Buying from International Seller

[Salf777]

Hi
I have an accepted offer on a contract and was advised that the seller was international I seemed to have read somewhere that there are additional costs associated or problems with international resales. Is that for the buyer or the seller? Has anyone had any experience with buying from international seller? How did it go?

 

[DaveNan]

The seller has some additional forms they need to sign and the title company will withhold some of the sale (their proceeds) to cover potential taxes. If somehow the title company does not do their job, there have been concerns in the past, the buyer could get drug into the tax situation. I don't recall any specific discussion of this ever happening, just concerns it could happen. Just make sure to ask the title company that the seller has submitted the tax forms.

Closing can take longer. They may need to go to a consulate or extra hoops to get the notary. But general perception is Disney exercises RORF less on international contracts. I have bought from an international seller and I had no issues.

 

[JackArchie]

I bought 3 (2 AUL Subsidized and VGC) contracts from different international sellers (Japan). No issues, closing does take longer than usual.

 

[RoseGold]

There is extra cost (which the seller should pay -- check your contract!) and the buyer is responsible for doing the paperwork correctly for the IRS. The title company handles this and they do this a lot, but I decided to pass on an international contract because of that responsibility. I wouldn't know enough to make sure it was done correctly, and that made me uncomfortable. I would at least want to talk to the title agent first.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/buying-from-international-seller.3674706/

 

[macman123]

I am an international buyer - nothing additional for me

 

[Ssplashhmtn]

International sellers can have a hard time finding a notary, especially during Covid shut-downs, depending on the country. If you run into that problem, recommend they use an online/video notary. It took a while to find, but we found one and it worked great.

 

[Cyberc1978]

I am an international buyer - nothing additional for me

As an international buyer, there wont be any additional cost or forms. However when you decide to sell its a different story.

 

[Cyberc1978]

International sellers can have a hard time finding a notary, especially during Covid shut-downs, depending on the country. If you run into that problem, recommend they use an online/video notary. It took a while to find, but we found one and it worked great.

I dont know if an online notary is available anywhere else than in the U.S?

What I did as an international seller I went to our local notary (not U.S embassy) and had the documents notarized. Then I went and got the documents legalized using an apostille. That method is just as good, much easier and cheaper than going to the U.S embassy. Most dont know about that method and assumes that using a notary at a U.S embassy is the only way.

 

[CSLucas]

I bought from an international seller a few months back, and just got a lovely notice from the IRS that the title company apparently did NOT withhold for tax so now I'm in the middle of the tax mess. We are probably just going to pay the taxes on behalf of the seller and be done with it, but it is certainly annoying (and definitely something you should consider when you are talking about larger contracts)

 

[Sally524]

I also bought from an international seller a few months ago. Last month I got a notice from the IRS about the sale, and the payment amount. I sent the letter to the broker, who sent it to the title company. The title company paid it and sent me a copy of the receipt to the IRS. So all was taken care of.

 

[princesscinderella]

I bought from an international seller a few months back, and just got a lovely notice from the IRS that the title company apparently did NOT withhold for tax so now I'm in the middle of the tax mess. We are probably just going to pay the taxes on behalf of the seller and be done with it, but it is certainly annoying (and definitely something you should consider when you are talking about larger contracts)

Send it to you title company I had the same thing happen years ago when I bought AKV from someone in Canada. I got them for $75 a point so they didn’t have a gain but a loss on the sale so they requested a waiver of the tax from the irs. Well a year later it was denied and they wanted their money and the buyer being the US citizen is responsible. I sent the letter to the title company and they took care of contacting the sellers who paid the fee and I got the documents sent to me for my records that proved the payment.

 

[sndral]

I bought from an international seller a few months back, and just got a lovely notice from the IRS that the title company apparently did NOT withhold for tax so now I'm in the middle of the tax mess. We are probably just going to pay the taxes on behalf of the seller and be done with it, but it is certainly annoying (and definitely something you should consider when you are talking about larger contracts)

Have you talked to your title company & have they told you that they didn’t w/hold the funds? My understanding is that they may hold the potential tax owed in escrow for awhile while the seller files paperwork that no FRPTA is owed, but there comes a point where the Title company needs to send the funds to the IRS and the seller can seek a refund from the IRS.
Even if the Title Co. didn’t w/hold the funds, I’d expect them to cover the taxes owed & let them deal w/ recovering from the seller for the funds they released to them when they shouldn’t have. I’d also alert the broker, too many mess ups like that & they might want to go w/ a different title co..

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

We bought from an international seller as well (on our very first contract!)… everything went just as smoothly as the rest, but it did take those sellers longer to complete the closing paperwork than others. I had no idea about the tax issue back then, and it thankfully never became one!!

 

[wbleek]

I am an international DVC member. Maybe I will sell a small contract in the future. Are there any resources you can direct me to to learn more about this process?