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Real estate business in Mexico, Canada, Guam, and Central America operates
differently from the United States.
Some similarities include legal
formalities (with professionals such as real estate agents generally employed to
assist the buyer); taxes need to be paid (but typically less than those in
U.S.); legal paperwork will ensure title; and a neutral party such as a title
company will handle documentation and money to make the smooth exchange between
the parties. Increasingly, U.S. title companies are doing work for U.S. buyers
in Mexico and Central America.
Prices are often much lower than prices in
countries such as the U.S., but in many locations, such as Mexico City, prices
of houses and lots are as expensive as houses and lots in countries such as the
U.S. U.S. banks have begun to give home loans for properties in Mexico, but, so
far, not for other Latin American countries.
In Mexico, foreigners cannot buy
land or homes within 50 km (31 mi) of the coast or 100 km (62 mi) from a border
unless they hold title in a Mexican Corporation or a Fideicomiso (a Mexican
trust).34 In Honduras, however, foreigners may buy beach front property directly
in their name. There are different rules regarding certain types of property:
ejidal land ¡ª communally held farm property ¡ª can be sold only after a lengthy
entitlement process, but that does not prevent them from being offered for sale.
Real estate agents in Costa Rica currently do not need a license to operate, but
the transfer of property requires a lawyer. CCCBR (Camara Costarricense de
Corredores de Bienes Raices) is the only official body that represents the Real
Estate industry to the government. The Costa Rica MLS is the official MLS of the
Costa Rica Chamber of Real Estate Brokers Board. The Chamber institutes the
rules, regulations and ethical guide for officially licensed brokers in Costa
Rica.
In Thailand it is possible for a foreigner to own a condominium
freehold provided ownership does not exceed 49% of the total building; it is not
easily possible for a foreigner to own land but normal practice is that property
can be purchased then Land acquired under a 30 year lease option; Until recently
it was considered by most legal advisors that the ownership of land by a
foreigner through a Thai Limited Company was acceptable, although the Law
clearly states that foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. The Government has
now made clear that such ownership may be illegal. The legitimacy of such
ownership depends on the status of the Thai Shareholders who must be shown to be
active and financially participating shareholders.
In the Philippines, real
estate is an area for growth. Aside from the development of high rise buildings
in the Greater Manila area, nearby provinces are now seeing much land
development with its continuous expansion for horizontal development projects in
the nearby provinces such as Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga and
Batangas.
The major expansion in vertical real estate development outside
Metro Manila south of the metropolis, Cebu and Iloilo in the Visayas, Cagayan de
Oro and Davao in Mindanao, where medium‑to‑high rise buildings are beginning to
appear.
Foreigners are generally not allowed to hold more than a 40% interest
in any land, although there is an exemption for pensioners who deposit more than
US$50,000 in a specified account.5 Philippine rules distinguish between a house
and the land it sits on.The legal arrangement for the right to occupy a dwelling
in some countries is known as the housing tenure. Types of housing tenure
include owner occupancy, tenancy, housing cooperative, condominiums
(individually parceled properties in a single building), public housing,
squatting, and cohousing. The occupants of a residence constitute a household.
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