What are the laws for selling my home to a non US Citizen?

Question

I have had several inquires from non US Citizens to purchase my home for sale. I do not wish to do anything illegal so I need to find out all the requirments for sale of my home to a Non US Citizen.

Answer 1

No laws ban foreigners from purchasing land in the US.

Answer 2

Non-US citizens buy homes here everyday.  Many international companies transfer employees here often, sometimes permanently, sometimes temporarily, and they don't necessarily become citizens.  But they do buy homes.  As noted above, ILLEGALS will have problems with their loan process.  If they are legal non-citizens, there should be no problem.  It's not your responsibility to determine their legality, however.

Answer 3

If that person is in US legally (either holding a valid visa or permanent resident) then you should not have any problem.

Answer 4

You are not really required to do anything.  Their bank and the closing agent will have various papers they must file (mostly for tax reasons) and sign but thats it.  You are under no obligation to verify much of anything about a potential buyer.

Answer 5

No problem if they pay cash.  The problem is getting a loan.  They will need a social security card. I've seen 3 people buy houses and they all had ssi cards.  Unfortunately they paid cash for the cards in downtown Phoenix.  None of the sales closed.

Answer 6

If you know ahead of time that the buyer is illegal, don't sell to them.  You'll just crash the sale, and waste your time.  I think lenders are being more careful, but identity theft is often hard to get a grip on.

Answer 7

You can sell the house to ANYONE you want.  There is NO requirement that you verify if the buyer is a citizen.

Answer 8

Be VERY CAREFUL! Not because it's illegal, but because there are some organized scams.

If they want to pay something - like a deposit - with a cashier's check and have you send them the excess, it's a scam!