How Do I Sell My Florida Home as a British Owner?

A British owner selling a South Florida home faces one rule a local seller never meets, FIRPTA, and otherwise the same market. The withholding is manageable if it is planned before the property is listed. The rest of the sale, pricing, preparation, showings, contract and closing, can be run entirely from the United Kingdom, and is, routinely. What goes wrong is rarely the paperwork; it is the empty house nobody insured, the price set from memory of what the neighbor got in 2022, and the wire converted to sterling on the worst day of the month.

Price my home correctly A hand-prepared opinion of value within one business day, or call 561-395-8418.

What is FIRPTA and how does it work at closing?

The buyer withholds a percentage of the gross price and sends it to the IRS. Under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, when the seller is a foreign person for U.S. tax purposes, the buyer, through the title company, withholds a percentage of the full sale price, not of the gain, and remits it with Forms 8288 and 8288-A within 20 days of closing. It is a prepayment: the seller then files a U.S. return, calculates the actual tax on the gain, and receives a refund of any excess. Lower rates and exemptions exist depending on the price and on whether the buyer will use the home as a residence, and a withholding certificate from the IRS can reduce or eliminate withholding where the expected tax is lower than the amount that would be withheld. Certificates are applied for before closing and are not quick. A cross-border CPA does this; we make sure the contract timeline leaves room for it.

How do I price a home I have not seen for a year?

Not from an online estimate and not from what the street did in 2022. South Florida has moved since then, houses and condominiums differently, and the condition of a home that has been let or empty is rarely what its owner remembers. We prepare a hand-prepared opinion of value for your specific property, walk it in person, and keep house and condo data separate. For condominiums, the building's milestone inspection, reserve study and any pending special assessment now shape the price as much as the unit does, and a UK owner who has not read the association's recent minutes usually has a surprise waiting.

Who deals with the property while I am in the UK?

Agree this before signing a listing agreement with anyone. Someone opens for the photographer, the inspector, the appraiser, the surveyor and the repairs. A lockbox handles showings. We attend the inspection and the appraisal in person. Insurance is the largest single risk: most Florida homeowners policies limit or exclude cover after the home has been vacant for a set period, and if the home has been empty since your last visit the policy may already be in a gap. Tell the carrier and obtain a vacancy endorsement in writing. A tenant in place changes the picture: the lease survives the sale, showings need notice, and the buyer pool narrows to investors unless the lease ends first.

How is closing handled from the UK?

Three routes, all used every month. Remote online notarization, where you appear by video before a Florida notary and sign electronically; a mail-away package signed before a notary in the UK, which the title agent will want authenticated, returned by courier; or a power of attorney drafted for Florida real property and approved by the title underwriter and any payoff lender before closing. Decide at listing, not in the last week. Proceeds are wired in U.S. dollars; the conversion to sterling and its timing are yours to plan with your bank or a currency specialist, and a forward contract is a normal tool for a known closing date. Confirm wire instructions by telephone on a number you already hold.

What UK tax applies?

UK residents are generally within UK capital gains tax on worldwide disposals. Relief for U.S. tax paid is available under the U.S.-UK income tax treaty, and the currency movement between purchase and sale forms part of the UK computation. If the property was let, rental income should already have been reported in both countries. None of this is advice from a brokerage; it is the list to take to your UK adviser and your U.S. CPA before you list, because the answers can affect the sale date you choose.

What it looks like when it works

Video call and opinion of value. Cross-border CPA engaged and FIRPTA route chosen. Insurance confirmed. E-signed listing paperwork. Title search ordered on day one, so an old lien or an unrecorded satisfaction is found in week one and not in week ten. Photography and a local access plan. Contract with agreed response windows across the time zone. Inspection and appraisal attended. Closing by remote notarization from London, proceeds wired, withholding remitted and documented for the return.

Gia Freer, Broker of Record at PBP Real Estate, LLC, licensed in Florida since 2000, and Grant Freer, Owner and Broker Associate, a British citizen who grew up in London, have sold South Florida property for owners in the United Kingdom for two decades and know which steps can be done from there and which cannot. If you are buying rather than selling, start with buying a second home in Florida from the UK.

Related guides

• UK vs Florida property terms
• Buying a second home in South Florida from the UK
• Selling a Florida home from Israel
• Buying or selling South Florida property from abroad (hub)

Start with the number. Price my home correctly and we will come back within one business day with an opinion of value and a remote-sale plan that names who does what. Or call 561-395-8418.

This page covers the real estate side of selling Florida property as a UK resident and is not legal or tax advice. FIRPTA, withholding certificates, U.S. and UK capital gains, currency and powers of attorney should be reviewed with a qualified attorney, CPA or UK adviser.