“Any person or corporation that is intending to sell real estate in the United States will be subject to a tax withholding. The amount can range between 10% and 15%.”

However, there are very few exceptions to this rule.

EXCEPTION NUMBER 1

The one exception could be that the seller may decide to sign an AFFIDAVIT UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, stating that they are exempt from this regulation.

However, keep in mind that sometimes not even having a green card will accept you for that.

So it's really important to have your legal team invalidate that in essence, yes, this seller is exempted from the tax withholding.

EXCEPTION NUMBER 2

The second time that the withholding tax will not be necessary is if the price of the real estate or property is below $300,000.

In this case, the buyer will claim the property as their homestead and they will live in the property for at least half of the time for the next two years, following the date of the sale.

Now, if you are a FOREIGN SELLER, you really need to file for your withholding tax before you put your house up for sale.

LOOK FOR A PROFESSIONAL TEAM

Here at Sarabia Homes, we have a team of professionals who are ready to explain to you not only the process but guide you with the best way to avoid conflicts and problems down the line.

Now, if you are a buyer, why do you need to know this?

Because if a seller is a foreign person and you bought the property from them and the withholding does not happen, then you as the buyer will be responsible, not only for the amount of the withholding but for penalties and interest that may occur. 

So it is really important that you’ll BE AN INFORMED BUYER.

Do your due diligence and obviously have a team (like us) to represent you to make sure that you're safe.

So if you have, like I said, a professional team to help you with this matter, please let us know. We'll be more than happy to help you.

If you find this information helpful, please pass it along. And if you need to buy, sell or invest in real estate, I'm just a phone call away.

Thank you so much!