Why Scrutinize Foreign Buyers?

MIAMI—A flow of foreign money is entering the American real estate market every day, and especially gateway cities like Miami and New York. The New York Times recently published a series of investigative stories about the US government’s moves to pinpoint the origins of wealth. The conclusion: Many foreign buyers are purchasing under LLCs to hide their shady, illegal and questionable activities.

That, however, isn’t the case according to Ed Mermelstein, a founding partner of RheemBell & Mermelstein LLP, an international real estate law firm that represents high net-worth investors, developers and a broad range of financial institutions in private equity, commercial, and residential real estate transactions. GlobeSt.com caught up with Mermelstein to get his perspective.