Owning a Villa

[NooNoo]

Hi
My Husband and I are looking into owning our own Florida home.
As a passing comment, someone has said do we realise we could be stopped from going into America at any time.
We cannot think of any reason why we would be stopped unless we have broken the law!
We are aware that there is a limit to the number of days you may spend in America as a British Passport Holder but cannot think why we would be stopped from visiting if we have done nothing wrong.
Can anyone else think of any possibility?
Or was it just a "throw away" comment?
TIA!

 

[LeaversOnTour]

I suppose in the extreme you "could" be stopped, but this seems highly unlikely.

Unless u decided to take up drug smuggling of course

 

[wildwood]

I have owned a florida villa since 2006 and have never been stopped from entering the usa and we have been going twice a year since 2006 . The only restrictions is that yoh can only stay for 90 days at a time . My only advice would be if you are buying to rent out it is very hard and time consuming , I work on ours at least 6 hours s day on advertising , and general book keeping snd paperwork and we offer our home at s very competitive price and we have still not made any money from our investment . I dont want to sound negitive but I wish someone had given me the ssme advice when we took the plunge . We do enjoy every visit and the hard work does seam worth it when you pull onto the drive , also add a few days to your holiday as you will spend a couple of days doing diy. I wish you all the best what ever you do and have fun xx

 

[Elise79]

I have a friend who owns a home in Las Vegas and she was advised by immigration to get a visa and not travel on a waiver. With a waiver you have no right to appeal on entry however with a visa you do.

 

[NooNoo]

Thanks everyone.
It's not really to rent out and make money from. We will rent to people we know however.
It's an investment for our future

 

[bazzanoid]

If you're not fussed about renting it out to cover the costs then you've definitely saved a headache!

My only caution would be that a lot of villas are on estates where there are Housing Association or resort fees which can be quite costly, and you'd still have to have a management company to ensure the 'rules' of the site are complied with for grass length (and sometimes colour!) etc when you're not there.

With regards to a Visa, a tourist Visa is the best way to go to be sure as it lasts for ten years generally and lets immigration know that you've been pre-approved for entry, so unless there's a serious reason like war between the UK and US for not letting you in you're less likely to be questioned about your frequent trips!

 

[chmurf]

The issue with immigration would be that, since you own a home in the US, immigration could fear that you intend on staying illegaly past the 90 days limit.

When an immigration officer has a doubt that you might be trying to illegaly immigrate, they have the right to deny you entry, and you have no right of appeal if you're on the Waiver program.

If you buy a villa, definitely get a visa beforehand.