anelxander wrote:
I liked your post bevk, very good information about Las Vegas!Steve I have a question for you. I am interested in buying a house in Miami too, and I was speaking to a Lawyer who does all the process to get the LLC and he told me that: 1. If I put the property on my name and later I transfer it to an LLC before selling it, tha…[Read more]

bevk wrote:
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…[Read more]

jeff2tract wrote:
British Buyer Your thoughts are very interesting ,I am thinking on why you would be concentrating on condo's? with the HOA fees eating into your ROI, why not stick to SFH. I noticed in your last email that a return of 6.86% on a condo. I can get 6% by leaving my money in Australian banks and not have the hassle of dealing with…[Read more]

I just got an e-mail from someone interested in the Miami market, asking why properties are listed on Trulia for $1,000KThese prices do not appear on the MLS site, and they are in no way real (obviously!)They may be the price that the bank will set the first bid of the auction at after they've foreclosed.  In other words, these properties are not…[Read more]

Today I looked at condos that I'd estimate are about 7.5 times cheaper than the equivalent in China's only city with tropical beaches: Sanya, on Hainan Island.For example, I saw a south-facing, 80 square metre, 7th floor, 2 bedroom 2bathroom, with balcony looking down at a pool and a waterway (where you could conceivably moor your yacht alongside…[Read more]

HI CHUITo find this years property tax on that condo, use this government site:http://gisims2.miamidade.gov/MyHome/propmap.aspJust type in the address (if you have it).  You'll see this year's assessed price (ie. assessed by the tax dept.), so to get the property tax multiply by 2%.It's a great site, because it will also show you all the previous…[Read more]

I just received an e-mail from someone asking if it's possible (or how easy is it) to buy a property in Miami (particularly an REO) without flying here.I haven't looked into this yet, but I understand the buying process, so here's what I currently THINK the answer is (but will have to check up on it)The first offer made on your behalf by the…[Read more]

HI KEVIN(I just received an e-mail from Kevin asking my thoughts on LLC's and asset protection.  Since it's a relevant topic, I've decided to reply on the forum for all to see).My current thinking is that LLC's serve no purpose other than when you sell (if your property is in an LLC you don't get any money withheld by the buyer).LLC's only other…[Read more]

HiI've had a surprising number of people contact me (via e-mail) requesting advice and info pertaining to investing in the Miami property market for both capital gains and rental returns.Also, a lot of people have requested more info on lenders willing to make loans to foreign investors.As I just mentioned in a previous post, I'm working with my…[Read more]

Chui wrote:
Steve,

British Buyer wrote:
IF YOU BUY A 1 BED 1 BATH CONDO FOR 30K, IN A NICE AREA (NEAR THE INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY) BUT WITHOUT A WATER VIEW, YOUR HOA FEE WILL BE $250 PER MONTH.TO THIS $250 YOU ADD THE $9 FOR PROPERTY TAXES. 

30k would be the purchase price, not necessarily the assessed value. I saw some pretty horrific p…[Read more]

Chui wrote:
Steve,

British Buyer wrote:
IF YOU BUY A 1 BED 1 BATH CONDO FOR 30K, IN A NICE AREA (NEAR THE INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY) BUT WITHOUT A WATER VIEW, YOUR HOA FEE WILL BE $250 PER MONTH.TO THIS $250 YOU ADD THE $9 FOR PROPERTY TAXES. 

30k would be the purchase price, not necessarily the assessed value. I saw some pretty horrific p…[Read more]

bumskins wrote:
British Buyer, what are your current thoughts on the foreclosure fraud issues mentioned of past ? (or possibly even current?) Are you now satisified that banks have done proper(bullet-tight) due-dilligence on the properties they are listing/have relisted? If not what do you intend to do to protect yourself.Also what are pe…[Read more]

snappytom wrote:

British Buyer wrote:
Why is it that you're concentrating on the west coast of Florida?

Whilst living in the US we did go to Clearwater for a vacation once and thought it was a nice place. (What I say now though is based purely upon speculation and an image of Miami gained from tv/movies.) I think Miami is more a "cool people"…[Read more]

Since I'm now starting to look into the rental return market while I wait to hear back about my waterside REO (since it's the weekend I have to wait until at least Monday), let me give any novice investors out there a quick  PROPERTY INVESTING 101 lesson.It's called the 1% rule.Basically, when you're looking at single-family homes that you plan…[Read more]

white_goodman wrote:

British Buyer wrote:
That's an amazing interest rate you've been offered.  I guess it's because you have an SSN and credit history.  The lowest I've been offered is 4.63%.  Perhaps your rate will be even lower, what with Bernanke's controversial quantitative easing plan just starting to hit the market.

their is still li…[Read more]

snappytom wrote:

British Buyer wrote:
Hi SNAPPYTOMI'm interested to hear what interest rate you've been offered.And what will the property taxes be like on the west coast of Florida?

Steve,I got 3.625% with 15 year fixed loan. I am wondering if the new "stimulus" offering by the government is going to change rates and this may go down by the…[Read more]

MORE ON MIAMI RENTAL RETURNSFrom talking to my realtor, I discovered today that people who invest in condos in Miami usually don't use property management companies.  Because condos are rented out unfurnished, once you've purchased one you just give it to your realtor to rent it out.  Your realtor will charge you a one-off fee to find a tenant, a…[Read more]

DISCLAIMER CONCERNING RENTAL RETURNS IN MIAMIIn the previous post, I gave the rental statistics for 4 individual condos purchased recently in Miami.The above was all hearsay, since I have not met the owners of any of these condos, nor have I visited any of them.  The info I related was told to me by my realtor and her colleague at my prompting.  I…[Read more]

Late in the afternoon I found myself in the realtor's office going through MLS listings for REO single-family homes to go see tomorrow.  My realtor, on a whim (probably because I've been trying to teach her about my investment strategies in the property market in China) asked another realtor colleague of hers, who was passing by on the way to…[Read more]

Today has been another day of trying to stay busy so as to keep my mind off the waterfront REO I'm waiting to hear back from.My realtor and I went all around the area between Brickell and Coral Gables (ie. north and south of Coral Way).  This is a nice middle-class area, so long as you don't stay too far north.  I saw a total of 9 REO si…[Read more]