As Terry said, generally you need to be FBAA or MFAA qualified to practice and also join an aggregator. The numbers are swayed to FBAA who have less stringent joining requirements than MFAA. Also, you need experience up front plus be a ACL or authorised representative of an ACL.

In summary, its not as simple as it sounds. If not done already enrol in Kaplans Cert IV which will be the starting point then start the process of what else you need i.e AML, prof indemnity, aggregator, staff etc

Cheers

Engelo – you know me – my secret is easy. call me

Ivan

CharlieX wrote:

hello everyone,
this looks like the right section of the forum to put up my post.

we have setup an LLC in Nevada last year to invest in properties in America, but we have run into dead end trying to get a bank account setup in America. I am an American citizen who has lived in Australia for the last twelve years and my business partner is an Australian citizen, the bank people in Australia and America said we can open the bank account in my name but I have to go back to America to be present to open the bank account. We want the bank account to be in the name of the LLC company, not in our personal names. Does any one on here know how to open a bank account in the company’s name, without having to go to America? Also once the bank account is open, is there any limit to the amount of money you can send from Australia to buy American properties? and what is the most cost effective ways to flow the money between America and Australia?

any advise is appreciated. Thank you

Hi there,

Yes you can open a bank account in the states without actually going there.

Over the last 24 months, we have been performing a significant amount of structures in the states for SMSF and non-SMSF. Part of this was dealing with incompetent attorneys in the states setting up LLC and bank accounts for us, only to see they set it up incorrectly, i.e wrong name, incorrect managing member etc.

As a result, Redwood now offers LLC set up and bank account set ups for Aussies looking to invest in the states.

It is quite simple, I would include the process for those interested in a separate post but it is bloody easy.

The bank account can be set up in individual or LLC name, you will need 100 points of ID plus OA & EIN for LLC. Otherwise it can be done from Oz without travelling there. Set up fees are quite cheap to.

Hope that helps!

Cheers Ivan

I have a list of accountants we use, I am a US CPA but don’t practice.

Please contact me for the list.

Cheers Ivan

Hi there, I know US Invest and American Property Partners personally, what do you need?

Cheers Ivan

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I know the US very well – in fact very very well, I am not a promoter but know most of the US sellers – I am independent – ask anyone they know. I have lived in the states, invested there successfully, and have over 150 clients investing in the states.

Unfortunately I have also seen the property gurus kill Aussie’s investors with ‘cheap as chips’ real estate- Detroit was prime for this. That is not a reflection on you however its known that the many ‘gurus’ that were on the site are no longer here due to ripping off Aussie investors. Detroit was a place promoted 2009-2011 – didn’t work out well generally speaking. Not many promoting there now.

Objectively, your starting out, my first question to anyone on the due diligence checklist is what is you track record of success? Any investor will ask you before investing in a flip (I assume thats what you are doing?) – how many flips have you done and what was the cost of rehab and return for the investor?

You may have someone on the ground but generally people want more. I would want people to ask that question.

You mention that Detroit property outperfoms Australian property any day.I disagree strongly with this statement. Detroit has been a dud for a long time. Please show me a real life example of this. They are different markets, In Australia you can achieve capital growth and yield, neither of these have been achieved successfully in Detroit.

Further, in popular markets such as Atlanta, Memphis Houston and Orlando people are struggling to generate a strong yield due to many factors, and worsened by the decreasing exchange rate. Promoters are under real pressure and less Aussies are looking at the USA now to invest – numbers are down.

If you provide an example of your properties in detroit for an aussie investor, Please take into account the FX effect, tenants potentially trashing your house, vacancy rate, rehab costs etc. Detroit for me, based on experience, is not a place that will bring long term yield. Further acquisition costs including structures and buyers fees. If you disclose location, please provide analysis of crime rates and schools.

I noticed on your site, you had no listings, I know detroit fairly well, inner city has limited opportunities, I always consider schools and crime rates in due diligence – thats where detroit fails over the course of the last 5 years.

‘Greater’ Detroit does have opportunities as many Detroit residents moved out of the city.

I don’t think the banks will pull the trigger on Detroit, they have been there.

Look forward to hearing more from you.

There is a bloke on here operating from Ohio – Engelo, seems his decisions to go there are working but detroit for me is a no-go.

P.S I love the people of Detroit, maybe 97% of people have a gun license, but they are great people.

Cheers and all the best

Ivan

Good initiative Jay – Will be interesting to see some reviews of the firms we know – if you know what I mean.

Engelo – get your firm on there bud.

You cannot transfer a residential property into a sMSF, however you can transfer ‘business real property’ into a SMSF, there are some loopholes here under the defn of BRP, however you will need legal/ accounting advice to look into this further.

Generally speaking, many people transfer a commercial property such as office/ factory into an smsf, however there are others included – refer SMSFR2009/1 (http://law.ato.gov.au/atolaw/view.htm?docid=SFR/SMSFR20091/NAT/ATO/00001)

Cheers, Ivan

Hi there,

Broadmeadows still is cheap – and for good reason. Most areas will have a crime here and there and that should not be the main influencer for you. My issue with Broady is infrastructure. There has not been a large deal, train station and surrounds still looks like crap and not a huge amount of development. For schooling, there is a tick as there is a large islamic school there. What are you concerns around demographic?

Are you in Melbourne? if you are not I suggest you visit the area in person, not much to be impressed by in looks but, for yield yes, but not sure about capital growth.

Cheers, Ivan

Hi mate –

being in a building family, I am lucky that I don’t have to do this, we have a good team that I just call and they get a quality job done and at a fair price.

Depending on the type of job – haggling will be a waste of time, if you need a handyman, by all means just google a tradie and get some quotes, however, if you need a reliable sparky or plumber then try to get a mate in the industry to recommend one. At the end of the job, pay them and offer them a VB that will help. Like Corey said, don’t piss them off.

Don’t do the cash thing – if its an IP, you can claim it, so get a invoice with GST. Warranties arnt a huge issue with small jobs.

Good luck

Ivan