Very easy to do, takes about 14 days if you get the paperwork back on time.

Wells Fargo accounts can still be set up with our local banker with internet access, ATM cards sent to your Australian address so you can access your money in Australia.

Billpay payment facility where you can pay contractors and property managers money from your online…

Freckle,

I think the resource play has more than 5 years in it.

US are looking to over take Qatar as number #1 exporter by 2016.

New type of "horizontal fracking" drilling is unlocking huge deposits in Shale areas that the so called "Peak Oil" experts didn't account with their "running out Oil" predictions in the late 2000s.

If managed well by…[Read more]

3 months on, finance approval seems to move slowly. 

Have spoken to a couple of brokers and they are witnessing domestic application volume increasing which is making some brokers less motivated to work with foreigners when there is so much domestic demand coming through their doors.

Still possible but we need to be a little bit more…[Read more]

Hi Stu,

Nigel is correct.

You would file a 2012 US TAX Return (financial year ending December 31st 2012)

Then in 2013 June 30th you would file your AUS TAX Return.

Your Australian accountant will need a copy of your 2012 US TAX Return to add this "Foreign Income/Deductions/Tax Paid" onto your 2013 June 30th AUS TAX Return.

Generally speaking,…[Read more]

Exactly Jay, very tough to do from afar if you don't have a competent management/agent in place on the ground who has your best interests at heart. Hard to find and you can really only rely on testimonials of people who have done it from afar before and how they did it and who they used.

Like the old Warren Buffet quote:

"It’s far better to buy…[Read more]

Texas & Georgia surely becoming tight.

Interesting point Jay and Freckle make about the Hedge Funds underestimating vacancies, maintenance and property management headaches.

I have seen a couple of management companies crumble as a consequence of funds pushing too many properties on their books and they were severely under staffed.

Sure, every…[Read more]

Hi Jay Sizzle,

It is hard for me to trust an agent from now on, after I had put in an offer only to find out later the offer was never presented to the owner and the home sold for 10K less than what I was offering. The agent was pregnant and she may have just wanted to close out a quick transaction.

So from my experience, I think sometime you…[Read more]

Hi Jotham,

Fair point you make. How rude of me not to introduce myself and the reasoning behind my hot air statement.

I own properties in both the US and Australia. My US portfolio is doing way better than my Australian one.

I am speaking from a bit of US property experience as I manage my portfolio from Melbourne and also manage a large…[Read more]

Confirms what we are experiencing on the ground Sam. More bids are needed to be put in to get the same results. Hedge Funds are bidding 20K over listings prices in some markets and am noticing more people at auctions and more out of town people inspecting properties. Now that the trend is our friend, lending is easing, investors will now start…[Read more]

CBA offered a .5% discount to the current variable 2 years ago. Rolled out a huge marketing campaign behind it.

Something was fishy back then, and they obviously saw rates heading lower.

I don't feel we are at the bottom with interest rates yet and they obviously are betting on rates to move lower in the short term, but, I agree with Jamie M on…[Read more]

Hi Bunjie,

Better cashflow opportunity in America in my opinion. 

Gross Yields of 20%

Interest Rates at historical lows

Prices are at 1979 levels inflation adjusted

US market is already showing strong signs of recovery. The bottom was February 2012 and on its way back up

Hi Radicals,

Are you chasing cash flow? Or growth property? Growth property will obviously require you to keep up with interest payments and a lot more stress to holding a job and not over extending yourself. With cash flow property, the property pays for itself and can be a great way to start your portfolio.

Remember, you can only buy as much…[Read more]

Hi intrigue,

From my understanding it is when you get paid the income. So I would invoice to get paid for July.

You would be better off delaying payment until July. Save you a full year of tax accountant fees etc.

Looks great on paper… So much land, so much short term demand for housing…But how do you know when supply catches up with supply and slows down?

And once that happens, what other industries can that local economy currently support outside of the oil & gas industry. Can these other industries absorb all of those jobs if oil & gas slows…[Read more]

Hi Sbarka,

Apologies but I can't help with the Canadian Australian connection I am sorry.

Might be best to approach a larger firm, but you will pay for the advice.

Peter is a good man. Have worked with him before. Attention to detail and very professional!!!

Great to see a change in focus for you Peter!!

anyone can buy property in the US. That is the easy part. The hard part is aligning yourself with a trust worthy entity or individual who can manage the renovation, rental advertising, property management. Instead of looking for the needle in the haystack that might be a great deal, there are so many other factors that are crucial to making that 1…[Read more]

Agree. Billpay (send electronic check) can be frustrating having to send checks all over the country but it is the only way for most foreigners to pay your manager or contract worker.

To bring money back to Australia, you can send a billpay check to your currency provider, and then they credit the money back into your account. The most effective…[Read more]

Sundirt,

LVR is lower and interest rates are higher for foreigners due to the higher risk the lender would be exposed to. The foreigner would have no-recourse on that mortgage and no way for the bank to go after assets or funds if that foreigner defaulted on payments. 

You need to be dealing with 500K plus in assets to have any negotiating power…[Read more]

Interesting post this one.

Here is what I did 4 years ago when I purchased my first US property in Phoenix, Arizona.

Studied the Macro economics of America and what industries and economic trends were developing. (This is very important! Detroit looks great on paper, but when you dig a little deeper……not so great)

Decided to target Phoenix…[Read more]