international house: I am planning to buy a home ( house or apt ) in Florida. I do not know much about the requirements for international house buyer, so I am looking for the details of what's important to know when you buy a house in America as a foreigner. The houses that i have been looking at is around $75,000 - $120,000, is that including sales and property taxes, or will they add that on when i purchase it. If that's the case, what am i looking at $$ Also, what else is important to know about house buying and house owning in America? I need all the information i can get. Thanks.|||1. do you have financing? you should get pre-approved for a mortgage before you start shopping seriously for a house. that way, you have a more precise idea of how much of a house you can afford. you should decide for yourself how much you can pay--the mortgage company might say you can afford an amount greater than you can truly afford. 2. when buying a house you have to pay various "closing costs" such as appraisal fee, home inspection, title fees, etc. in addition to the cost of the house itself. these vary but generally add 2 or 3 percent to the cost of the house. in a distressed market such as florida, buyers sometimes ask the seller to pay all or part of closing costs. 3. once you become a homeowner, you will have to pay property taxes and in some cases, a homeowners association fee. amounts of these vary widely so you would need to ask your real estate agent about these. the sale price does not include these things. when deciding if you can afford a particular property, consider the taxes and HOA fees in addition to the cost of the house. 4. don't forget that as an owner you will have to pay homeowners insurance (required!) and utilities as well as repairs when things break (let me tell you, there's always something that breaks like plumbing or appliances).|||Loan terms will depend on if this is to be your residence or an investment property. You should be pre qualified by a lender before working with a Realtor. The only other consideration would be upon selling, you may incur a tax liability as a foreign owner. You can check that out with a tax adviser.|||Florida...make sure your drywall is not the faulty, mold-producing garbage that China shipped out a few years ago and was used primarily in Florida. It's causing a lot of major health problems, though, on the other hand, it's a new, booming industry in Florida (drywall and drywall repair).