bigfirerichie wrote:
On recent trip to US I opened a new account with Charles Schwab bank.

Couldn’t do it on line as I don’t have a US drivers license. Managed to work around it (I thought) by attending branch in person.

Opened account with $10, even got my first statement, and started to organize payments, rent etc to move from Wells Fargo…[Read more]

I would definitely rent in northern beaches and rent out the Umina place, I assume the rent received from Umina would almost cover the rent you pay in the northern beaches? If not, then I am sure with the tax benefits you would hopefully get close to it?

As for reinvesting the 150k you have, there are a whole bunch of scenarios that the future…[Read more]

kat13 wrote:
Interested in the spreadsheets streamlineinvesting – are you able to message me your email or something?

you were not accepting emails, but below is my email, feel free to contact me

streamlineinvesting@gmail.com

http://www.esuperfund.com.au/

I think these guys are pretty much as low budget as you can get when setting up your SMSF. The fees and whatnot make it more attractive if you only have $60k or so to invest with, compared with the $200k that you mentioned earlier.

I will be honest, I personally have not looked into these guys, at this stage I do…[Read more]

It is getting very difficult to find cash flow positive property in Australia, however note I am saying difficult, not impossible. There is still plenty of oppurtunities out there. The strategies that Steve outlines in his books are probably as good as any when you are hoping for a ‘formula’ for success.

In my opinion, the better oppurtunities I…[Read more]

I know it can seem a bit daunting to try and save enough for a deposit. I believe you should ideally try and save 20% of a deposit, one reason to avoid lenders insurance, and also because by doing so you should have enough equity in the property for future investments.

But with the median house price possibly around $400,000 in most areas, it is…[Read more]

I have developed a fair few spreadsheets regarding property investing, buying verse renting was a spreadsheet I made, I could offer you a copy if you wish? However I feel it may not work perfectly in your situation.

I would be happy to develop a custom one for you though, I enjoy a challenge and like to try and develop a database of spreadsheets…[Read more]

I have noticed that banks in the US seem to be so far behind the times it is really not funny. They do not seem to believe much in customer service, they have a love affection with cheques still. I really hope they do improve the systems over the next few years because they really are behind the rest of the world.

When we purchased property in the US, obviously financial fluctuations played a big part in it, we were hoping to be able to get US dollars while it was weak so it would be another way to make profit.

But at the end of the day, we just figured in the long term, we should be satisifed with anything over parity, so obviously around 1AUD = 1.07 USD…[Read more]

bigfirerichie wrote:
Currently in Arizona. They won't notorise a document here for an Australian in case I'm a Mexican! Not just the banks that are backward! I set up a us bank account from Australia through HSBC, cost $200, but can be done. Never used it though as there was no branch in Vegas. Waste of 200 big ones. Signed up with wells Fargo…[Read more]

From my experience I think it is very unlikely to be able to make money building a 'dream home'That being said, I do have a plan one day to purchase a large acreage out in the country, and build my perfect home just as I want it, I am not doing this to make money however, I am doing this to enjoy my life and live in the exact home that I want to.…[Read more]

I have seen this effect with my investments currently in Florida. Countless times we would offer up to $5,000 over the asking price, typically for a $50,000 property, so 10% over the asking price, only to see us get out bidded, was never sure how many other people were going for the property, or what the final price was, all we knew that it was…[Read more]

worldinvestor wrote:
Just emailed the contact, however this will only be useful if you are looking at Atlanta.Also, if you are using a lawyer to set up your LLCs they can set up your bank account, EIN etc.CheersWI

Thanks very much WI. We’ve struggled to open a US bank account for over a year now. We actually had one open and then the bank…[Read more]

Great idea, we’re signed up. We’ve just had our first offer on a property accepted so excited to finally enter the market.

worldinvestor wrote:
I set up personal bank account  when I was in Atlanta.My lawyer set up my bank account for my first LLC. I have since opened several bank accounts for various LLCs myself from Australia, I have a contact person, happy to pass this info on if interested.I am with Wells Fargo, I must say I think the US systems are miles b…[Read more]

Hi Engelo,Great thread mate. Definitely keep the posts coming!I have a few questions as I live in Sydney and am thinking about undertaking a similar project. To give you some background, my mate and I are working full-time as engineers and have been looking at purchasing a property in the US for the last year or so. This is harder to do than it…[Read more]

I guess there are a few things to worry about, mostly just unexpected ones so it would be nice to have some sort of agreement in place so there was no confusion abou the unexpected.Was sort of thinking that instead of just giving him so much, whatever money we saved we would put towards a holiday for something (we are going on a mountain climbing…[Read more]

You shouldn't need an LLC, all you need is the EIN and this should help you get a bank account. ITIN is for an individual only and seeing as you only have a company set up over there, there is no need for an ITIN. Luckily too because that form looked very involved and aparently can take a long time to get approved. EIN is relatively quick.

Sorry I made the mistake in my initial thing by not including capital gains in the property example. I guess the return for stocks would need to be GROSS returns of 9% not net returns. I do not think property is that bad in towns like Tamworth, most likely the capital gains may not rival big cities, but it does not mean they still cannot increase.…[Read more]

I was having a bit of a look at the numbers and comparing what sort of return you might need if you did invest in shares. Firstly the assumptions:* Interest Rate of 7.0%* Initial Net Rent of $610 a month (gross was $910)* Capital Appreciation of 2%* Rental Appreciation of 2%After 10 years, property value was $158,500. Principal still owing would…[Read more]