Sarasota Immigration Attorney P. Christopher Jaensch
Sarasota is very attractive to international home-buyers. Foreigners visit during the winter, decide they want to stay, and begin the process of finding a way to do so legally and purchase a home. Many times, Sarasota real-estate agents are the first professional point of contact for these immigrants. While very knowledgeable about the Sarasota real estate market, they are not always equipped to inform their clients on the finer points of immigration law.
We want Sarasota to continue to be an attractive location for immigration. Immigrants bring a richness of diversity and entrepreneurial spirit that keeps this area vibrant. For examples read about how Nayda Cattin is opening our skies, or how Chris Coutelle is expanding our palettes. We want our local real estate agents to be well-informed about immigration law. That way, not only can they be more likely to succeed in procuring a home for an international prospect, but the area can benefit from a continual influx of diverse investors and job-creators.
Informing Sarasota Real Estate Agents
On October 18th, 2012, Sarasota Immigration Attorney Chris Jaensch spoke at the International 301 seminar. The Sarasota Association of Realtors (SAR) organized it with around 40 realtors from across the region attending. During this seminar, which was SAR’s last educational seminar of the year, attendees split in to groups to listen to individual panelists present case studies. Chris’s case study followed a hypothetical family from Australia. The “father” is a successful businessman and the “daughter” is an excellent tennis player. The family is looking for ways to move to the Sarasota-Bradenton area but still maintain ties to Australia. As it turns out, there are quite a few options in immigration law for doing so.
Please enjoy a video recording of Chris speaking at the seminar below.
We hope that this information helps local real estate agents as they continue to entice international home-buyers to call the Sarasota-Bradenton area home.
To see more, check out another video explaining how a real-estate based investment strategy can help an immigrant qualify for an E2 investor visa.
Carla Rayman and Patricia Tan, known as the Your Global Agents team, are Certified International Property Specialists. This designation is held by less than 2% of real estate agents worldwide and means they are well prepared to assist international home buyers find the right property. Buying real estate can be a viable strategy for obtaining an E-2 investor visa, one of the steps toward a green card.
The Sarasota real estate market is once again experiencing pre-recession numbers. 800 properties were sold in March, April and May this year. Foreign buyers might be interested to know that due to the strength of the Real and the value in today’s Florida real estate, the number of Brazilians investing in Florida continues to increase. In fact in 2011, Brazilians purchased 80% of all new condos in the Miami market.
Watch the video below for a further introduction from Carla and Patricia.
In addition to assisting foreign home buyers find property in Sarasota, Carla and Patricia also market and sell property internationally. That means that they travel often. Carla will be in Brazil in August, exhibiting and speaking at a B2B property show in Brazil. Patricia will be in the UK in September, presenting there for the 14th year in a row. The event is appropriately named “A Place in the Sun.” And Carla will be in Russia in October speaking to agents and consumers about the benefits of homeownership in the United States and particularly Florida. A full schedule to be sure!
Today Shaf Patel, Operations Director of Greenscapes, is a happy man. “Running my own business, working in the sun every day, living in Paradise, what more can I ask for?”
Shaf was born in West Yorkshire and brought up in London, England. He and his wife, Nas, both worked in central London, he as a Property Maintenance Manager and she as a Marketing Manager for a charity. His dream was to own his own business and, “Be the master of my destiny”.
Opportunity arose when Shaf’s friend, Tony, a Finance Director, told him he was considering buying a business and invited him to become his business partner. Shaf’s skills were an excellent match to the demands of the business which was up for sale. Shaf’s years of experience of managing property management services were directly relevant to Greenscapes which is a full service horticultural company. Shaf’s background combined with Tony’s financial skills seemed a recipe for success.
“The only issue was the business was in Sarasota, nearly 5,000 miles away”, laughs Shaf. Shaf and Nas visited Sarasota and immediately felt at home. “We love the bright, fresh feel of the town and, of course, the beautiful beaches. There is so much to do. Sarasota has big city facilities with a small town, community vibe”. Shaf and Nas decided to leap into a new life.
Shaf approached Chris Jaensch to help. “Chris had a great reputation and he was so friendly and helpful. He explained the complexities of the visa process and guided me though the application”. Although the application process took many months and some of Shaf’s friends and relatives thought he was mad, Shaf was determined.
Finally Shaf and Nas received their passports back from the London embassy and inside was their E2 visa stamp. “It was a thrilling moment’. They flew out from Gatwick on February 26, 2012 and on March 1, 2012 the sale of Greenscapes was finalized.
Shaf now spends his days managing teams of horticultural workers, from irrigation specialists to fertilization experts, to maintain green spaces across Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice. “Whether we are working with commercial customers or homeowners, people are entrusting us to make and keep their landscapes beautiful. I take that responsibility really seriously”, says Shaf. “Excellent landscaping can promote the right image of a business and increase the value of a home, as well as bring great pleasure to people. I cannot imagine a better job’.
So was it worth it? “Absolutely. It was tough waiting to hear about our visas, but Chris made it as painless as possible and now I spend my days making Sarasota even more beautiful and my evenings enjoying the sunsets”.
Greenscapes is a full service horticultural company. Their services include grounds management, irrigation maintenance and installation, professional lawn care and landscape design and installation. Their office is located at 8000 Fruitville Rd their phone number is (941) 379-8320. The company has been in operation for over 20 years. Their clients range from individual residences to large companies. To learn more visit their website: http://www.greenscapessrq.com/default.asp.
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