To start with the first question – I would also agree that paying $1.300 to set up an LLC sounds very high, filing fees in most states are usually just a few hundred although there might be exceptions that I am not aware of.We have helped some of our clients who wanted to take the "DIY" approach and form the LLC themselves, and we can send them a…[Read more]

HOA fees will impact your bottom line, in many of our nicer communities you can be looking at paying $300-$400 per month, so it will eat into your cash flow significantly – as has been pointed out, you also want to make sure it's either owner occupied or at least make sure that the HOA is in good shape.Also, many of the HOA's will have…[Read more]

I tend to disagree with many of the foreign investors here, and I see land as an EXCELLENT play right now. While it is entirely true that buying land TODAY won't make you "instant" fortunes, as reselling the property immediately for a profit most likely won't work, new construction is difficult (even though as Jay said, it can be done), and…[Read more]

If I understand you correctly, you are being offered to buy additional apartments/commercial units at the actual cost of construction, rather than current market value.If that is the case – and you can "verify" the construction cost as being the actual cost and not an inflated cost, it sounds like a no-brainer to me.While previous posters are…[Read more]

Nathan is right, there's a lot of opportunities out there in Michigan (especially Metro Detroit) to earn very high returns.However, as I have pointed out in other threads, and a huge number of people also have done, we always factor in maintenance costs etc, and you also have to very careful who you deal with.Like Nathan also mentioned, most…[Read more]

Portpirate, I do have info on it, but forum rules won't let me put too much on a public forum, and I don't really know too well how to use the "profile" on here – can you shoot me an email on [email protected] and I'll send it back out to you?

KC Homes,You make some valid points – we do exactly that for our investors, we buy homes, rehab them, and resell them to local home buyers rather than to investors. The market times vary widely as far as 2011 is concerned for us – from just days up to 6-7 months. Financing is harder than it was back in the day, appraisals is the biggest thing to…[Read more]

I am not surprised at all at what Property_scout is reporting. We have supplied properties to many Australian- and international "buyers agents" and many of them (although not all) are looking to mark up the price to make huge profits, on top of any commission they were due. As you can see on some American/international agencies websites, they're…[Read more]

I think it’s been pointed out before (by Jay) that Western NY and Buffalo in particular got so bad when it comes to foreign investors getting ripped off that they actually had to put new legislation in place to prevent the “flipping” of property up there.

We are a US based firm and we spent time investigating the markets up there for suitability…[Read more]

I just wanted to comment on what Alex Francs said above, as especially points 1 & 4 really echo what I have posted in many other places on here.

First of all, you need to know who you’re working with. There are literally hundreds of “experts” out there, I’m not just talking about the new companies coming up in Australia almost every week, but…[Read more]

Mick,
Congrats on the successful rehab, we do the same thing (hope this won’t get deleted!) together with investors from Australia and beyond. We source the deals, make no money upfront, and share in the profits at the back end. We have done so successfully for many years, across the country.

What is important to point out, and I’m sure both Jay…[Read more]

Hello,
One of our title companies can help you, as it’s a very simple process as long as you have all your paperwork in order.
We don’t however serve all states, which state is this for?

[email protected]

I would say the same thing again, there's no way a 10 year guarantee is legitimate. For us as an American firm it's illegal to guarantee any type of return unless it can be backed up by a third party, so I find it highly unlikely that a ten year guarantee makes sense. How would they get a bank etc to underwrite it? Maybe it would work if the funds…[Read more]

krefter – I can't help you too much with regards to the SMSF, we've had Australian buyers buying both residential (rental) properties, as well as land lots using their Superfunds (but thru a US LLC) although I can't tell you what they had to do to comly with the regulations.Very true also about not looking at "if this is a place you want to live…[Read more]

I think previous poster (Rob) pretty much nailed it, and I think I remember I've made a number of similar comment on similar threads. As some of you probably know by now, I also have an interest in US property – I am the CEO of a U.S. based asset manager that sell a lot of properties to foreign investors, and we work with a number of both direct…[Read more]

I would still say there's plenty of opportunity in Florida land – although I wouldn't recommend either:- buying in Lehigh Acres, or any of the inland communities- Borrowing money to pay for the land, unless you had enough income to pay off the interestHowever, a place like Cape Coral has a lot of opportunity, if you're buying in the right areas.…[Read more]

My 2 cents would tell me that ANY type of guarantee like that – buy back, long term rental, capital growth, just isn't something to rely on. A good enough product doesn't need any "guarantees" like that, while a poor product is never going to come good on them.What we do, is we sell the homes turn-key, and we offer management thru our local…[Read more]

I would have to agree with Ian and Steve, although you can (after some time) learn to do your own tax returns etc, it's always advisable to speak to an accountant or tax strategist upfront, to make sure you get your structure correct.As you might also know, there's very few people out there who can "legally" advise you, even if we think we know…[Read more]

Brennan,I can really only answer your first question – I am not sure if you're looking for a business account or a personal one..For a personal one, yes a passport and a U.S. address where they can send your visa card, pin etc should be enough, although they'll most likely ask you to sign a form (the name escapes me now) to either a) give them…[Read more]

Hi AngieB,thanks for your feedback, and it looks like a lot more investors (both Australian and others) have really started to take a liking to Indy, we've put quite a few investors in there in the last 12 months from Australia.As has been pointed out by others, it does have a few really bad areas but in general it is very stable, and we do a…[Read more]