Nathan,Unfotunately, even in the depressed US market, 30K is just not going to get you very far, other than maybe buying in Detroit! And even if you could purchase something halfway decent there, there are factors such as higher maintenance (winter) and SUBSTANTIALLY higher property taxes – around 8-10x what we are paying in Nevada.We have…[Read more]

We own 3 properties (so far)All 2 bed/2 bath homes in Las Vegas.Paid approx $52-55K per property (including repairs, fees etc)Rents are approx $830-$880 per month.So far very pleased with how things are working out.

I don't think it's much use to know this. You can get the knowledge, but it won't have much bearing on your negotiation power IMO.Our next door neighbour bought their 3bed/2bath home in 2003 for $555K. They are currently selling it at approx $950K. Knowing how much they paid for it is not relevant to the market today because the median for that…[Read more]

Sounds like they're turning in to the tenants from hell.Might be worth giving them the flick as soon as possible and scout around for some new tenants.

Hi Robbie.I am also ex-South African and have been here for 10 years.The property market has gone through the roof here and it is pretty hard to find good deals.For example, in my Melbourne suburb the median house price has gone from 450K in 2004 to 950K in 2010.A house around the corner from me sold for 1.4m yesterday, a record for our suburb I…[Read more]

Car parks were a rubbish investment for us.

We bought 6 car park spaces in St Kilda (at the George) in 2005.

Cost approx $21,000 each and we had them for almost 4-5 years.

It was the biggest waste of money for the following reasons:

1) The average income in that parking centre was $108-$120 per month per bay before fees and charges

2)…[Read more]

Car parks were a rubbish investment for us.We bought 6 car park spaces in St Kilda (at the George) in 2005.Cost approx $21,000 each and we had them for almost 4-5 years.It was the biggest waste of money for the following reasons:1) The average income in that parking centre was $108-$120 per month per bay before fees and charges2) Management fees…[Read more]

I can't advise you on all the aspects of your question, but personally would not invest in anything that was neg geared. I could not afford to support ANY properties at a loss, but could happily have many properties which paid me cash (rental) every month, year in, year out.Some people could possibly support 1 property at a loss, hoping for…[Read more]

Another  possibility to consider is Paypal.Many people have a PP account which is linked to their Aus bank account.Once you have a US bank account, set up another PP account linked to this and send money from one PP account to another. Send it as Personal/Gift so there are no fees.You then draw it down into your US bank account.You might have to…[Read more]

If you're talking HSBC, they do charge a standard $200 for an application to their basic banking account. It's a pain, I agree.Because we Aussies don't have credit history there, you could possibly do some of the following:1) Get an updated credit history from Australia (for free) to show them. They may not take it seriously or may even disregard…[Read more]

Hi Runway – good posting, thanks.Not seeing the property – I agree with you in many respects and yes, we can do much of the research from our computers. However, I still think that there is a due diligence process we should go through, even if it is to hire a local inspector to look at it for us. If there is no physical inspection of the property…[Read more]

Sister-in-law aside, I'm not sure I understand why you would schlep all the way over to America and purchase a property that way. You can easily neg gear here and the capital gains are quicker and probably more reliable. Most people in Oz would these days would say that their properties have virtually doubled in value in the last 5 years – I…[Read more]

Yes, I think the initial costs associated with the purchase (even travel) can be deducted when selling.However, if you hold the property for 20 years, you have to wait a looooong time to get that benefit Personnally, I hate the words "negative gearing". Anything that doesn't put money in my pocket from day 1 should be avoided.  CG cannot be…[Read more]

Interesting post, thanks.Out of curiosity, if your sister-in-law was not the tenant, you would have to charge at least $2500 in rent per month to get a gross return of approx 14% before expenses.Is the house in an area where such a rental is achievable?

Wow, this has been an excellent read – Thanks BB and others.I really like your "go for it" attitude.Although I'm still in Australia, I have been doing masses of research and have found the property websites mentioned above in previous posts to be an great source of information.I am currently looking at Las Vegas for potential purchases and…[Read more]

Thanks Jeff for the post.I have been doing so much researching this last week, my head is spinning.Initially we had wanted to look at properties between 15-30K, but I think we will probably change our strategy a bit and look at a range between 30-45K approx.The only downside is that we need to change our initial financial strategy a bit, ie: if we…[Read more]