Further to the above recommendation, give Terry a call, Terry has provided input on this forum for years and I know him personally,and refer work to him.
He is a lawyer, a planner and a tax specialist, so he is a well rounded individual.

Cheers, Ivan

Thats funny Engelo – I send that ebook to clients (with Jay’s permission). He was chatting to one ofmy clients yesterday I believe.

Its a few years old but the same principles apply from slumlords, to Guru’s to bloody spruikers (of which many have disappeared but enough there to continue ripping people off).

Jay mentioned that he has been working with you and making big strides in the right direction which is great.

I encourage anyone investing in the States to chat to people on the ground preferrably with a online reputation – the three that come to mind here are Nigel Jay and Engelo – who I know will help people dig people out of a hole. And believe me there are a lot of holes…..

Cheers Ivan

Hi Stumpie, Nigel has a team on the ground in Florida, he may actually be there now or in the next week or so, and his business partner is based in florida.

What are looking to do? Nigel definitely has great contacts on the ground from his partner, to PMs and multiple accountants/ attorneys, so reach out to him in the first instance to assess your strategy.

There are great opportunities in Florida (don’t scratch your head over the declining Exchange rate), Nigel will definitely be of assistance particularly as he is there now or in the next week.

Cheers, Ivan

Hi Brett,

Welcome – capital gain and cash flow well thats the golden question isn’t it!

We are seeing significant investment in Atlanta, Athens Georgia. Also a heap in Florida and TX. But this investment depends on your structure in AUS (i.e personal v SMSF) and also your investment strategy which may be quality v quantity. For instance you will find the average price in TX higher than Georgia, thats Quality v Quantity. The AUD v USD is definitely having an impact on demand and rightly so, but real due diligence will have an impact on a good investment in the long term.

All of the above will determine the answer to your question on what is a reliable market in the USA.

Cheers Ivan

Hi Lotte – I know quite a few people on the ground that can assist you, but in the meantime reach out to Engelo who works in the area – he may have a yellow ladder story to assist you :)

Cheers Ivan

Hi Sam –

Trust all is well.

Before you engage a property agent – you need to consider your strategy and determine whether property is right for you (after understanding the risks and benefits of an SMSF).

Investing interstate is risky – I have seen some success stories and many and I mean many horror stories.

I guess I would like to say – before you invest interstate – take a deep breath – do some due diligence on the relevant markets (including your local market) to determine what is right for you. This can take one day – one month or even a year, but this is your retirement.

Personally – with many Melbourne clients investing in QLD – I have seen many properties comes in less than purchase price, with the SMSF covering the difference, this was due to a couple of errors:
1. Trusting the wrong person
2. lack of due diligence/ independent opinion.

You will need to also consider how you will pay for buyer agent and the tax treatment and ensure they are qualified. In order to ‘recommend’ a property in an SMSF – the person/ organisation must be licensed – that is they must be a authorised rep of an AFSL Holder or an AFSL Holder – if not, they are breaking the law – refer to Park Trent.

Let us know how you go and all the best.

Cheers, Ivan

Sound advice Jay and welcome back, great to hear your impartial and expert advice on the topic – I am sure Freedom and other potential investors take this on board.

I am increasing confused at the ‘trust’ that Australian investors place on the US Promoters, throwing thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hand of the promoter without even performing a google search on the promoter OR the actual property. Flipping can end in disaster in many ways – from stealing your hard earned cash to poor quality finishing.

Read Jays book too…

Cheers, Ivan

Don’t give them a backlink please you can find them through a google search – make a dummy enquiry and they will hound you non-stop.

Got a selfie pic from one of my clients who is in Vegas at the moment on one of their conferences – she has not learnt a thing.

Again – people choose to pay these ridiculous amounts, me – I just don’t get it.

Hi there,

Off the plan and Independent Buyer Agent – thats humerous. OTP is driven by commisions – agents are severely blinded by the comms and for me i’m seeing this ripe in brissie. Not seeing many good options in the apartment market at all.

Cheers, Ivan

G’day Humungus,

Thanks for your input – greatly appreciated. Who did you use to set up your LLC or did you do it yourself?

We do alot of SMSF investments in the US and the LLC is especially important for Compliance as well as US tax considerations. We have a legal firm in the states to set it up and the process for SMSF Compliance is different depending on whether the property is a cash purchase or finance as compared to Non-smsf purchases. Again, consideration of local laws and taxes is important also and finding a good CPA is a problem.

In terms of opening bank accounts, we have found this extremely easy without the client being there in person (my preference is that they are there in person), however, for SMSFs the account should be with an ADI which limits your options. Otherwise you can use a FX provider to wire your rent back if permitted which reduces the risk of non-compliance however FX fees will add up over time.

Cheers, Ivan