What is CRRA? | What Realtors® Offer | Becoming an Agent | Home Buyer Articles |
Daily Headlines
Articles For Home Buyers
Aren't All Real Estate Agents Realtors®?Fair Housing
Resources For the Foreign Home Buyer
The Value of Using A Realtor®
What Every Home Buyer Needs To Know
Resources for the Foreign Home Buyer
Charlotte's increasing diversity and strong economy bring many newcomers to the city. Some have more distant roots, hailing from beyond U.S. borders. As these foreign transplants become would-be homebuyers, their special concerns are sparking a new focus among Realtors®, as "international real estate" comes into its own as a recognized specialization among real estate professionals.The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association recognized early on, the need to provide foreign homebuyers with the tools to buy a home in the Charlotte market. The need was addressed with a comprehensive list of bilingual Realtors® and a number of pertinent articles translated into Spanish, both available to consumers by fax or on the association Web site.
During recent focus groups at CRRA, Realtors® agreed that buyer's agency is absolutely critical when working with foreign homebuyers. This is because foreign homebuyers often require much more explanation and "handholding" than American homebuyers and may lack first-hand knowledge of dealing with U.S. banks, lenders and attorneys. A "buyer's agent" works exclusively for the homebuyer, whereas other agents owe their allegiance to the seller.
Realtors® who specialize in helping foreign homebuyers explain that this group of buyers needs more than someone who can help them close on a house. Often, the foreign homebuyer is also looking for help adjusting to the community, making local introductions and understanding the process to the extent of arranging for utilities and banking services. This requires knowledge and dedication on the part of the Realtor®, and has created this new specialty in real estate-the International Realtor®.
Fortunately, resources exist to help foreign homebuyers in Charlotte. The Mingle School of Real Estate offers "Essentials of International Real Estate," an intensive two-day course that covers the global economy, capital flow, currency issues, U.S. regulation of inbound real estate investment, cross-cultural relationships and other issues crucial to working successfully with homebuyers from outside the U.S. "Essentials" is the prerequisite to a five-day NAR program, the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) Institute. The CIPS Institute includes comprehensive study devoted to the following areas: Europe, Asia/Pacific, the Americas, and investment and financial analysis for international real estate (two days).
Members may reproduce this article to share with their clients provided credit is given for CRRA authorship. No mass reproduction, print, broadcast or electronic republication is permitted without written authorization from CRRA.
  Equal Housing Opportunity
|
| © 1999-2008 Charlotte Regional RealtorŪ Association. All rights reserved. |
| REALTORŪ -- A Registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORSŪ and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. |