Buying the American Dream: Oh my God - I jumped into a USA real estate investment!

After at least twelve months of dreaming and flicking through real estate pages, I made the leap to buy a property in the USA. Yesterday morning, at around 8 am, I put in an online bid for a Condo in Florida. Mine was the winning figure. Hoorah!

I am now on such a steep learning curve - it's like climbing Everest. So, I'm going to journal all the of things I should have known before I took that step off the precipice and into the vast unknown of foreign ownership. So, people, stop swooning over photographs on the net of far off places and fabulous investment opportunities. Take the ride with me, before jumping solo. No doubt, you'll know a lot more than you did before you came to this site....

In the last day, I have discovered a few things, but I'm still not very wise. There's a huge amount to learn and I only have two weeks before the deal closes. That means, I'm going to have to learn fast and be smart about finding the right people to advise me.

At the moment, these are the key issues I face:

I haven't seen the apartment with my own eyes. That's scary just in saying it! So, one of the first things I need to do is get a Professional Inspection.
In America, they use Closing Companies, similar to our Settlement Agents here in Australia. However, unlike Australia, the Closing Company has been selected by the seller. I need to pay a deposit of $10,000 to an escrow account (like a trust) and then wire the remainder after inspections etc have all been satisfactorily completed.
Like anyone else, I'm very wary of scams and I want to protect myself. Therefore, I will be hiring a US Property Lawyer to review the contract for me and check that everything is OK - before I sign or send any money. I have contacted a number of lawyers who are registered with the Florida Bar and am awaiting a response....
The property is fully furnished and has been completed by an interior designer, with lots of extra homely bits and pieces. I really have to think about whether it's suitable as-is, for a long lease arrangement, or whether it needs clearing out.
That brings me to Property Management. Unlike Australia, property management seems to be a bit of a mixed bag in America. Some property managers still collect the rent in person. I have to find out if the property manager on-site is any good and, if not, I'll have to look further afield...
On the subject of money, I'm not a full bottle on Taxation. I've had a quick look at it seems that as a foreign investor, I'm going to be lumped with a 30% tax on the GROSS income in America. That's something that I need to look into a bit further, as I think there might be better ways of setting up the ownership, that will help with that tax burden.