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Auction procedures as personal information only – this was done AGES ago and when I was a newbie and I sent it out to everyone who was interested… it may help you or may not but PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS PERSONAL OPINION ONLY ON THE PROCEDURES AS I SAW THEM THEM – I HAVE NOT REVISTED THIS SO CAVEAT CAVEAT CAVEAT.
I have an absolute belief in making decisions based on all knowledge….
NO FORMATTING… sorry – figure if you are interested you can format it yourself.
This is an update as to the auction procedures having now sat down with the title agent who has been emailing me the list of liens and upcoming properties. This email is to provide you with as much information as I have (any errors are with full disclaimer that the below is given to the knowledge I have at this point). It will hopefully allow you to make grandiose decisions as to whether this may be a route for you. Remember, there is no real estate agent involved with the auctions – nor are their contracts – this is walking up, buying a house with cash up front, paying off any liens, getting title, cleaning it up, fixing it up and renting or potentially down the line flipping etc.
Now those steps explained in detail:
The properties that are sold at auction have the potential to be great bargains in theory – I have thus far seen GREAT buys and really really crappy buys..
There is NO due diligence time frame, no inspections, no walk throughs, no anything… You can peer through the windows and guesstimate from there. The roof could be collapsing, the a/c may not work, squatters could have broken every single item in this property and you should probably assume they have.
We do not know for sure which properties will ACTUALLY come up for sale on the day, we have a list that we subscribe to that tells us up to 2 weeks out which properties are SLATED to come up but we do not know at this point:
– whether there are known liens that make it inadvisable to bid
– whether it will be postponed
– what the Trustee’s opening bid will be – which may be 20k over any rational bid you would want to make….– the Trustee represents the primary lien holder… At this point, title is actually still in the Owner’s name who is being foreclosed on and as most of you know, this is the final step before title reverts back the bank and, if the property is passed in at auction. The auctioneer will call initially upon any beneficiaries of the current owner as to whether they wish to bid, they will then say the Trustee’s bid is “x” and if any other offers…. If none, this property will officially become a foreclosed property and appear as such ultimately on all real estate listsThe night before the auction, we receive the list of known liens from the title agent that provides this free to those who are willing to use them ( – I am happy to make that swap!)… This will be as close to a preliminary title report as you can get and with the exception of HOA fees (which it is NOT recommended to bid on as apparently you should always triple the amount of $$ stated on the lien) the agent felt comfortable that it is highly unlikely (although not impossible) for a big unknown. He has said that National Title Agency will guarantee that you would not ever lose money on your purchase as a result of a lien not discovered or revealed…or filed in the interim period. You may not make any money but at the worst case they would have too much to lose based on that. These and any other liens discovered must be paid off by the successful bidder during escrow* before clear title is presented… These liens will show up on the closing statement provided by the title company handling escrow* (*rough approximate is “settlement” time frame in Australia handled by a solicitor).
On the day of the auction, the properties come up in random order – there are between 100 and 150 each day and you just have to sit there, listen carefully to the auctioneers very very fast prattle and wait and hope. Any of the following may happen:
– The property is withdrawn from the auction (lienholder and owner having worked a deal)
– The property is postponed from the auction (twice I have had that happen whilst on my “dry” runs)
– The trustee starts with an opening bid that is waaaayyyy too high (think reserve price by bank)
– The beneficiaries of the current owner comes in to bid on the property
– You are outbid
– You winTo BID at auction you must have a representative acting under Power of Attorney (POA notarized) for and on your behalf with the POA held in the name TITLE WILL BE IN – if that is under an LLC you must have the POA made out to the LLC etc…. …
That POA would either
– Have cashier’s checks IN THE NAME THAT TITLE WILL BE to match up to the full and total amount of the winning bid – the POA will sign these to the Trustee and be given receipt … This should be to the PRECISE dollar (no change) – so the object of the exercise is to bid by a minimum of 1 penny (1 cent) above the bid before…… Trust me, I have seen these things go to 81 cents to win!EXAMPLE: The maximum you decide you will bid up to on Property X is $50,101.51. You should have cashier’s checks as follows: 3 x 10k, 4 x 5k and 5 x $20…. Take $5.00 in small change as well….
OR….OPTION….RATHER THAN HAVE ME PHYSICALLY TAKE THE CHECKS….:
YOU CAN USE A COMPANY THAT RESIDES IN THE SAME BUILDING AS THE AUCTIONHope that helps explain the process a little bit.
I deal with Section 8 properties every day – we all do – http://www.gosection8.com is a fabulous resource for landlords. Yes I have evicted but not a Section 8 tenant. I would not touch section 8 in Alaska or non pro landlord states as they can get “entrenched” bad ways – in a state where it takes 3 months to evict someone through the court system over the tenant amount of the rent – namely $25 you end up not bothering to evict. SO, although it is true that they lose their assistance voucher with an eviction, if no one goes through that then they just continue their evil ways)….I had one in Alaska and learnt my lesson – she TOTALLED the place within 2 months… and had had STELLAR background check from her previous section 8 landlord (happy to be rid of her I am sure) – it was my very first US tenant and I had lovingly hand painted and renovated every single item in the house – put in my first bath surround etc…. $3k worth of damage….. but she was only paying $85 of the rent per month… what do you do??? You let her stay out the rent to recoup the blasted cost of damage… because you can’t get any $$ from her if you sued her – she doesn’t have any.
In VEGAS – they are SO pro landlord that Section 8 tenants worship your place because they know we can evict easily – and thus we get late fees and neat houses – why? That IS their income … their only source of housing IS Section 8 – they lose that and they ARE on the streets and the housing program has even closed the wait list… oh they KNOW they are on a good ticket.
We have had an eviction in Las Vegas (non Section
and, because it is the worlds most pro landlord state, we evicted them and rerented the property within the same month… so so simple.In and out in 10 days – and the sheriff does it all for you…. aaah, just another reason to love good old pro business Vegas…
If you go to the HAP (housing assistance program – it actually isn’t called Section 8 any more but HAP although everyone uses Section
….you can look up the specs of the local county for Section 8. The Nevada one for Vegas will give you the handbook for landlords – just click on “landlords” and it will give you the requirements… they are the same everywhere… safety and to code – but interestingly not CLEANLINESS… fascinating..NOTE THAT IS JUST FOR VEGAS but will give you a great idea.
the danger with foreclosures and auction buying are the liens – both mechanical and non that you face – I generally say if you are at the auctions, triple any HOA dues owed or just veer clear – there is also a brilliant about 17 day time frame between hammer dropping and the actual title insurance that steps in that anyone could in theory file a lien … plus you have to deal with pissed off tenants potentially needing eviction and you had better have a good trash haul out crew ready to roll…. fascinating …. I sent a huge spiel to my investors on it I can forward if interested on auction procedures… VERY VERY tough if you don’t know precise streets – kind of like a box of chocolates…. you never know what your going to get… can be fun but not something I would recommend to the mainstream – INTERESTINGLY FROM MY NOW 90 ODD SOLID HOURS AT AUCTIONS, THEY RARELY GET MUCH BETTER THAN THE OPEN MARKET – especially when you have to factor in the clean up etc….
At some point that will change but for now…. there are plenty of bank rehabbed foreclosures for me not to be concerning myself with auctions. Some of the WORST buys I have seen are at the auctions where I have just sat there going “they are flipping stupid”… and these are the best professional bidders …but they work with streets and numbers. On the plus, retail bidders will always out bid the professionals IF the house they love comes up (rarely does it actually come up on the day you THINK it will). In Vegas you can get a list from any title company that hangs at the auctions as to what is slated to come up and a preliminary lien search (remember if you buy at auctions, you have to clear the liens unless primary etc)….but that changes every day.
A bit quick of an explanation but fascinating process through the foreclosures.
Emma
OH “they set up an LLC for you” How FAB is that – in other words, we circumvent half of the US rules about title cooling periods and use an LLC (which you will have to pay for btw) to hide VAST sums of mark ups…and even better – I LOVE this one – they CHARGE YOU FOR THE LLC. Another way of wording it…. How about this, we buy a property and sell it to you via an LLC because we aren’t licensed agents, thus we can only flip properties….in which case, um why not ditch the middle man and find a reputable wholesaler….
An LLC is a great mechanism of asset protection, or if you are a spruiker and you don’t know WHO is going to buy your property and you can’t legally do a title transfer, why the hell wouldn’t you put it into an LLC…. that way you aren’t doing title transfer, you are merely selling a company that may (or may not) own an asset.
So – questions to ask
HOW MUCH DID YOU BUY THIS PROPERTY FOR?? You can find out, trust me – if they bought the thing at auction, it will be recorded – look two title deeds backwards from the one you first come across on the county website (FREE OF CHARGE)…
IF THEY DO NOT ANSWER – DO NOT BUY… and say that – I want to know in writing what you paid for this property and I want in writing for you to justify any mark up that you have done.
IF THEY ANSWER – Why are you charging me approximately $30 – $50k more than you bought it for… oh well, we do SUPER DUPER FABULOUS repairs – … oh, really – GREAT – then ask them for the before photos and the after photos and the itemized break down and then ask 3 independent contractors that you randomly find from any website in the area of the house to look at the itemized break down (without revealing prices) and ask them what they would have charged for that…..
I would say 30k is worth that amount of research – I mean effectively if they did all these fabulous repairs, and you are buying the house, they should be SO proud of they job…..
AND IT MAY WELL STILL BE SOMETHING YOU END UP WANTING BUT AT LEAST KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING IN FOR – COMPS, COMP RENTS ETC…. in 5 years time we will all be buying “flips” – but I would rather you KNOW and can justify the markup than think you are getting something that you are not. Misrepresentation is rife with these people. It would be illegal if they were US licensed. Sadly I have come to realize that they really just don’t know what they are talking about…. which makes it all the more disgraceful.
Go to any of these seminars and ask them precisely why they LOVED the house that they are showing and talking so avidly about being such a great buy – when were they last in it…? Or are they just re rattling off what some very very shonky wholesaler (also unlicensed) is flipping to foreigners…….I am sure they are all US residents in their spare time and all have overseen the repairs these properties undertake and check quality control and that they stick to budget and time??? Oh, they aren’t – then who is? I would REALLY want to know that.
If you still have questions….. ask me, ask Jay, ask Alex SC, um ask any random property management company in your city…. (how much would your contractor charge for “x”)
Go with gut. If you think the markups are worth the lack of hassle, then that is great but at least be transparent. I charge “x” and deliver “y” for that amount…… it is when people hide things that I get very suspicious.
SORRY – RANT REALLY OVER NOW…. Really.. seriously = )
1) Deal with a US licensed real estate agent for ANY purchase – if you feel they did not put client above self – you have legal recourse – I am not saying real estate agents in the US are all upstanding citizens but if you find you have been screwed right royally – you have recourse
2) WHAT MAKES THEM AN EXPERT??? WHAT PRECISELY ARE YOU PAYING 4k FOR – ask the person on the phone – HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PROPERTY IN PERSON, WHY SHOULD I BUY THIS OVER THE ONE 3 DOORS DOWN, 3 BLOCKS DOWN ETC??? Any US real estate agent can give you FREE OF CHARGE the list of active properties for sale in the market of your choice – pick ANY of them… seriously…ask them to sign you up for free listings of available properties – then find one that meets your needs (i.e. tested rent on Trulia, looked at comps etc) and ask your Australian based US expert why they would recommend THEIR property over the one you have just randomly selected – and ask them specifically – they are OBVIOUSLY experts in that location…. why else would they charge 4k??
3) NEVER EVER buy from ANYONE who doesn’t give a precise address……
Dear HEAVENS, please please please don’t get ripped off. You need a PRECISE address, you need line itemed repairs (as in HOW much was the carpet replacement and how many square feet were replaced) … you NEED to see before photos and after photos – there is no such thing as an over 15k repair in the US unless you are pulling the damn thing back to studs, dealing with over 2400 sq ft and a truckload of repair items or dealing with a custom fit off and 90% of the properties are project homes and yes, an all in one toilet only costs $69 in Vegas and $79 in Atlanta type thing -and that is RETAIL from BUNNINGS equivalent (Home Depot) – add labour…. and even then, why not just buy a property that DOESN’T require that many repairs…. pay more and get one move in ready!
Be suspicious, be VERY suspicious – you know what, if VERY suspicious – ask them not to do a SINGLE repair, and just have Home Depot quote it – I STILL bet you wouldn’t hit 15k on most repairs.
Did you KNOW Home Depot and Lowe’s do $97 whole house install of carpet (yes, they mark up the underlay to make $$ but even so… over 1400 sq ft in carpet and you can win out)
Carpet – Assume $0.63 a sq ft to $0.90 a sq ft
Underlay – $0.49 a sq. ft for 6 lb underlay but go up and pad it (no pun) to $0.65 (you can buy underlay of course for $55 a bag = 30 yds so you can see the price difference if you use some crazy US calculator)
Whole house install – $97 (stairs extra)..That is the TOP end of retail….. as in, you could pick up the phone and call your local Home Depot or Lowe’s Store or look on line for that and get those prices..
Now, tell me again how much you are being charged on that line item……. I am guessing that if you are an Australian foreigner, I am out on some massive limb that you are paying more than that…. and you know what, I will go so far as to say that your “expert” spruiker selling you the property from Australia would have less clue about repair costs than you do right now having read this.
In other words, call your “Australian expert” out…. ask them about their level of expertise is – I mean as a buyers agent they MUST hold a US real estate license, right? That is after all what a buyers agent is……… if they pass “how much does a toilet cost in the US?” or can discuss a 3 ton a/c unit and explain what the street you are buying on feels like to them, then yep, maybe you could start considering them….
Otherwise, buy a ticket to the US, meet any of the people on here who ARE based in the US and decide from there.
sorry, I have heard about 10 too many horrible, horrible, heartbreaking stories and I am just sick of it. WE ARE AUSTRALIANS, STICK TOGETHER AND WE WON’T GET SCREWED.
Call 4 property managers and interview them, call 4 general contractors and interview them…. I really am at the point where if you are completely screwed, google the nearest Home Depot and ask them to go out and do the work – they are steep but I bet you a million dollars they aren’t marking your repair up as much as the contractor who hears “foreign investor”.
I had a blasted contractor try to charge one of my guys $300 to replace the most useless of ALL articles in the US – a garbage disposal unit – they are (even straight up retail) only $84.95 and take me approximately 20 minutes MAX to swap out…. my regular plumber would charge $160 so trust me, if you don’t stay on top of contractors… you will get screwed.
HA – I have a better one… my FAVOURITE A/C tech who does all my coil cleans for our A/C units and annual inspections plus filter swap outs (for $55 a house) tried to charge us $166 to replace a thermostat…. guys, a programmable thermostat at MAX is $45……???!!!!! So, um, next question – how much do you charge by the hour???? Well we charge $70 an hour… right…. so um, how long again does it take you to replace a thermostat??? (NOTE, I can replace a thermostat in precisely 20 minutes)… um 30 minutes… right….. right um…. right um….
Minimum call out fee? $70 – fine, no problems….. anyhow, you do the maths….. just about keeping people honest. CHECK YOUR INVOICES!
Rant over – I don’t mind marked up prices for good honest work, just don’t even THINK about ripping us off.
I really have to ask – WHY do you want to open a US bank account? You don’t need it to buy property, you might want it to stash funds in after you have bought a property and want a tenant to pay rents into but ultimately your property manager would take the rents.. It SOUNDS great to open a bank account but unless you are sitting in front of the teller, you are highly unlikely to be able to withdraw more than 1k at a time….
So again, WHY OPEN one? Buy the property from Australia, keep the funds in Oz until you get your HUD (closing statement), wire the funds through to the closing attorney or title agency and own the property… your property manager will collect the funds and wire to you every quarter or whenever you want your funds…. simple. If you happen to be the type that is uber diligent and can remember to check rents are being received diligently by the 5th of each month (or have Section 8 paying 100% of the rents) then great – but realistically, your property manager should be doing that and you just getting a statement from them…. god knows I don’t chase my rents in Cairns which is about the equivalent….
If you HAPPEN to go to the States for your tax deductible trip to the US, yay you – open an account then – again, not sure why you need to but still.
Emma
Don’t try to open with BofA (bank of america) – but Wells Fargo will happily open one free of charge without too many issues beyond scanned passports etc HOWEVER BE VERY AWARE OF THEIR NEW EVIL CHARGES (no offense to WF) – but the big thing is again – WHY ARE YOU OPENING AN ACCOUNT – I have had to have power of attorney’s more times than I care to count to get peoples funds out of it – unless you are happy removing funds via a debit card in Oz. Seriously…….. you don’t need a bank account to buy a property so why on earth would you?
There was another property that was up there with this one in the water scenario – same issue – inadequate gutters for the mass water influx known as the great South USA – in that instance the downspout was missing, the water had therefore caused the mould behind the brick fascia etc etc. Fascinating to see – absolutely amazing the damage… and spore growth!
There was another great property that I had meant to put an offer in on that just demonstrated the issue with water and brick fascia – basically was just a 4 sided brick petri dish of mould on the inside as all the brick managed to do was encase the mould…. of course that just screams “buy me” to me but granted I accept not everyone likes wearing facemasks for 4 months of a rehab in Hotlanta.
usainvestor – I think about the ONLY thing we can guarantee is that there will be a slew of lovely lawsuits at the end of this little crash..
24k mark up – bejeezus.
Mind you, it won’t be long before the concept of flipping makes sense to many….. In Vegas I would say 1 in maybe 15 now only are foreclosures…the rest – diabolical flips – and probably a lot of them are people who, like the above instance, I will have at a guess know FULL well that their property wouldn’t pass a real building inspection from a lender and so they had better get out now while a foreign investor will buy without a clue beyond a cursory home inspection..(probably “provided” by said flipper)…actually, to those reading – a REALLY REALLY good caveat emptor story
FANTASTIC highlight… thanks wi & usainvestor..
Sigh – oh the games will just begin anew….
Haha.., no same crap in the auctions… Trust me. I still have yet to really find the auction buy in Vegas that amazingly outstrips a foreclosure… And I am saying this knowing every street in the city and an accumulated 180 hours of straight auctions… I normally laugh at the prices some pay…
Okay yes the bill cleaned up Vegas for now… Ergo Viva Atlanta which despite what everyone cites is still waaaaaaaayyyyy more open thanVegas ever was, even in the feeding frenzy!
Could I just point out how gorgeous Sydney Harbour is…. Fleeting visit home….overcast and grey, at the Opera Bar and on this forum… Lol… SAD!
To buy HUD homes is difficult???Lol… No it isn’t hard.. You need an ITIN or SSN or EIN with a US address… Most use their attorney’s who set up the LLC if you get the point. Go to hudhomestore.com click on state and investor ….
Enjoy… Great bargains to have!
In Vegas they are trying to enact legislation to limit the fines and accrued interest legally capable of being charged by HOA’s – the problem with HOA’s is they have so little money and half are going bankrupt themselves that they become very money hungry. Concur on the possibility of intentional mistyping…
Did I mention I avoid HOA’s… they all seem so lovely to start with until you have someone pick on your tenant…. we have 1 person with an HOA (against my better judgement …lol) – and in Vegas of course we don’t have grass – but the pine needles from the neighbours tree and house blew onto the rocks and THAT was sufficient for a letter to be sent out. I have been out for a loose cable box, a left pizza delivery pamphlet … I think you get the idea… the day we closed on that property we had letter prewritten that was sent in regards to a dead bush…
OWNERS associations tend to be very cliquey and OWNERS just really don’t like tenants in their midsts…!
You will have to negotiate however if you have proof of the letters being sent to the wrong address, I do know of 2 people who have argued that successfully to have SERIOUS reductions made.
Of course ALWAYS insist your property manager is copied in to all and any letters that are sent to you. Get that acknowledged in writing that they will do that and copy it in… further you can ask for all letters to also be emailed – cite your desire to work as quickly as possible to remedy any issues.
As most know I hate buying anything in HOA’s because of the variables (yield eating guzzlers lol) that you can’t control….(ever had a person just hate you because you are a tenant next to their beautiful house type thing??? BUT, a cap on occupancy by tenants makes sense if you consider how YOU would feel if you saw a previously owner occupied (OO) area start to become 100% foreign investor owned with tenants who may not give a toss… Normally how an action to change the covenants begins… Trust me, at that point no one cares about crashing the property value.. They are emotionally trying to “save” their community from us evil foreigners….interestingly, in the new world, higher restriction for us Vegans is comforting and may increase values…..
ALWAYS check and read the CCR’s for any HOA.. The rule book…. You must receive it by law prior to closing.
ALWAYS check the health of the HOA… I generally hate them.. The prettier the amenities, the more fixed costs you will have.. Love those tennis courts and swimming pools??? Imagine if 40% of the HOA is in foreclosure who has to pay for those amenities…. InAtlanta it is rife that you buy a town home and the HOA is down the gurgler. At best your tenants lose their tennis courts or pool, at worst you end up in lawsuits and extra $$.
GET A LIST OF FELLOW OWNERS….easy to do… Just ask the treasurer. What notification were you all given of this action item etc?? I love the states, one slip up on any matter of procedure will put a stay long enough to argue your case…
HOA’s tend to do things like a percentage of OO only etc.. 100% ban seems a bit excessive and with condos i would say impossible! I would suggest a strategy to try arguing financial hardship for current owners as a very good reason not to ban renting… Long term illness as well…just wait until someone who doesnt have health care needs treatment and wants to rent their condo to help cover costs…Think on THEIR level of reasons why what may seem like a good idea at first glance just isn’t. Even the most restrictive covenants normally have some cap versus outright ban…
An action is just an action though until ratified and I concur that you should ask for a list of other owners and plead your case… Ask for a reconsideration if you were given proper notice…..Grandfather clause or something…. Check with attorney….
Not suggesting intentional circumvention but ways around such a law include either a lease to own or set up the property in a company that, for a limited time, has the tenant as an owner of that company… Small, tiny, weeniest etc…. Or just sell and buy in a non HOA community…
Not advice.. Just personal opinion….
For what it is worth, I think we will see more of this as the “us versus them” mindset sets in across America…not just Vegas ….and we do all sit here and say to try to buy in non predominantly investor owned areas so understandable…
Alex – took me forever to find someone – I sent this out when I did.
QUOTE
We do it very regularly for Australian residents who have property overseas and we have no difficulty with treating it according to Australian taxation regulations. Plus our ATO approved software allows us to easily process the overseas property and incorporate the data into Australian residents tax returns in the manner required by the ATO.
UNQUOTERose is a property lover and I think it is highly safe to say a “like” mind. I am delighted to finally be able to recommend someone to you. The big thing that I love about Rose is the fact that she understands US based questions are best for US accountants as they know the tax laws better and then Rose integrates that into the Australian side.
Rosemarie Chad
B. Bus., CPA, MAI.Ex.
Accord Accounting
Tel: 612 9419-5322
Fax: 612 9412-2237
http://www.easytax.com.au
[email protected]
Office hours: 9am – 6pm
Monday – Friday
?
Accord Accounting is a CPA practice.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards LegislationIF you have a home warranty program that allows you your own techs, you have regular a/c maintenance (we do quarterly and log them), then you are definitely going to stand a good chance of the claim being accepted. We have had 3 clients save over $4k a piece. I word it like this – if you have a unit that is over 10 years old, you will be looking to replace that unit within the next few years… some are still churning and almost 20 years old but that is borderline a miracle. This may help keep it going. I view this as the “just in case” warranty. Not everything is covered but a good amount is and has been. It is slightly reassuring when it is 120 degrees here to think that it may not end up being a 2k repair. We use Sensible Home Warranty at $300 per annum and a $45 call out. It varies.
I have it in place in my Alaskan properties for furnace reasons and I have it in place in Vegas primarily for my a/c but the policy itself covers all systems.
In Vegas I tell people that you are probably needing to budget $750 in maintenance per annum including the $300 for the home warranty program. Just one blown furnace or a/c issue would double that….. i
Jay it is fantastic – I echo Jeremy’s sentiments. I made a big decision that I will always focus on working with an individual versus selling properties…. I love the level of involvement that I can keep with each client and each of the properties – I am a thrill of the hunt and the rehab person…. finding the gem is the goal – plus my partner is a builder.
It might be hard slog but I would rather every investor learns what earnest money deposits are, proof of funds, title transfer processes, title insurance, US property management nuances etc than get whacked with buying shell LLC’s – shelf LLC’s (please heavens – the latest recycled issue – buy a “seasoned” LLC for the purposes of obtaining financing) and get burnt. If people are entering a new market, they SHOULD be interested in these matters and should understand that even if they want “no involvement”.
Danger Model
The danger is the same any organization has – organizational growth and managing growth… and this is what I personally feel has happened. Probably starting with good intentions, Australian Facilitator (AF) sells a property with all good intentions – yields are great, everything goes brilliantly, AF sells lots more people properties – maybe they start out with a choice element…. and the first 5- 15 clients do get some great deals in great locations. All of a sudden, the person selling the properties has 30 people wanting a property – and slowly but slowly their “standards” slip… there just aren’t 30 good properties on the market and they are too busy handling the front end…no longer have they even SEEN the properties – but wait, they are needing to sell (that is their model… just sell)…. so now they have to “partner” up with people they “trust”…. now they have no clue what those people are sourcing and if they even are…so they are sell quickly, make hay while the sun shines and then retire or join the seminar circuit…… Or disappear as one “famous” Melbourne company apparently has. This is fine, so long as the investor KNOWS what they are buying and knows how to take matters into their own hands at the end….I mention it a million times when I talk about realistic nets – why doesn’t anyone think the simple things like lawn mowing up to once a week will be a factor ($20 a pop) equals about a pool in Vegas is $100 a month (pools… aka vegetable patches), HOA’s, gutters cleaning, composition shingle roofs, quarterly maintenance/check ups on a/c’s, termite boosters…. not hard, not a no, just a consideration and needs factoring in…. I personally have a rule of thumb to buy at least $15k cheaper in Atlanta and hope for $125 more in rent to equate widgets to a Vegas buy just because there are more “bits” to the properties in ATL and likely higher vacancy.
I think we are starting to see people thinking about their longterm investment goals and strategies in the US market and understand that this is just the first step… but BOY OH BOY, what a step. I wasn’t here for the late 80’s unfortunately but for us for now, this is OUR time. Even just freedom of information means someone in a foreign country can seriously consider things our parents barely could have dreamed of. Buying interstate in Australia was epic 10 years ago.
Yep, I agree with the lifespan having been dramatically shortened with current legislation… I had thought when Vegas “popped” I would have at least 8 -12 months in another market at this stage and hopefully though that will be the case…. from then it will be playing all the different nuances to the US market.
Jay, I just had a client ask me about you so this is all a collective step in the right direction.
Yes – if your question is that you need someone who can integrate your US tax return into your Australian tax return, Rose is wonderful and understands all the nuances. By that very nature she strongly recommends you use a US expert and US based CPA who is up to date with everything in the US to file there and then bring to her as she is the expert on how that pertains to your Australian return.
Rosemarie Chad
B. Bus., CPA, MAI.Ex.
Accord Accounting
Tel: 612 9419-5322
Fax: 612 9412-2237
http://www.easytax.com.au
[email protected]
Office hours: 9am – 6pm
Monday – Friday
?
Accord Accounting is a CPA practice. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.I am sure there are others, I just haven’t found them…. Rose is in Chatswood so really close… well 9 stations away ; )
But for the fact that you can’t do it without tit sounding like a sales pitch I want to do the anti seminar… How not to get ripped off in the US… Except that EVERYONE says that just to do precisely the reverse,….
Buy my uber expensive system on how not to get ripped off?? read these posts for free and don’t get ripped off. Period/Full Stop. Keep reading… Then please tell anyone interested in the US market what you have learned….it isn’t often you get a chance to help people from being ripped off but this might in a big way.
Jay that is literally hysterical… He had gall… He went on to outline how great his renos were ….And quoted me work that could not have been over 8k as being 20k….I asked him for an itemized listing… It was fun baiting for a while and I do love the game of it but a some point it is just so wrong and dangerous.
Alex, you mentioned about people in Oz buying the secrets and paying to learn the “system” etc and how that wouldn’t happen in the reverse… What you have to remember is that in Australia we don’t have zillow, Trulia or Redfin…. You pay for RP data …. So the mindset is almost bewilderment when you first learn these little tools… It is like heaven…. And those charging you will NEVER reveal their names…. Good grief. We invest in Oz without any of these tools. It may be flawed but when I first started saying at bare minimum use zillow (and yes it sounds a very silly name), I had to physically show people how to use it…. These were property people with multitude of investment properties in Australia.
People pay in Oz because there just isn’t the freedom of information. I have taken it as a personal need to make sure that if every person on this site tells just 4 others, the scammers will rapidly realize that their days are numbered….
Everyone needs to know that they CAN see what else is available on the market, they CAN make the decision to buy or not based on the variables. If you KNOW that that information is NOT available to you without paying for it in your own country, and no one is telling you otherwise the
“hush hush, I will let you in on a big secret about how to learn the US market…..buy my system for just 6k and you too can learn these secrets” sounds very appealing….. Why? BECAUSE YOU DON’T WANT TO GET RIPPED OFF… You want to do due diigence, you just haven’t a clue how to get it otherwise…
I met 2 people who had literally done crash courses amounting to over (LMAO) the price of a property “studying” how to invest in the
US…. And these are people who have collectively 12 properties in Australia and neither of them had even been told about Zillow or Trulia or Redfin!Easiest thing to sell on the planet is fear….. I don’t care if people buy or not but dear Heavens let’s give them the tools to decide without them being ripped off……
$ per sq ft…. Be a bit careful… I know what you mean but as I said to someone in Vegas once…I can show you $19 a sq foot .. Doesn’t mean you should buy.. It may never rent and should be bulldozed!
Clarification on Property management… I did mean INTERVIEW them…maybe a bit exuberant… I am merely saying that you will probably start with someone wanting to milk you and charge exorbitant fees and it isn’t that hard to get something better. Mind you I have had assumptions that people would do far more due diligence so will stand corrected.. Please make sure you are dealing with experienced PM companies when interviewing….. = )
Ambien and vodka…. normally soothing not incensing?
Posted my reply to Demetrius on the other but here it is again.
QUOTE
DemetriusFantastic – thanks for the below..
Okay. I am about to send this verbatim out to my email list. I just want to make sure I get this absolutely accurate:
A house that was bought at auction for 24k on July 5, can be bought through you for $57k… Except that we have to rush because they move so quickly…. Probably this example property has been sold already…..although it has sat since July.
This is a property that you are asking $20,000 more for than any recent sale within a half mile.
I will pose it to my clients and let them decide. As they all use zillow, trulia, redfin and other such websites, if they do choose to pay you literally more than the house cost in commission (27k in repairs/commission for a house that cost 24k) and to pay 20,000 DOLLARS more than EVERY recent sale within 1/2 mile then that is up to them – I am more than happy for them to have choice in this market and will simply outline the services you offer.
With enormous thanks….
UNQUOTEOMG OMG OMG.. THAT IS SO SO SO FLIPPING FUNNY …. JUST READ WHAT I WROTE UNDER THE “NEWBIE”… THIS IS THE GUY THAT GOT ME LOOKING AT ATLANTA… I posted my reply to him that I sent to all my clients back then!
THAT IS HYSTERICAL!!!!!! Seriously – Demetrius Mathis… LMAO….
and, because it is the worlds most pro landlord state, we evicted them and rerented the property within the same month… so so simple.
