Received closing docs - just found out seller is international...have some questions

[FatalSports]

All,

Thank you in advance for reading this and hopefully providing some good info on our situation.

We put in an offer about a month ago at SSR, we were never told at that point or when signing the contract that the sellers were international. We just got the closing docs and now I see the extra documentation I need to fill out because the sellers are international.

I found out this can add time, whether a little or a lot really depends on the sellers and their ability to get a Tax ID quickly and also visiting a US embassy to sign and notarize.

More than anything I'm quite annoyed this wasn't told to me before...to the point where I'm wondering if we can back it at this point? We put down our $1k deposit, will we get this back if we wanted to back out because this was never disclosed to us?

I'm worried about the additional time...what if the sellers live hours away from an embassy and can't get the paperwork notarized in a timely manner...and again just annoyed that I was never told about the situation and considering backing out of this contract if I can?

Any help is appreciated!

 

[disneynutz]

The terms of your contract will tell you what your choices are about cancelling. Did you tell the broker that you didn't want to buy from an international seller and they failed to disclose? Did you put it in writing?

Bill

 

[Marionnette]

All,

Thank you in advance for reading this and hopefully providing some good info on our situation.

We put in an offer about a month ago at SSR, we were never told at that point or when signing the contract that the sellers were international. We just got the closing docs and now I see the extra documentation I need to fill out because the sellers are international.

I found out this can add time, whether a little or a lot really depends on the sellers and their ability to get a Tax ID quickly and also visiting a US embassy to sign and notarize.

More than anything I'm quite annoyed this wasn't told to me before...to the point where I'm wondering if we can back it at this point? We put down our $1k deposit, will we get this back if we wanted to back out because this was never disclosed to us?

I'm worried about the additional time...what if the sellers live hours away from an embassy and can't get the paperwork notarized in a timely manner...and again just annoyed that I was never told about the situation and considering backing out of this contract if I can?

Any help is appreciated!

I'm sorry that the listing agency didn't feel it was important to clue you in on this key piece of info. At this point, you're ready to close. If you were to pull out now, I doubt that you would get your deposit back. The seller has already paid for ROFR and estoppel. They would need to be reimbursed for those costs plus any other fees that the escrow company charges. You're already past those hurdles. If you were to walk away from this contract, you will have to find a new contract, submit your offer, go to ROFR, wait for estoppel and then reach the point you're at now. IMO, that would probably amount to a much longer delay in getting your contract.

For anyone else who is in the process of purchasing, it takes very little effort to ask if the seller is not in the U.S. before making your offer. Some listing agencies will have "INTERNATIONAL SELLER" in their listings but not all of them. If this is important to you, just ask.

 

[FatalSports]

The terms of your contract will tell you what your choices are about cancelling. Did you tell the broker that you didn't want to buy from an international seller and they failed to disclose? Did you put it in writing?

Bill

I'm pretty sure the contract just says you have 10 days of receiving the contract to cancel. No, I didn't tell them...I assumed they would tell you upfront that the seller was international. At the time of signing the contract I didn't know they were international nor did I know it added extra time and docs for the seller to complete.

 

[Marionnette]

BTW, make sure that your escrow company withholds the FIRPTA taxes and forwards them to the government if you go through with this purchase. 10% of the sale price should be held by them until the seller files the proper paperwork. Otherwise, you could be on the hook for those taxes later on.

 

[FatalSports]

BTW, make sure that your escrow company withholds the FIRPTA taxes and forwards them to the government if you go through with this purchase. 10% of the sale price should be held by them until the seller files the proper paperwork. Otherwise, you could be on the hook for those taxes later on.

One of the docs I got was the FIRPTA paperwork...I was shocked when I saw it because that's what tipped me off that the seller was international.

 

[disneynutz]

I'm pretty sure the contract just says you have 10 days of receiving the contract to cancel. No, I didn't tell them...I assumed they would tell you upfront that the seller was international. At the time of signing the contract I didn't know they were international nor did I know it added extra time and docs for the seller to complete.

The broker doesn't have any obligation to tell you about the sellers and if you didn't discuss it with them, it isn't a fail.

While foreign sellers can take longer to close, so can sellers in the US. Buyers are eager to start using their points, sellers are not eager to let go.

Bill

 

[pangyal]

BTW, make sure that your escrow company withholds the FIRPTA taxes and forwards them to the government if you go through with this purchase. 10% of the sale price should be held by them until the seller files the proper paperwork. Otherwise, you could be on the hook for those taxes later on.

It's actually 15% now!

 

[MouseOfCards]

All,

Thank you in advance for reading this and hopefully providing some good info on our situation.

We put in an offer about a month ago at SSR, we were never told at that point or when signing the contract that the sellers were international. We just got the closing docs and now I see the extra documentation I need to fill out because the sellers are international.

I found out this can add time, whether a little or a lot really depends on the sellers and their ability to get a Tax ID quickly and also visiting a US embassy to sign and notarize.

More than anything I'm quite annoyed this wasn't told to me before...to the point where I'm wondering if we can back it at this point? We put down our $1k deposit, will we get this back if we wanted to back out because this was never disclosed to us?

I'm worried about the additional time...what if the sellers live hours away from an embassy and can't get the paperwork notarized in a timely manner...and again just annoyed that I was never told about the situation and considering backing out of this contract if I can?

Any help is appreciated!

As mentioned by others, some brokers indicate up front if the seller is international. We've learned to ask this on all DVC contract purchases now. It can add significant time or cause delays to the transaction. Also, these transactions require you to provide your SSN and sometimes may need you to get the documents notarized. We've also had a few where the title company tried to charge us the FIRPTA-related closing fees.

 

[Minniesgal]

The fact your seller is international shouldn't really make any difference. It will go fast if they are motivated and organised and not if they are not pretty much the same as US sellers.