NewInvestor2 wrote:
HI Everybody, Thanks for all the interesting reads that goes around here. I am in Sydney and am keen to know how to go about my 1st purchase in USA. Could someone guide me? How do we get the right solicitor, accountant, bank acc? It would be ideal if we could purchase those foreclosed properties without having to fork out…[Read more]

dhillon2 wrote:
My husband and I are going to invest in property in Miami –  We're planning our next US trip in early 2011, as we are still in the process of tying up lose ends and setting up our finances here. The plan is to purchase property outright with cash, build up our credit rating in the US for 1 year, then re-finance the properties…[Read more]

So what does this Foreclosure Fiasco mean for property prices in Miami?That's the million dollar question.  I've posted this question on the Trulia.com forum, and a number of Miami agents have answered it.Here's a summary of their answers: 1. there are currently very few foreclosed (REO) homes on the market at present.  All the big banks have t…[Read more]

Hi, hope your all having/have had a great weekendI'm exhausted after surfing today.  Hainan is getting the weirdest weather.  If you've followed my previous posts you'll know we suffered the worst floods in 50 years about 2 weeks ago.  Now it's HAPPENING AGAIN!  Hopefully we won't lose power/internet and get cut off from the outside world like las…[Read more]

Hi JamesAbout your spreadsheet project, are you able to convert it to an image (eg. a jpg or bmp file)?  If so, you can upload it onto any of your posts on this website by using the Insert/Edit Image (the tree) you see on the header when you're writing a new post.If not, you may be able to google-search for a free site that allows you to upload sp…[Read more]

Hi allLast night I paid for my ticket to Miami, departing 27 October, returning to China 26th November.There's no turning back now.  I'm firmly committed to the Miami route whether it be the best option in the US or not, so I was most happy to read the following article on this morning's Bloomberg N…[Read more]

James2118 wrote:
One little warning I found when I was doing some research into investing in USA, Property Tax is vastly different to what we have as an equivalent in Australia in rates I suppose. Because the property tax is the major supplier for funding for public schools in the area, they are generally alot higher than land rates in…[Read more]

SissaNoel wrote:
Hi Steve,Have been following your posts with great interest – hope all is well after the flooding.  I've been looking closely at investing in the US at the moment, and am also inclined towards Miami at this point.  Are you anticipating any form of 'double dip' in real estate prices there, but still consider going in now is wo…[Read more]

gibbo1 wrote:
Hi all, I'm another thinking of taking the plunge with the US market. I have been thinking of traveling to the states for awhile. Now with the USD and my thoughts of purchasing property there, now may be the best time to do it. I will follow this thread closely. Sounds like there are quite a few Aussies out there with some good…[Read more]

TO COSTAI also looked extensively into the Tampa market, for 2 reasons: firstly because Tampa statistics are included in the Case-Shiller top 20 cities monthly reports, and secondly because I lived in Tampa back in 1988 as an 18 year old undergraduate student of the University of South Florida.Tampa is certainly a viable option.  It's difficult…[Read more]

reinvestor wrote:
Hey all check this out:http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/110907/which-cities-face-biggest-housing-risks?mod=realestate-buyThis might help out your decision about Miami.Cheers

TO REINVESTORThanks for your post, and for the warning.  The article was very interesting, pointing out that more than 57% of all households…[Read more]

I'm currently trying my luck to get pre-approved for an HSBC loan before going to Miami at the end of this month.I'll be posting the result of this application, whether positive or negative, on this forum.Best of luck to other investors interested in the USSteve

TO DICK YORK (AND JAMES AGAIN)Nice to hear that both of you are as interested in Miami as I am.  Dick, I will be sending you an e-mail.  James, feel free to e-mail me (via this site) once I've got further down the Miami road.  I'm not looking to profit in any way from other investors, and therefore my findings will be your knowledge.  I will hap…[Read more]

TO MICHELLENice to hear from someone "on the ground", especially someone in the real estate industry.I find it most interesting to hear that, in your experience, up to 50% of sales in the better Miami areas are to foreigners.  It serves to remind us, when trying to predict the future of Miami's property market, that a short Atlantic flight away…[Read more]

Quite a few people posted above, so I'll address them in order of their postings.TO JAMESThanks for raising some important points, namely that the unemployment situation is awful in Florida, Miami included.  Your comments have prompted me to look into the matter further.  It seems you are correct in stating that the unemployment situation is wors…[Read more]

Hi everyone who's been reading/posting in the last week, and I apologise for my disappearance from my own thread.The reason is that I live on Hainan Island (it's a large circular tropical island, about 250kms in diameter, off the southern coast of China) and 10 days ago we were hit by the most unbelievable flooding.  Torrential rain has poured…[Read more]

There were two interesting articles on Bloomberg News Channel today.   The first was about foreclosures in the US.  I quote:Homes in the foreclosure process sold at an average 26 percent discount in the second quarter as almost one-fourth of all U.S. transactions involved properties in some stage of mortgage distress, according to RealtyTrac Inc…[Read more]

If you've been working in China (on a Z visa) for more than a year, you will definitely be given a mortgage (all the big banks will welcome you), but you must pay a 30% deposit, ie. the bank will lend you 70% of the total house price.  Interest rates will be the same as for locals: about 6%.

I think I should add some other lessons I gleaned from losing two-thirds of my savings back in 2000.It made me a very careful investor, probably an over-careful one.  I became sceptical about everything I read, and even grew to overly question my own thoughts as to which way markets would head.  Had I not taken that fall in 2000 I would probably h…[Read more]

Hi JamesThe most important step towards reaching financial independence is to make the decision to do it.  You're only 23.  You'll definitely get there.I only realised the importance of making money when I was 26, having discovered that a science degree isn't worth the paper it's written on.  I bought a ticket to the booming Far East to make so…[Read more]