Forum Replies Created
Adam,
There are a lot of construction workers in Gove doing a major expansion to the alumimium plant right now. The construction work will stop next year and maybe rental demand or rent will drop.
Company I am working for are proposing to build a gas pipeline running under the Gulf all the way from Weipa to Gove to provide energy for the new Aluminum processing plant that is being built.
Kate,
Have a look at the linked report and it will give you an idea of some areas that you can get 10% and greater returns for decent properties. I am investing in three of the “affordable housing areas’ listed on table 3 which are in the US.
Yields can be very high in the US also there are great ways to acquire property without finance as this can be a handicap in US. Check out the report it has some good reading and some warnings about the economic and social consequences of unaffordable markets like Australia.
Hi Loan wolf a guy I know in the UK has just started this service.
I’ll be sourcing properties in London, mainly around the Olympic area:
E2, E3, E14, E15, E10 and E11 or alternatively Bow, Bethnal Green, Stratford, Docklands, Leyton and Leytonstone. Deals go very quick in this area, sometimes in a matter of hours.We’ll be finding 3-4 Bedroom mainly Ex-Council properties, generating 8% Yield or more. No more than 10-15 Minutes from local transports (Tube, DLR, Train, Bus).
The majority of the properties will require some refurbishment and updating.
Property prices varies between £165,000 and £225,000 for a 3 bed; and £190,000 and £250,000 for a 4 bed. The majority of the properties will require some refurbishment and updating.
A 3-bed property will rent between £260.00 and £385.00 a week. A 4 bed will rent between £300 and £440.00 a week. These rents are achieved by renting the rooms individually. A double room will rent between £90.00 and £120.00 per week. A small room will rent between £65.00 and £85.00 per week.
PM me if you want any more details
Cyclist,
Not suggesting it is a bad thing but you should be aware that there was a lot of landbanking scams in the UK recently. One of the scammers was rumoured to be starting up in Oz.
google it in UK have a look at least you will know what not to do with landbanking
Piggy,
Not sure if I know you but I am one of those ozzie guys selling property in Buffalo and Rochester. Based on what I have seen available up there over the years I like to think that I am offering the best of deals for the investors that buy from me and yes it is hard work and the profits are small.
I to have noticed that this forum lets some advertise and others not. I had one line in a previous post edited by moderators as advertising. It was a relatively innocuous statement and no where near as explicit as a lot of the sales adds that you see on here not a big deal for me though. I find client references the best method of marketing and I don’t have enough properties to sell to all those that want them. It’s a slow process rehabbing you don’t have any income when doing this and it certainly aint 50% in a few weeks. And sooner or later you are going to get a budget blow out.
Chad,
Will drop you an email as it sounds like we are doing the same thing.
Brisbane 04,
Try DASA in Buffalo they aint perfect but they are a lot better than Dan’s property manager.
Yes US inner cities are changing. I lived in lower east side Manhattan 20 years ago and it was a ghetto then. Don’t know if you have seen the movie Taxi Driver a lot of that was set in the lower east side. They started cleaning it up when I was there and I went back there last year first time in 20 years and it is yuppyville now. In fact NYC has cleaned up so much it is the biggest change that I have seen in a major city. Took my son to Harlem and it is absolutely fantastic what they have done there its great to see black Americans getting into investing and improving neighborhoods NYC is my fave city and I hope to buy there in the next slump. The only way for Bufflao is up its just off to a very late start. Read a great article about where the next high growth city of 1 million could be inUS and Buffalo was a contender based on affordability, education, infrastructure and arts. It is also situated next to the biggest fresh water catchment in the world and we all know that water streeis a major issue in the southern states. Build a pipeline I reckon and sell it to the parched southerners and the profits will be used to abolish property tax in Buff and Rochester..
Todd,
Yes there are a lot of horror stories up there. I have seen this con happening to investors knew quite a few UK guys that got burned big time up there in 2004. Biggest concern that I have seen with ozzies is them paying over the odds the local investors hate it but hey it brings the market up.
Trick is knowing your team. I have found rents come in well my PM takes a while to find them as he is very fussy but once in they stay. He has a good contact in section 8 this helps and for some reason he gets above market rents.
Had a good experience recently with a house in Ft Worth I was told it would lease at $1600 a month which I thought was high but it did and signed them up for two years plus they pay all repairs and maintenance. the deal only cost me 5k…
I used to work with a UK guy that was based in Singapore. We were working in Batam island in one of the many large shipyards building large offshore platforms. Batam island is a half hour ferry ride from Sing and is part of Indonesia. Many Singaporeans commute there on a daily basis it is not a big deal to get there even though you go through immigration.
It is a tax free island and also has a special law that allows foreigners to buy real estate. He was set up in Sing but thought the market to scary to buy houses and he was investing in Batam. Brand new gated communities’ very nice good feng shui and all that, Chinese developers local labour. He bought two one for him and one for investment. Tenants are the big oil and gas companies that send there staff to Batam he was getting 18% gross yield not sure what LVR as he was doing some special thing with directors loans out of his sing company.
Looked okay on face value the properties were first class I satyed there and well built didn’t look to close into it as I am investing in US and one foreign country is enough for me.
Don’t know anything about the Sing RE I stay in hotels when I am there but a big night out in Sing will easily set you back $400 oz….
Big night out in Batam will set you back $50 oz max
MK,
I have been investing in the US doing flips for the last year whereby I have all my money tied up in the deal and it is pretty slow going it is profitable but the numbers probably dont justify the time effort and risk involved. I have been looking into various other investing methods of minimising money in and increasing CoC return as I don’t want to have to much capital overseas.
I have just started a new method of investing called “subject to” which is very low money down about 3% where you buy a house subject to the existing loan. I have been watching these guys do it for 18 months and decided to try one for myself.
The property itself will cash flow about $100 +ve a month. I got an independent valuation on it that came back at $182,000 there is a $144,000 outstanding 6.5% fixed P&I loan on the property for which I will takeover loan repayments (but not the loan obligation its non recourse on me) which is $1488 a month including rates and insurance. I have put the house in a local land trust of which my Australian company is trustee and the beneficial interest is owned by my US company which gets all the tax benefits including depreciation. The trust details do not need to go onto public record and can only be disclosed under demand of a court order. So this all suits me down to the ground but I am being cautious and aint taking anything for granted. If it all works out I will get more.
No loan costs, no credit check, no legals, no stamp duty, no deposit only cost was a fee to the previous owner and the company to facilitate the deal and my independent inspection and valuation $400. Whilst its good that it shouldn’t cost me to hold I am holding it for either short term equity release or medium term growth.
I am marketing it as a lease option property for 3k deposit, 1595 monthly lease fee with $100 of the lease going towards the sale and sale price of 179K after twelve months.
Got a fright when I looked it up on google earth and all I could see was a road and dirt, its a new build and wasn’t there on the dated image google earth use…!!!
Dont worry I have no intention of investing in Bulgaria it was a verbatim cut and paste from a UK forum to counter the previous post talking up Bulgaria.
I am investing overseas but it is an English speaking country that is based on the Westminster system. AT least when I talk to my realtor and PM my bulls***t detector functions as it only works in the English language I would be severally handicapped without it.
Tony,
I originally went for buy and hold starting with fixer uppers. On that score properties shave performed well with the exception of one that I bought (not through DASA) retail now sold. of a guy up there that is selling to ozzies. I was fortunate enough to kick off with DASA using there fixer upper formula but they don’t do that anymore. Properties came in on budget and have been fully rented since.
Changed plan and decided to take the equity gain that was created with fixer uppers. Must admit the gain after tax is probably not worth the effort buy and hold seems to work best up there.
The admin effort and slow progress that WNY business seem to be used to has been a wake up call. Some properties take up to 6 months to close!!
Caroline,
I just dropped you a PM with a contact in Uk that is impartial and very experienced in Easter Europe.
To hard for me now its went from ethical investment to political criticism of treatment of veterans. On a hiding to nothing here I think ,next it will be how could you invest in a country run by George Wya and all. If you really want to sound off about racism and politics then you might just have a think about Australia’s record on institutionalized racism and treatment of ex-serviceman.
Mark,
I seen that show and have lived in the Us and am fully aware of the historically segregated nature of a lot of city neighborhoods.
As far as ethics are concerned you will find that most community groups are pro foreign investment in the area. The city officials, housing action groups and local business support foreign and out of town investment as this is what is needed to correct the years of disinvestment.
It is now a free market and there should be no ethical question raised when investment is used to rehab properties and provide quality shelter for tenants in fact you could say it was more ethical to invest in these areas than affluent white suburbs. Slum lords are another story and there are plenty of them but I don’t think the ozzies fall into that category.
Lots of afro Americans are also now investing in property and some say that the afro Americans will be the next wave of Americans to attain home ownership and financial prosperity.
I also know of a lender that will lend to foreign nationals in WNY right down to 20k. 70-80%LVR Loan costs are competitive and he reduces cost for more than one loan. Also does an ARM product that effectively means you pay about 2.4% on a 6.7% loan the difference gets added to the principal a good way to improve cash flow and get more equity out of the deal? PM me if anybody wants info on this lender.
I have posted thid before buy probabaly pertinenet gain here
Real Estate: Is the party over?
Exclusive forecasts for the 100 largest markets.December 16, 2005
By Ellen Florian Kratz, FORTUNENEW YORK (FORTUNE) — Everybody from Los Angeles to Boston — your mom, your doctor, your dry cleaner — is puzzling over which way the nation’s real estate market is headed. Up or down? Bubble or not?
It’s a debate that’s been raging for years, and recently that there have been clear signs of a slowdown. It’s unlikely, however, that the housing market will come to a screeching halt.
Nationally, the overall outlook seems reasonable: 7 percent appreciation for 2006 and flat for 2007. But markets that have seen the greatest appreciation over the past five years appear to be vulnerable.
Indeed, at some point in the next two years, according to the forecast, a third of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas (accounting for 60 percent of the U.S. population) are expected to see modestly falling house prices.
Real estate bear markets often come in the form of steady declines over many years, rather than sudden sharp drops.
As inflation gradually gnaws away at the value of nominal home prices, regular folks might not take much notice. But in the long run the loss of wealth becomes all too real. From 1989 to 1997, for instance, Los Angeles residential real estate dropped more than 40 percent in inflation-adjusted terms.
Rank Metro Area State Median/ home price Projected/ growth 2006 Projected/ growth 2007
1 San Antonio TX $129,900 8.30% 7.00%
2 Jacksonville FL $164,700 8.10% 2.50%
3 El Paso TX $107,100 8.10% 7.10%
4 Little Rock-North Little Rock AR $115,700 7.80% 7.20%
5 Baton Rouge LA $133,800 7.60% 3.80%
6 Richmond VA $191,800 7.40% 3.30%
7 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News VA $193,100 7.30% 1.00%
8 Nashville-Davidson-Newport News TN $157,300 7.10% 6.70%
9 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown TX $139,800 7.00% 6.60%
10 Memphis TN $147,600 7.00% 6.50%
11 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton PA $247,400 6.90% 1.20%
12 Oklahoma City OK $116,900 6.90% 6.00%
13 Birmingham-Hoover AL $152,500 6.90% 5.40%
14 Albuquerque NM $166,700 6.50% 6.10%
15 Columbia SC $133,200 6.40% 5.40%
16 Fort Worth-Arlington TX $125,700 6.30% 5.00%
17 Syracuse NY $109,400 6.20% 5.40%
18 Dayton OH $116,500 6.10% 5.60%
19 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX $71,000 6.10% 6.20%
20 Salt Lake City UT $165,700 6.10% 3.40%
21 Austin-Round Rock TX $161,800 6.10% 5.00%
22 Tulsa OK $116,600 6.10% 6.20%
23 Pittsburgh PA $113,000 6.00% 5.00%
24 Cincinnati-Middletown OH $146,200 6.00% 6.60%
25 Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY $176,700 6.00% 4.50%
26 Dallas-Plano-Irving TX $155,500 5.90% 6.30%
27 St. Louis MO $134,900 5.80% 4.10%
28 Toledo OH $116,400 5.70% 5.00%
29 Greenville SC $141,300 5.70% 5.00%
30 Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice FL $314,300 5.60% -3.60%
31 Indianapolis IN $121,700 5.60% 5.40%
32 Wichita KS $107,200 5.50% 4.80%
33 Columbus OH $150,700 5.50% 6.00%
34 Akron OH $117,600 5.40% 5.30%
35 Buffalo-Niagara Falls NY $96,400 5.40% 5.30%
36 Knoxville TN $140,100 5.40% 5.20%
37 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner LA $149,100 5.40% 6.60%
38 Rochester NY $111,200 5.30% 6.80%
39 Raleigh-Cary NC $183,100 5.20% 5.10%
40 Philadelphia PA $199,400 5.10% 0.50%
41 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord NC $172,800 5.10% 5.50%
42 Louisville KY $134,800 5.00% 4.60%
43 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis WI $210,900 4.80% 2.50%
44 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL $193,700 4.80% -0.50%
45 Greensboro-High Point NC $145,100 4.80% 5.50%
46 Kansas City MO/KS $154,600 4.70% 4.10%
47 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown NY $265,000 4.60% 0.80%
48 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman OH $83,400 4.50% 5.30%
49 Gary IN $127,300 4.40% 3.40%
50 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor OH $142,800 4.30% 5.10%
51 Omaha-Council Bluffs NE $136,100 4.30% 4.10%
52 Lake County, Kenosha County IL/WI $259,100 4.20% 1.90%
53 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta GA $165,300 4.20% 4.00%
54 Honolulu HI $570,400 4.00% -1.00%
55 Orlando-Kissimmee FL $226,400 3.80% -0.50%
56 Grand Rapids MI $137,300 3.60% 2.90%
57 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach FL $356,600 3.10% -4.50%
58 Springfield MA $197,900 3.00% 1.20%
59 Portland-Beaverton-Vancouver OR/WA $234,600 3.00% -0.70%
60 Baltimore-Towson MD $249,100 2.90% -0.80%
61 Tucson AZ $220,900 2.90% -4.00%
62 Camden NJ $210,800 2.70% 0.80%
63 Denver-Aurora CO $244,800 2.60% 2.50%
64 Wilmington DE $231,000 2.50% 1.70%
65 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett WA $335,500 2.50% 1.00%
66 Tacoma WA $222,700 2.30% 0.60%
67 W. Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach FL $386,200 2.10% -3.90%
68 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale AZ $238,100 2.00% -3.70%
69 Warren-Farmington Hills-Troy MI $196,000 1.90% 0.80%
70 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC/VA $404,900 1.80% -3.40%
71 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford CT $257,600 1.80% 0.60%
72 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall FL $343,700 1.80% -5.50%
73 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn MI $120,100 1.60% 2.00%
74 Newark-Union NJ $407,000 1.50% -1.80%
75 New Haven-Milford CT $280,300 1.40% 0.60%
76 Worcester MA $287,800 1.30% -0.30%
77 Edison NJ $387,900 1.20% -2.90%
78 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet IL $264,900 1.10% 0.20%
79 Cambridge-Newton-Framingham MA $448,800 0.80% 0.00%
80 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN $234,600 0.70% 0.70%
81 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk CT $472,500 0.40% -1.30%
82 New York City-White Plains-Wayne NY/NJ $504,800 0.10% -3.50%
83 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City CA $766,000 0.10% -2.90%
84 Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick MD $444,500 0.00% -0.50%
85 Boston-Quincy MA $422,900 -0.10% -1.40%
86 Essex County MA $380,600 -0.20% -0.70%
87 Stockton CA $423,100 -0.30% -5.90%
88 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA $720,900 -0.40% -3.90%
89 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA $480,300 -0.70% -5.00%
90 Oakland-Fremont-Hayward CA $651,300 -0.70% -4.40%
91 Fresno CA $340,800 -0.80% -2.80%
92 Bakersfield CA $286,300 -0.80% -3.00%
93 Providence-Fall River-New Bedford RI/MA $292,800 -1.10% -2.20%
94 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville CA $372,900 -1.20% -5.10%
95 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale CA $412,900 -1.60% -6.30%
96 Nassau-Suffolk counties NY $461,300 -2.00% -4.20%
97 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA $362,800 -2.60% -6.80%
98 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine CA $682,300 -3.10% -6.10%
99 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos CA $598,700 -3.40% -5.70%
100 Las Vegas-Paradise NV $296,000 -7.90% -5.00%Originally posted by flash:Bardon how many of these deals have you come across where you have had the opportunity to take over a persons mortgage?
Flash there is an abundance of the takeover mortgage deals that I see some of them have loans at 4.5% fixed!!. Receive at least 3 deals for consideration a week all over the US. I have been tracking one particular line for 18months and they have a good track record and impecable references.
You will need to pay a non-refundable US $1,000 to secure the property, get the street address and buy it subject to an independent valuation and homeowner inspection. The house is assigned into a land trust of which you buy the beneficial interest.
It works real well and also cash flows if you have a lease option tenant lined up to take the house at the valuation price and the exit strategy is to sell at appraised value in 13 months. Buy and hold not always cash flow +ve. Company that finds the lease option tenant gets the option fee which is deducted from sales price say about 3k. There is a high failure rate of options being exercised you are still in a good position if that happens.
Noysee, just sent you details of this one which is located in your target area.
Built 2003, 4 bedroom two car garage, best school district, cash flowing about 200 per month, no finance required can buy it for US $4975.
Balance on property: $150,000
Estimated Market Value: $181,000
Equity: $31,000
Payments: $1488/mo (incl. taxes/Ins)
Price: $4975 + Take over paymentsNoysee,
Yes I am doing fixer uppers and am branching out from there.
Here is an extract of the listing. Just sent it to you by email. Some were in decent areas, probably all sold by now. The owner was tired and some of the properties were also tired but they are working and the numbers speak for themselves.
Super single rental home, Rent is $625 a month!!**Owner is retiring**23 other properties can be packaged in 5, 10 or all!! Call lister for details***
Noysee you can get a house for 17k renting at 625 per month nothing flash but operating at those numbers anyhow. Problem is finance for these ones although I know a broker who just closed a loan for 18K tto a foreign national in WNY.. he only did it to prove that you can !!
Jefferson, The only advise I would give you is to buy underrvalue never buy at market price in the US, simply because you dont have to.
Noysee,
Be careful if you decide to hold rather than flip as vacancy rates are climbing in Florida in general. Some Uk investors have been caught out big time with high vacancy or short term leases to holidaymakers in Orlando. The New York Times also reported that Southern Florida was one of the those US metro areas like LA/SanDiego/SF/NYC/LasVegas/Boston that could be in for some downward value correction.
