Vancouver prices (and therefore yields) are similar to Sydney and Melbourne's.  Not a good place for CF+ investment.

HSBC in Aust can setup you up with a HSBC account for a fee of $200.   If you want to save your $200, wait til you go back over there and then setup with HSBC for free.   I didnt have a US bank account when I bought my properties and paid my deposit via bank trf from oz.  All you need to do is transfer the earnest money via ozforex.com.au or your…[Read more]

Im not sure exactly what you mean on the tax side, but I would refinance all three properties so that the majority of your debt sits on the investment properties.  Debt on your PPOR is not deductible, so it is in your interests to reduce this to the lowest amount possible, using the equity in your IPs.  Refinancing is the best way to achieve t…[Read more]

wealth4life.com wrote:
New companies are flooding in now doing USA investment … is this safe advise or risky in your opinion … or should we be wise to wait 6 months and buy at the bottom.

Im always amused when people say things like this.  You cant possibly have any idea of what/when the bottom will be?  You could wait and try to purchase p…[Read more]

daveclimbs wrote:
What are the benefits, if any, of managing your own tax lien investments over investing in a tax lien fund? The lack of thorough due diligence (ie local knowledge); the difficulty (and increased risk) of managing potential foreclosure from abroad not to mention your time invested in researching the available lien inventory must…[Read more]

Has anyone managed to make it work by investing in tax liens?  Interested to hear from some investors that have been doing this for a while.

itsandrew wrote:
Thanks ambosh,The one I am familiar with is the 11 second rule (i think that's what its called).  on 400k property rent would need to be something like $3460 pcm.  I find it hard to find a property that fits that (admittedly I've only just started looking again).  1% rule is a lot more conservative.   Are either of these real…[Read more]

Read this free ebook on liens:http://lienbaron.com/tax-lien-ebookIts a brilliant summary of the lien process, outlining the risks (primarily early redemption or ending up with a worthless piece of land or property), benefits, process and discusses the methods of bidding at auctions etc.  It goes into detail about the difficulty of investing from…[Read more]

AndrewThe 1% rule is one of the rules investors follow when looking for cash flowing deals.  ie the Gross monthly rent needs to be greater than or equal to 1%of the annual mortgage cost.  eg if your mortgage is $400k, does the monthly rent equal $4k per month (unlikely in Sydney!)?  This and the 2% rule is mostly likely to work on lower priced…[Read more]

I doubt you could bank US cheques in an account in oz.  You can make and receive wire transfers through your US bank (once the account is setup) to the payee/peyer over there.  Thats what I do for my properties.   Being based here, you dont want to be continually messing around with US cheques.Is anyone keen to meet for a lunch/coffee to discu…[Read more]

If I was a gambler and had the time again – id wait until property prices in Sydney/Melbourne come down.  Its not a question of if – its a question of when and by how much.   

Any income earned in a trust and not distributed to beneficiaries is taxed at the top marginal rate ( around 45-50%).  In short, its not worth it.  Living in a property owned by the family trust is fine.  Just dont try and claim any deductions are try to say you pay rent on it – if you are – suggest speaking to an good accountant about the ATOs …[Read more]

I dont need to repeat the short answer given above!  I think in the US you would qualify for 1031 exchange, which provides an exemption for the situation you mention – only if a US resident for tax though.  Australia is less generous. 

Citibank = too hard basket.  As I said earlier, suggest sticking with HSBC Australia and just paying the $200 to get them to setup your US bank account. re the question about my wells fargo bank account.   I set this up over there.  It me not be an option from here.  You cant present a US issued cheque in Australia.  You have to mail the cheque…[Read more]

For US bank accounts, I opened a Wells Fargo one while over there and im pretty sure you can arrange one by phoning them.  HSBC Aust can arrange a link one with their US office for a fee of A$200.

I missed the seminar but am interested in hearing more about investing in liens.  In general, what was it covering?

Kiwi Property Guy wrote:
They did not introduce Capital gains tax, and did not stop investors being able to claim losses etc.

As an aussie tax resident, your still liable for cap gains tax on a property in NZ so whether the NZ tax authorities charge on the sale it is irrelevant.  Great if your a kiwi though!Josh

PaulDobson wrote:
I normally buy from the person that bought from the developer, as time tends to establish a real price for the property.

Agree with Paul here.  Buy from the person that bought off the plan, and get a discont for doing so!

To answer to the original thread question :  America!  Where else can you find properties with mthly rents being > 2% of the property price? eg my block of units was $80k and gross mthly rent is $2k.  These deals are getting harder to find, but its not uncommon in the midwest… 

chriscarman wrote:
icybarns, i just finished reading two of your posts and i dont think you actually said anything in either of them?thats quite a skill considering how many words you wrote to say nothing…

haha!  Some people aim for quantity over quality!