International Information
Our clients from Asia and Europe have, in the past few years, taken advantage of the opportunities provided by the weakening dollar.  While some are here on H1 visas, others vacation here a few weeks a year and earn income from their investment properties.  Since upscale condominiums in the Catalina foothills can be purchased for a little more than $200,000, and that is on a resort golf course, it makes sense.
When buying property in a country other than your own there are actually two purchases; one is buying the money and the other is buying the property.  If the currency you are going to buy is rising against your own then buy the money early to keep the exchange advantage. If the currency you are going to buy is falling against your own then wait until the last minute to buy the money.
Investment opportunities in US real estate range from small condominiums to ranches and large commercial projects. Statistically, Germans have been the biggest investors in American real estate in the past. Increasingly, British citizens are taking advantage of the investment and vacation opportunities available here. After all, we play golf here everyday of the year.

Property and Land Measurement
Home Price Comparisons
As units of measurement vary from country to country, so do customary units of purchase or lease. In the US we mostly use dollars per square foot ($/ft2 ) when purchasing homes. Rentals may be stated in either dollars per square foot per month ($/ft2/mo) or in dollars per square foot per year ($/ft2/yr). Thus if you are buying property in the US that is being offered at a price in dollars per square ft  and you are used to seeing prices in Euros per square meter, you will need to convert.
One square meter is equal to 10.76391 square feet.
If a Euro is equal to 1.46326 dollars, then a home selling for $200/ft2 is selling for how many Euros/m2?
 $200/1.46326=€136.68x10.76391=€1,471.22/m2
 If you wanted to let your 1000 square foot condo for $2/ft2/mo, what would be the rental in Euros per square meter per year?
  $2/1.46326=€1.366x10.76391=€14.71/m2x12months=€176.55/m2/year
Links:
Here is an interesting way to look at currencies plus lots of information on the international market.
www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/
You may find the Department of State’s website valuable when considering travel and investment.
www.state.gov
For currency conversions we recommend OandA.com. It is easy and quick.
www.oanda.com
The world clock site gives you the time just about anywhere. This can be helpful when dealing with Arizona which, unlike the rest of the states, does not use daylight savings time.
www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

The Internal Revenue Service provides information on foreign investment in real estate as well as forms needed to apply for taxpayer identification numbers, etc.
 Tax Rules for Foreign Investors in U.S. Real Property can be found at:
www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=156870,00.html
Foreign Persons Involved in U.S. Real Estate Transactions may be found at:
www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=129631,00.html
Converting units of measurement: Here are a couple of sites where you can convert just about any measurement:
www.convert-me.com
www.onlineconversion.com