Florida Real Estate Agents Blame Security Measures for Lack of Foreign Buyers

With a lack of international applicants for Florida home loans, blame is being directed at an unusual source: United States national security.

Real estate executives throughout Florida are complaining that the government’s attempts to tighten security controls since 9/11 have gone too far and are now turning away foreign buyers.

“It seems like we’re putting the thumbscrews down on the very type of people we want here,” said Tony Macaluso, a real estate broker in Palm Beach Gardens and vice chairman of the international operations committee for the Florida Association of Realtors.

Under the State Department’s visa waiver program, citizens from 27 countries, including members of the European Union, can visit the United States for as long as 90 days without a visa, as long as they have a machine-readable passport. However, anyone wanting to stay longer must obtain a visa, usually under special designations for tourists, businesspeople, students or immigrants seeking citizenship.

Owning property does not play a role in the visa application process and a visa does not guarantee entry. So it’s easy to see why such a rule could get in the way of Florida mortgage loan application opportunities.

Once a visa is obtained, it is still up to the Department of Homeland Security to determine whether a visitor will be admitted to the country and for how long.

Florida real estate agents with international clienteles all have stories about longtime property owners who faced visa problems for the first time in recent years - some encountered long delays in getting their visas renewed, others had family members who, after visiting their home countries, were denied re-entry to the United States.

“I see frustration in my clients who invest in real estate,” said Reinhard von Hennigs, an Atlanta-based attorney who specializes in immigration and investment law. “Many are just scared away by the immigration tactics.”

Review of visa laws

Visa laws have not changed substantially in the last five years, but there are more rigorous review procedures, said Janelle Hironimus, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department. Most applicants now face more extensive background checks and are routinely fingerprinted.
Although the number of immigrant visas has been relatively unchanged over the last five years, the number of non-immigrant visas - tourist, student and various work-related visas - fell to 5.4 million in 2005 from 7.6 million in 2001

“Every applicant is accessed individually,” Hironimus said. “Yes, we hear a lot of complaints, but it is unfortunate that not everyone qualifies for a visa.”

Even though they are clearly bucking the political tide, the Florida Association of Realtors renewed calls earlier this year for the creation of a special “retirement visa” that would allow foreigners who meet certain financial standards to retire in the United States. The Sunshine State is an especially attractive locale for these Baby Boomers.

Because the country does not have such a program, thousands of retirees are flocking to places like Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico, where they face fewer visa hassles, real estate executives say.

“People are going to go where the doors are open,” said Carlos ThurdeKoos, owner of MCT Realty in Orlando, Florida.

Backed by tourism and business groups, as well as the Florida mortgage industry, the idea of a “gray card” appeared to be gaining legislative traction several years ago, but was shelved in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

After 9/11, “pretty much nobody wanted to talk about letting more foreign nationals into the country,” Macaluso said.