Could you find a three-bedroom detached home with garden in a European tourism hot spot for less than £45,000? Probably not, but here’s one in Central Florida!

There’ll always be grey areas when comparing like for like, but trying to find a similar deal near world-class tourist attractions in France or Spain that matches this three-bedroom single family home near Haines City in Florida is not going to be easy. Listed as a short sale for $95,000, it was recently approved for a cash purchase of just $68,000, around £44,000!

The agent listing this property, IRIS International, reports that deals like this are few and far between these days and Central Florida now has the fewest homes on the market since 1998.

The property, with two bathrooms and a yard, was recently renovated and is tiled throughout. It’s in Lake Wales, just south of Haines City and only two streets from the park and lake. To pay closing costs and bring it up to scratch would cost around $6,000 on top of the purchase price. Monthly running costs would then be around $205 but if let, achievable monthly rental would be $775-$800. A realistic return on investment would be 9.2-9.6 per cent.

Further short sale deals could come to market towards the end of the year, thanks to the possibility of a debt relief act expiring. Since 2007, homeowners whose banks have forgiven unpaid mortgage debt after a short sale, principal reduction or foreclosure have not had to count that money as “income” on their tax returns. However, this act currently is due to run out at the end of 2012, prompting anyone considering a short sale to sell and be eligible for it before time runs out.

For details of property for sale in the USA, visit the American listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in the USA is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into dollars to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in America, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘USA Property Buying Guide’