Hi Lawsjs,Thanks for your posting. <moderator: delete personal comment>I would even suggest one step further then checking on Zillow……do yourself a favour and spend a few hundred dollars on a proper appaisal (valuation)…..zillow does have faults in it's methodology but gives you an idea.

Hi Stuart,I suggest that you contact James Simango at http://www.USTaxCentral.com James is a US & Aust CPA and can give you advice from both the US side of affairs and how it impacts on you in Australia.

Hi Streamline,If it's of any use…..if you have a Florida based LLC… I have a person at Wachovia in Florida who will open both a business account (for the LLC) and a personal account (for you) if needed. All done pretty easily without you having to leave Australia.PM me & I'll pass on the contact details.

Charles 1 wrote:
Interesting article in Property Update yesterday on investing in the USA.

http://propertyupdate.com.au/articles/is-the-investment-grass-really-greener-in-the-us.html

Read it and take out of it what you will. There are always different opinions on how and where to invest

Interesting that this sounds like a recent article from…[Read more]

To all those posters to this thread who have given praise to MyUSAProperty………I am not questioning the level of their service or their promptness to answering questions you have or even their level of expertise and knowledge…..we get it….they have given you great service. What I'd like to ask you is did you get your own independant…[Read more]

To all those posters who have been so glowing in their reports of MyUSAProperty……..nobody is questioning their "service" or their "skills, knowledge & expertise" in assisting you to invest in the USA real estate market…..what I am questioning is the property and the prices they sell them to you for. Has anybody even bothered to get their own…[Read more]

Hey Rick,

How are your 3x purchases going in KC through MyUSAProperty ? Your last post you were nearly over the line with the finance

Spyglass…The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices originated in the 1980s by Case Shiller Weiss's research principals, Karl E. Case and Robert J. Shiller. At the time, Case and Shiller developed the repeat sales pricing technique. This methodology is recognized as the most reliable means to measure housing price movements and is used by other…[Read more]

Hi Husky & Michael,Yes you are correct. This forum does have it's share of people trying to sell you something and you would be amazed (or perhaps not) at some of the connections when recommendations come into it.  I have already expressed my opinions on all of the so called "buyers agents" that operate from Australia selling US real estate. I…[Read more]

Husky,Maybe to help you narrow down the search you can look at where NOT to invest. Some new data came out today from the S&P/Case Shiller House Price index which is a monthly report. The latest stat's are for the month of November and most are starting to predict a double dip in home prices which should be confirmed by their spring time. You can…[Read more]

Hi Levitt_Two,

You state that you are new to property investment ?? A couple of tips from my perspective…

1. Be VERY careful investing in the LV market…..there are some very bad area’s and without knowing exactly where your talking about…the price point you mention may give you some indications. Some area’s are riddled with crime and huge…[Read more]

Treasure Hunter wrote:
Hi Speedy,

Thanks for sharing your clear thinking on your approach.

I gather from some of your other posts that you concluded that Texas works for you. I understand their local economy is (relatively) strong and unemployment is lower. But it also appears that Texas never had the property value plummet that Florida,…[Read more]

I agree with you White Goodman,

It’s all in the numbers…..not in the spin. My USA property don’t mind reminding you of the fact when comparing Australian property to USA property….it’s part of their sales spiel. They tell you the amazing fact that when “you pay stamp duty on an average Aussie property in Victoria of $450,000-00 you pay…[Read more]

Hi Sav,

Do you mind if I ask “why” are you specifically interested in Miami or Las Vegas ? It’s a question I have been meaning to ask many posters on the forums as to what made them invest in a particular city. What or who lead you to the decision so early on in your investigative stages of USA investing to isolate it between two cites already.…[Read more]

Sav,

If the property and rental income is located in the USA then you must lodge tax returns with the IRS. The owner will claim expenses against earning the rental income including building depreciation on your US tax return.

You will also complete the tax returns in Australia like normal (as an Aussie taxpayer you need to declare worldwide…[Read more]

Me again Klimmy,

I just looked back over your posts and noticed that earlier posts you went via HSBC to open up an account in the USA so you will need to check with them direct to see if you can build your credit score here

Hi Klimmy,

What you have opened is a USD$ account with HSBC Bank in Australia which will not build you a credit score in the USA.

Hi Want2Invest

The above post from cmason is 100% correct. By refinancing and transferring the debt to the IP….nothing is achieved. It’s not what secures the loan which determines the tax deductibility…it’s the purpose and in this case the ATO would determine the purpose as personal and not deductible.

Investigate either a)the option of…[Read more]

Hi Zads….welcome aboard.

First of all I know nothing about Brisol Tennessee….other then what I just read on Zillow.com .

You mentioned you have no equity in a house…..do you have any savings to contribute at all ? You will find it very difficult to find any lender willing to lend you money for a foreclosed property in the value of…[Read more]

Thanks for your replies Eric,

I can appreciate Phoenix as I used to work there in 2001-2004 in the real estate industry. I still have many friends and contacts from that time….one is involved in shortsales in Phoenix…..could put you in touch with him if you PM me.