Buy a house, get a visa, stay in U.S permanently

Buy a house, get a visa, stay in U.S permanently.
Two Senators are preparing to introduce a bipartisan bill Thursday that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy houses in the U.S.
Foreigners have accounted for a growing share of home purchases in South Florida.  Many foreign buyers including Canadian buyers.  Being Canadian myself I know that for Canadian buyers taking advantage not only the declined prices in Florida but also the favorable foreign exchange rates are a real bonus.  If you live in Ontario the easy drive to Florida makes having a vehicle on lengthy visits a plus. 
Since demand is already evident, the proposed bill would offer visas to any foreigner making a cash investment of at least $500,000 on residential real-estate—a single-family house, condo or townhouse. Applicants can spend the entire amount on one house or spend as little as $250,000 on a residence and invest the rest in other residential real estate as investment which can be rented out. 
The hope with this bill is that it would help soak up the excess supply of inventory and get the economy back in a up moving position
This is a way to create more demand without costing the federal government a nickel," Sen. Schumer said in an interview.
International buyers accounted for around $82 billion in U.S. residential real-estate sales for the year ending in March, up from $66 billion during the previous year period, according to data from the National Association of Realtors

In Florida's real estate market International buyers accounted for 22 percent of all foreign clients nationally choosing property in the Sunshine State.  This shows Florida’s top ranking in attracting foreign interest.  California came in a far second with only 12 percent of the international market. 

Breaking it down to Canadian buyers in Florida accounted for 39% of all international buyers of property in Florida during 2010…  That’s $4.9billion worth of property purchased by Canadians.

Canadians account for 78% of leisure travel in Florida.  Provinces that buy the most Florida Real Estate in Florida are

1.      Toronto

2.      Montreal

3.      Quebec

4.      Vancouver

5.      Calgary

6.      Ottawa

7.      Bagotville

8.      Halifax

Foreigners immigrating to the U.S. with the new visa would not be able to work but they would be allowed to bring a spouse and any children under 18.  The visa however does not allow the same visa holder to stay once they sell their properties.  I personally think this will be great news for those Canadians who want to retire in Florida and stay permanently but no longer need to work.  The cost of living is much less then back home in Ontario.   

to get more information on buying Real Estate in Florida go to http://www.isellflahomes.com/