Hi Property ScoutAn enquiry if I may. Do you not also need an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)???Or by setting up the property under an LLC avoids the ITIN application and you simply need an EIN (Employer Identification Number)?Thanks for the heads up on the LLC setup.

When I was in Fiji last year I did a little research on buying a freehold property near the beach.

Some good. Mostly bad.

+ Exchange rate was fantastic.

+ Free hold property was in fact near the beach and Nadi airport and thus enticing

+ Beach looked beautiful

– Some parts near the area had a real 3rd world feel about it. You know, steel…[Read more]

When I was in Fiji last year I did a little research on buying a freehold property near the beach.Some good. Mostly bad.+ Exchange rate was fantastic.+ Free hold property was in fact near the beach and Nadi airport and thus enticing+ Beach looked beautiful- Some parts near the area had a real 3rd world feel about it. You know, steel bars over…[Read more]

Interesting question.I used Ozforex as well and they were excellent. No chance you can use them again to return the rent money back into your Australian bank account???Which bank in the USA are you with?? We ended up using Wachovia. So far so good. Although I notice they will slug me $40 everytime I transfer money out internationally.More bloody…[Read more]

Yes. There are bargains in Cleveland. Increased foreclosures have placed pressure on the rental sector as people are looking to rent a home instead of purchasing one. I read somewhere that over 50% of all properties in Cleveland are rentals. So there's high demand to rent your property.Cleveland's largest employer is the Cleveland C…[Read more]

My proof reading needs working on!!!!In a previous post I said "There's massive junks of information on each city……"FAILI should of said "There's massive chunks of information on each city….."None of the information is junk. It's all important. It's really a matter of what you place more importance on.Thanks.

Cleveland Ohio+ Excellent rental market+ High income to price ratio = Excellent Cash flow straight up+ Cleveland Clinic. Massive health employer and it's going nowhere.+ Cleveland is pushing really hard to grow its technology based industries and research centres. Its going from strength to strength. + It's on a lake (Lake Erie). I think most ci…[Read more]

Mr MorpheusbushyDo you feel comfortable drawing a conclusion on each city you research? Perhaps a small summary with dot points revealing the positives and negatives. There's massive junks of information on each city and it becomes difficult to interpret what that information actually means for the average investor from Australia. Especially a…[Read more]

I read somewhere that if you seek capital growth then Texas is a really good price to seek it. But your entry cost is substantially higher since a lot more people are competing for the properties. If you seek positive cash flow then you seek outside Texas.Perhaps a good balanced strategy is one property in Texas and two cheapies in Kansas City or Atlanta. 

Well put together Anthony. It's like using a funnel. You find the country: USAYou find a state: TexasYou find a city: DallasYou find a neighbourhood:??? Or perhaps a section of the city that is acceptable. Just as important, a section of the city that is not acceptable.Dallas doesn't appeal to me and I'm not sure why.But I'll keep reading your…[Read more]

Sounds like your doing some serious due dilligence there. Have you compiled a list of areas to avoid?Sounds like you've examined all the buyers agents as well. Any of them appear to be a little……………..suss (for want of a better word).Personally I'm focusing on Cleveland, Kansas City and Atlanta. The latest 'Your Investment Property' ma…[Read more]

Hi Rory.Buy and hold strategy. If I dont want to hold it for 10 years, I wont hold it for 10 minutes. Cash flow positive. Middle class area. House must be rehabbed. Increased insurance for peace of mind. You wil be very lucky to get equity in any property in the USA in the next 1-3 years. Possibly even 5 years. Theres just too much stock. So if…[Read more]

Buy and hold strategy. 10 years. In 10 years I may never even see the house.I expect no capital growth for at least the first 3 years. Perhaps 5 years. That's ok. The cash flow is excellent. I read somewhere the 50 year average is US$0.80 per aussie dollar. Do I expect the last superpower's economy to bounce back???Sure. Why not??Agree with RickH.…[Read more]

Who can really say???I notice its just regained 2 cents in the past 3 hours back up to US$1.0730It's one of those apps on my phone that I just can't help but click several times a day to see where we are at against the green back.

Hi RickH.You say you were "advised" to set up an LLC.Did you actually setup an LLC or buy in your own name?How are you going to get your tax done???We went with My USA Property. On the surface they seem fairly pricey with the setup costs (about $4,000) but they do take all the stress out of buying. They head hunt you a good property manager, get…[Read more]

Exchange ratesI'm finding the Australian exchange rate progress interesting to follow. You can actually pay a subscription to exchange rate "experts" online who will predict with where the Australian dollar will go against the Greenback. They input all sorts of data to come up with a prediction.About 3 months ago they predicted with 91% certainty…[Read more]

Hi MaxBest bet is to start a new thread. Most people will only open this thread to read about the exchange rate.

Not sure if the original question was ever answered. Do you buy a USA investment property under your own name or use an LLC??First up, I am in the process of buying our first investment property in the USA and I have been vexed by this question. I am a nurse working in Adelaide with no legal experience so my response here is simply from…[Read more]