No stamp duty, no leasehold, no chain, and a deposit schedule that will feel unfamiliar. Here is the translation.
Written for readers in London and across the UK. American terms are explained as they appear. All notes from the desk.
A Londoner arriving in Miami finds a market that looks familiar, high-rise flats on the water with a concierge, and works differently in almost every mechanical respect. This note is the translation, from the words used to the way money moves.
A flat is a condo, short for condominium, and the word covers both the unit and the legal form of ownership. Ground rent and service charge become the association fee, paid monthly to the condominium association, which is the body of owners, not a freeholder. There is no leasehold in Florida; you own the unit outright, in fee simple, plus a share of the common elements.
A new-build is preconstruction or new construction. Off-plan is the same idea, though Americans rarely use the phrase. The developer's sales office is the sales gallery. Exchange and completion collapse into one event, closing. There is no chain, because sellers are not usually waiting to buy.
Florida has no stamp duty land tax. On a preconstruction purchase the buyer typically pays a developer fee of ~1.5% to ~2% of the price at closing, plus title insurance, recording fees and legal fees. On a resale the seller customarily pays the documentary stamp tax on the deed. Either way, the transaction cost is well below what SDLT would be on a comparable London purchase.
The annual cost is where the comparison flips. Property tax in Miami-Dade runs around ~2% of assessed value per year depending on the municipality, well above council tax, and it should be modelled from the start.
In London, off-plan means ~10% on exchange and the balance on completion. In Miami, preconstruction means staged deposits tied to construction milestones, commonly totalling ~30% to ~50% of the price before closing, paid over two to four years. The first 10% sits in escrow under Florida law; above that, the developer may use deposits for construction.
Florida gives a preconstruction buyer a 15-day period after receiving the condominium documents to cancel and recover the deposit. That window is for your attorney, who in Florida does the work a solicitor and a conveyancer would do in England.
Your situation is specific. Tell the desk in one message and we will say what applies to you, what does not, and who to speak with.
Florida has no state income tax; federal income tax applies. A UK resident owning a Miami flat is a non-resident for U.S. purposes: rental income is taxed in the U.S. with a net-basis election, and a future sale is subject to FIRPTA withholding as a prepayment. The UK taxes worldwide income and gains for its residents, and the UK-U.S. treaty provides relief from double taxation.
The UK-U.S. estate tax treaty is generous compared with most, but a non-resident holding U.S. property in personal name still needs advice. The structure question is decided at contract and belongs with counsel who works on both sides of the Atlantic.
Deposits are in dollars, on a fixed schedule. Sterling has moved a great deal against the dollar over the last decade. Some buyers move funds to a U.S. account at contract and hold dollars; others convert at each milestone. The desk maps the developer's schedule against your plan so each payment is a decision rather than a reaction.
Miami Beach and Bal Harbour attract the buyers who want the sea and the walk; London buyers tend to favour buildings with restrained architecture and a serious operator, which is why The Shore Club Private Collection and Rivage come up often. Brickell suits the buyer who wants a city, and 619 Brickell by Nobu with Foster + Partners is the reference there for a London eye.
The Dubai comparison also comes up constantly from London, and it deserves its own note. The short version: Miami offers freehold, a deep resale market and U.S. rule of law; Dubai offers lower entry cost and no income tax at all. Different propositions.
Which attorney handles UK clients. How the deposit schedule maps to sterling. Which buildings suit a household using the flat for winters versus relocating. And for any building, which floor plans earn the premium: the analysis the desk holds and releases on request.
Your situation is specific. Tell the desk in one message and we will say what applies to you, what does not, and who to speak with.
This note is general information for people considering Miami, written by a real estate desk, not by a law or accounting firm. Nothing here is legal, tax, immigration or investment advice, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own circumstances. Rules change, treaties differ by country, and the right answer for one family is the wrong answer for another.
Speak with your own attorney and CPA before you commit to anything. If you do not have one who works with international buyers in Florida, the desk is glad to recommend an attorney, a CPA or an adviser suited to your situation, and to sit in the first conversation so that nothing is lost in translation.
Structure, financing, currency, timing, the right building and the right line: the desk works through these questions with international buyers every week, and the answer is nearly always that it can be done, in order, without surprises. If Miami is on your mind, as a home or as an allocation, we would be glad to share what we are seeing, privately, and to start with the question this note did not answer.