I am up to my neck in the reality of management right now; I'm in LA fixing up the last 3 months worth of spot fires. Gross yields are nothing but pie in the sky and net yields mean less than stuff all unless you are talking over 2-3 years. And even then I don't trust what I see on paper. I could give you a 60% cap on the 'right' property over…[Read more]

jayhinrichs wrote:
Buying OZ company that is ASIC approved Like buying shell Corp in us

Jay – fantastic you are going that route. I believe technically what you are doing is buying an AU company. ALL Au companies are considered compliant (therefore ASIC approved) until they do something wrong. From my discussions with them over some of the…[Read more]

We used to have a constant tree root problem with one drain in Australia. One plumber eventually came up with the cure. He put lime around the pipe and it stopped the roots forever.I don't have an issue with PM's taking a markup, its the amount of the markup I have a problem with. I have seen 100% markups, and even some a little more than that.…[Read more]

John – thanks for the insight. I have issues with the Taliban on several fronts, not the least of which is that. No-one will ever understand how frustrating that simple thing has been for me – and seriously expensive.

Alex, not insulting the US per se, just the people that work in ridiculous systems day after day and know they are stupid but keep…[Read more]

No A/C in LA… Although painting the entire outside of a 4u would probably add a bit. Emma is the Oracle on rehabs – she always thinks _I_ overpay, I think I am mean…

I gutted and rebuilt a 4u for $15k – that seems very high.

It seems if you are effectively breaking so many laws anyway it doesnt really matter – whats one more between friends? Working on this in a parallel universe. Why (in part) I have asked for rip off stories. Facts are needed to combat this, at the moment there is really no protection for either the consumer or the licences and careers of legitimate…[Read more]

I am too Alex. I think it is probably fear and embarrassment. Neither of which are warranted – this is not about looking a fool. These schemes were designed to deceive.

OK well here is a start. How would anyone feel about paying way over the odds for a property and finding out that even after paying enough for two (with markups etc) you don’t…[Read more]

DHCP wrote:
Usually, here the collection is done electronically (e.g., bank to bank payment)

Sounds so simple doesn’t it. In the US you are relying on two of the most backward archaic and simply dreadful systems it has been my misfortune to suffer under. US Post (anyone else’s mail get sent to Austria like mine frequently does?) and the US…[Read more]

Thanks for the response, but there are plenty of posts regarding advice. Please refrain from advertorials, there are people seriously out to help genuine buyers who have fallen foul of australian marketeers on the edge of the law. They are looking for people who have lost money to tell their story to try to get some positive action.

There is no…[Read more]

Simple. Change the name.

Why would you choose someone else’s name? Your friends company name?

What were you thinking? Explain to me what was the point? I just don’t get it….

My sister has been operating with the name ‘SelectUSA’ for more than 10 years.

Emma has been buying her own income property in the US (she owns property in several states) and has done since 2000. Because of the advice she was giving and requests for help she got, she started her buyers agency. She has been doing this now for the last 2 years or…[Read more]

We know there are many people out there who have been burnt (or about to be) badly.

It takes a brave person to stand up and tell it like it is (or was) for them, but I have been asked by a third party who wants to ‘out’ the rip off guys if they might be prepared to give their versions of what happened.

There is chance (albeit slim) that if…[Read more]

Jay,
Once again a really fascinating post. You have outdone yourself again.

Alex, I can only speak second hand for LV (I don’t own anything there, my sister does) but there are solid gains occurring. She started buying houses for $30-40k 2-3 years ago and those ones are now around the $60-70k mark. Not huge gains, but decent percentage returns.…[Read more]

Personally I would suspect you would get a better return at the Casino. The US is not under any circumstances a place to ‘invest’ in real property with $28k when you live 7-8,000 miles away. Airfares alone will chew up a large percentage of that and if you aren’t spending time there I can promise you it will not work out – unless you have very…[Read more]

Thanks Jay, I really appreciated that background. Especially the (what I thought was ludicrous) need for thumb print Notarising. Very grateful to you for sharing that. Invaluable info.

My sister on LV foreclosures gets 50% down 8% I/O – as a buyers agent her clients net 16%+ so thats OK. However, I just got refi’d on a comm building 4.15% 30y 70% L/V – Wachovia. Trick was on the comm building they wanted evidence of 6 months payments in seasoned money up front… Having passed that test (which even I was surprised I could) I am…[Read more]

jayhinrichs wrote:
ONE THING TOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK IS THAT 50% OF ALL US FORECLOSURES COME FROM LANDLORDS THAT GAVE UP AND WALKED AWAY FROM THE PROPERTY. AFTER DUMPING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD THEY FINALLY GIVE UP AND LET THE BANK TAKE THE PROPERTIES.

And that is rolled gold US RE advice right there.

JOHNBEC wrote:
i have found some great property managment  eventually . 

Hope it stays that way:) I know people who have been able to say that every 3-6 months or so:)

GREAT post Speedy, particularly:

speedy gonzales wrote:
I don't care if the investment is $25,000-00 or less your making…..get on a freakin plane folks and see where your money is going. If you can't afford the airfares or the time off work…….don't bother trying to think of it as an investment…your kidding yourself. Save yourself the…[Read more]