Foreign-buyer transactions die at the closing table for predictable reasons — and every one is avoidable with a checklist run early. Here is the attorney-level sequence we use to take a cross-border U.S. purchase from offer to recorded deed without surprises.
Verify identity & source of funds — first
Before anything else, confirm who the buyer truly is and where the money comes from. Banks, title, and escrow will all ask; getting documents up front prevents a freeze later. Entity buyers: identify the human beneficial owners.
Choose the ownership structure deliberately
Individual name, LLC, or trust? Each carries different tax, liability, privacy, and estate consequences for a non-U.S. person — including potential U.S. estate-tax exposure on U.S.-situs assets. Decide before the offer, not after, and coordinate U.S. and home-country counsel.
Plan for FIRPTA early (it's a seller issue too)
The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act can require withholding (commonly 15%) when a foreign person sells U.S. real property. On the buy side, structure with the eventual exit in mind; on the sell side, confirm withholding, exemptions, and withholding certificates so funds aren't trapped at closing.
Solve financing — or confirm all-cash
Many foreign buyers pay cash (about 47% per NAR). If financing, line up a foreign-national mortgage lender early — no U.S. credit history changes everything about timing and documentation.
Get an ITIN in motion
A non-U.S. buyer will generally need an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for U.S. tax filings tied to the property. It takes time — start it, don't discover it at closing.
Coordinate title, escrow & funds across borders
International wires, currency conversion, and time zones add days. Confirm escrow instructions, wire-fraud safeguards, and that the buyer's funds will clear on the closing schedule. Verify recording requirements for the chosen entity.
Disclosures, insurance & the closing package
Required disclosures, property and (in Florida) flood considerations, and a clean closing package the buyer actually understands — ideally with the governing-language and any reference translation handled in advance.
GCRID Takeaway
Run this checklist at the offer stage, not the closing. The friction in cross-border deals is entirely manageable — but only if someone on the U.S. side knows the sequence. That capability is what separates a referral from a closing, and it's the standard GCRID positions in every corridor.
Work With Arthur
Moving on a cross-border deal?
Get the structure right before you sign.
GCRID readers work directly with Arthur Simpson, Esq., CIPS: a Florida attorney and international REALTOR® who builds the legal architecture behind foreign investment in U.S. real estate. FIRPTA planning, LLC and trust formation, foreign national estate plans, and title structuring, handled by one advisor from offer to closing.
Arthur Simpson, Esq., CIPS
Florida Attorney · Truestead Law, LLC · Daytona Beach
Request a Consult → Get the Free GCRID Intelligence Brief → Truestead Law · Real Estate Services →This is a general practitioner overview, not legal or tax advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. FIRPTA, ITIN, entity, and estate-tax treatment are fact-specific and change — engage qualified U.S. counsel and a cross-border tax advisor for any actual transaction.