Forum Replies Created
Vicky,
The hats off comment we welcome and understand but to follow with " but are too scared, lazy, busy, or stupid. M & B remember may be 'now living' in Atlanta, for how long and on what sort of visa I'd like to know, but they are not locals, they have no history of the place, past or current and are being led around by realtors" – this is just not required.
Thank you for also confirming the population of 5,729,304 as it takes into account the larger city boundaries. Atlanta Metro is what makes up the city as a whole.
We were rubbed the wrong way and certainly do not deserve to be. We work very hard to help people where no one else is.
Sapphire, These forums are designed with the intention of investors being able to share information and help each other because not every knows everything. Although everyone is entitled to their own opinion your post has done nothing beneficial to help anyone in anyway. I think everyone is aware of the risks and potential reward of investing in America and are looking for quality support. Your post has achieved nothing but slamming us, buyers agents and even the investors themselves who are working hard to try and get ahead in the world. Are you saying that we should all pack up and go home and not invest anywhere but the city we were born or into coal mining towns or Brisbane because we are not locals? What an absurd idea. Have you not invested anywhere because you are not a local. Michael and I have spent the majority of our adult lives moving to areas after we have done our research and lived in each area up to a year working on our projects. We have a portfolio of over 20 properties in Australia and all we do is live off our portfolio. We charge a very minimum fee that basically covers our time to assist people like us investing in high yielding property in America while we continue to build our own portfolio. Atlanta by the way has 5.2 million people. Inner city Atlanta which is probably what you are looking at for your stats has about half a million. Atlanta Greater Metro Area is made up of multiple regional areas (cities) which in Australia are referred to as suburbs. We cover greater Atlanta to cater to the differing requirements of our investors and if you had done any due diligence on us, Atlanta or the services we provide you would know this. Is it your intention to make us look ridiculous with your unfounded comments or yourself? Please see Wikipedia info below which you can trace back to the original sources. As of July 2006, the Atlanta metropolitan area had an estimated population of 5,138,223.[6] According to a 2000 daytime population estimate by the Census Bureau,[11] over 250,000 more people commuted to Atlanta on any given workday, boosting the city's estimated daytime population to 676,431. This is an increase of 62.4% over Atlanta's resident population, making it the largest gain in daytime population in the country among cities with fewer than 500,000 residents.According to census estimates, Metropolitan Atlanta is the fastest growing area in the nation since 2000 by numerical increase.[12] Courtesy Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Atlanta How long may I ask do you think people should come over to Atlanta to work it out whilst having a little holiday. A weekend, a week, a fortnight. How long do most people have for holidays? Does that mean they should miss out on the opportunity because they have other commitments or do not have the time? If we put you in the middle of Sydney how long do you think the process would take to work out where to invest. People would come over here and do it all themselves if they could. I would reason that buyers agents have their place and that it is not achievable over “a little holiday”. One of our clients is a fire-fighter should he tell you to try and put out the fire on your house or would you leave it up to him as a professional. Property investing is the same situation. Our clients engage us as professionals to assist in this area. In regards to your comments on us being lead around by real estate agents – we have hired an agent who solely works for us and sits in an office placing offers to the banks who does not recommend any properties to us. We drive around all day looking at properties we have found not recommended by any agents. Please do not comment on how we do business as you know nothing about us or have made any effort to contact us. Please don’t slander us if you don’t know or are willing to make the effort to understand the correct situation. We spend a great deal of time going through deals we have found and culling a lot of what we personally would not be comfortable in buying before we offer the opportunity out to investors. We consider area, return, the amount of work required to bring the property up to a desirable tenant standard. We walk away from a lot of opportunities that our investors never see because of the due diligence we do on each property. It is easy to slam others who are doing what they can to help each other. It is far more difficult to offer constructive criticism to aide and assist those having a go. We wish you the best in your endeavours. Michael and Bronwyn
markgts wrote:Ive been reading this forum for quite some time now and I can see that investing in the US at the moment is a great opportunity. Ive got a good cash reserve and strong cashflow, but im pretty time poor so I would probably rather use the services of someone over here to help me purchase the properties over there. There seems to be plenty of buyers agents and the likes plugging themselves through these forums – but I haven't seen anyone comment on using any of these guys. Has anyone out there used any of these guys services yet and are you hapy or unhappy with the result to date?Mike here,
We were initially headed over the US to buy property for ourselves but we encountered lots fo people like yourself that we set up a buyers agency to facilitate Aussies buying US real estate.
We now live in Atlanta – check out or blog http://www.usaforeclosures.blogspot.com
Also we have put our most recent few purchases for clients on Youtube as it is the easiest way for clients and other people interested to see the properties. Have a look – links below.
Final offer Inspection1) 5461 Northcutt Dr – A property going through the final bid stage with the bank. Fantastic looking property – hopefully we can offer it for investor purchase early next week.Pre Purchase inspection2) 2384 Hackamore Drive 30349. A new Prospective Property Purchase – currently negotiating with the bank around the $45,000 mark.Pre Settlement Inspection3) 1601 Jonesboro – A property we settle on early next week for a client for $42,000. This is a great looking property that will rent for apprx 1200 pm. We met with the property manager the other day who is quiet confident in securing a stable tenant.Pre Renovation Inspection4) 3238 Kiowa Ct, Rex 30273 – A massive property which was built 1997 and needs some love and attention to bring it back to its former glory. Purchased for $35,500. A monster of a property in a quiet, secure suburban neighborhood sure to appreciate well.So as you can see from the initial offer stage right through to tenancy we are on the ground at the properties making sure all goes according to plan, from bid to build and property management – we are there. Sleeping little but having a ball.I hope this helps people on the forum begin to see what all this is about – Let us know your thoughts and how we can help with your next investment.Guys,
I would recommend Elite Property Management in Atlanta – they are doing great work for us so far.
No complaints to date but only time will tell.
chriscarman wrote:Hi – i have been researching the pro's and con's of investing in the USA for the last 8 months or so and have a couple of areas in the USA that i particularly like.I have been very interested to read all of Michaels posts, enough that i sent him an email as per the request in his blog etc…
Michael i know you are busy over in the USA making money, but do you reply to your emails? hehe
Chris,
Sorry mate – I didn't receive your email. Please use [email protected] sas it pops up on my blackberry straight away and I can reply.
Also anyone else who wishes to contact me please email me directly or give myself or my partner a call. We are leaving for the US in 2 weeks and have almost reached our maximum client capacity so if you wish to be a part or just have any questions, please feel free to call me on 0412 509 995 or Bronwyn on 0413 55 77 54.
tonyy21692 wrote:Read this tread with a great deal of interest. And while reading it I have had a sense of seeing this all unfolding exactly the same 5 to 6 years ago on this and another property forum.Some of the old long time posters, who have been and done it in the US (they know who they are) have made some highly valuable comments in this thread but their message seems to have been missed in all the excitement.
So let me share some of my property investing insights into the USA with you.
An long time client of mine who was the CEO of a USA ship building company said to me, when you have business dealings in the US it is treated as a game. You are a player in that game and people will size you up quickly. If you are inexperienced you will be financially bled as quickly as possible.
This sounds dramatic but from my 6 years property investing in the US it is pretty on the mark. It applies to almost everyone you will come in contact with, from your buyer agent , property manager, attorney, the tenants, the welfare agencies, your mortgage broker (Richard excluded of course) , the guy who mows the grass / clears the snow from the sidewalk, your property neighbour, the power/gas company, your plumber, your electrician, your insurance broker, the local city inspector who fines you for having cracks in your driveway and right through to the city court judge who can turn a $75 fine into $7500 because the city / county is technically bankrupt and there is no downside what so ever to gouge a non resident foreign national……..
I guess the message is no matter how much Australian property investing experience you may have or thought you may have, it is a difference set of rules and culture when dealing in the US. So take care, pound the pavement yourself and dip your toe in carefully otherwise be prepared to have a 100% capital loss on your investment.Tony
Tony,
Thank you – valuable info. We have a very guarded view but now we are being even more cautious. We carry a cricket bat to most meetings with contractors here and now will be purchasing a baseball bat in the US for the same reason. The cricket and baseball bats are of course just metafors for our investing attitudes.
We play a very seriously in the Australian property market and do not intend to get taken for a ride in the US. I have taken all your warnings on board and we are off to live in the US for the next 2 years in order to protect our investments.
There is a huge opportunity over there and we are off to take advantage of it.
I agree that there is risk in the US market as in all property markets but we aim to mitigate this as yourself and other US investors have done and still do.
It sounds as though you have had a lot of trials and tribulations along the way with American property investments. It would be most fruitful to share this info on the issues you encountered and how you dealt with them. I am sure many people on this thread would appreciate the wealth of your and other seasoned US investors experiences.
Thanks again,
tonyy21692 wrote:Read this tread with a great deal of interest. And while reading it I have had a sense of seeing this all unfolding exactly the same 5 to 6 years ago on this and another property forum.Some of the old long time posters, who have been and done it in the US (they know who they are) have made some highly valuable comments in this thread but their message seems to have been missed in all the excitement.
So let me share some of my property investing insights into the USA with you.
An long time client of mine who was the CEO of a USA ship building company said to me, when you have business dealings in the US it is treated as a game. You are a player in that game and people will size you up quickly. If you are inexperienced you will be financially bled as quickly as possible.
This sounds dramatic but from my 6 years property investing in the US it is pretty on the mark. It applies to almost everyone you will come in contact with, from your buyer agent , property manager, attorney, the tenants, the welfare agencies, your mortgage broker (Richard excluded of course) , the guy who mows the grass / clears the snow from the sidewalk, your property neighbour, the power/gas company, your plumber, your electrician, your insurance broker, the local city inspector who fines you for having cracks in your driveway and right through to the city court judge who can turn a $75 fine into $7500 because the city / county is technically bankrupt and there is no downside what so ever to gouge a non resident foreign national……..
I guess the message is no matter how much Australian property investing experience you may have or thought you may have, it is a difference set of rules and culture when dealing in the US. So take care, pound the pavement yourself and dip your toe in carefully otherwise be prepared to have a 100% capital loss on your investment.Tony
Tony,
Thank you – valuable info. We have a very guarded view but now we are being even more cautious. We carry a cricket bat to most meetings with contractors here and now will be purchasing a baseball bat in the US for the same reason. The cricket and baseball bats are of course just metafors for our investing attitudes.
We play a very seriously in the Australian property market and do not intend to get taken for a ride in the US. I have taken all your warnings on board and we are off to live in the US for the next 2 years in order to protect our investments.
There is a huge opportunity over there and we are off to take advantage of it.
I agree that there is risk in the US market as in all property markets but we aim to mitigate this as yourself and other US investors have done and still do.
It sounds as though you have had a lot of trials and tribulations along the way with American property investments. It would be most fruitful to share this info on the issues you encountered and how you dealt with them. I am sure many people on this thread would appreciate the wealth of your and other seasoned US investors experiences.
Thanks again,
Luke, (world changer)
Our clients are good people who are looking for some assistance in US investing. They need people like us to work with them towards their goals. Most a very experienced property investors and reqire assistance in sourcing the deals.
We have invested a great deal of time, effort and expertise into these USA deals. They are good properties for good people. I know that you have your own and this is testimony to the legitimacy of the work we are doing.
Vincent is a very experienced buyers agent also and has people relying on him for good product.
We do value your comments and your concerns but do not fear as we have a good product and a fantastic team in the states.
Cheers,
Richard,
thank you for your reply.
I will chat to you tomorrow in more detail if that is OK.
You are in QLD it seems. Call you then.
jclimie wrote:Hi Michael,I'll follow your adventure with a lot of interest. I'm Australian but I'm actually based in Florida at the moment earning USD and am keen to get into the market. Due to my circumstances with work I will not have the chance to physically inspect properties until April, but when that time comes I plan to get stuck into it pretty hard. I'm trying to get pre-approvals at the moment. If you're planning to be in the area again in April, or if anybody else will be, and you're interested in meeting up or combining our effort get in touch.
Regards,
Jeremy.
Jeremy,
I will email you on your personal email. Very happy to help you get into the market.
Chat soon
[email protected]
+1 401 556 6524Qlds007 wrote:Hi HenrikWe finance a fair bit in Florida so if he is any good and you want to email his contact details to me I will try and give him a plug to my clients purchasing in the US.
Richard,
I have emailed you previously as i have many clients looking for finance in Georgia and Florida. Are you able to assist perhaps?
please call me on 0412 509 995 to discuss at your convenience.
thank you.
Svetko wrote:Hi Michael
im very interested in investing in this type of US property – was planning to go over again in march/april (after the best of the flyfishing season in NZ is done) to look at getting a number of properties – but if you are offering assistance in purchasing now i would be very interested. I have done a lot of business in the US over the years and have my own Delaware company but have never purchased private real estate there.Please let me know how i can work with you to get started.
kind regards
Steve Cuthbertson
Steve,
Lovely to think of the flying fish season in NZ – we are jelous.
Yes we are able to help in the mean time before you head over again. I have some excellent deals coming through for you to consider.
Please give me a call to discuss further on 0412 509 995 or drop me an email on [email protected] – love to help and much easier to talk rather than typing everything long hand.
Hope to hear from you soon.
bek_leigh wrote:HiBek again. Has anyone looked into commerial property in the States?
PS Michael – did you get my email?
Bek,
Sorry for my late reply, I have been taking a well deserved week off. We do have a fantastic solicitor and am searching for an accountant who will be able to assist with all aspects on US investments. I feel that there are many companies in Australia who will be able to assist with foreign income regulations. If we can be of any assistance with your queries please let us know.
Bronwyn does all our client relations and her number is 0413 55 77 54. Also please feel free to email me direct so I would like to offer you to be on our email list in order to keep you up to speed with all our US buyers info. You may also follow our progress on http://[email protected] if you prefer.
Henrick,
We are wholesale purchasers and offer our stock to some of the buyers agents in Australia. Vincent is a good agent and used one of our examples. The property is a short sale and is still on the market if you want it. Anyway – that is why the examples are the same.
I do advise that you do some homework on the west of NY. Most of the population growth in the US is predicted to be in the "sun belt" – southern states. Perhaps google "US population projections" there is some good info out there.
Sorry to hear about the scam – a good site for LLC set up is http://www.globesamerica.com
m e g s wrote:HI Micheal,I first read through your forum and blog yesterday and couldn't sleep last night, all a could think of was property!
I am young and starting out but I'm very keen on the idea of investing in the US(I have one investment property in Aust already).
Like most people, I think I'm trying to get a better understanding of "how"whilst still keeping an open mind about "where" in the states to invest.
I would be really interested if you could e-mail me: [email protected] (if you could include past e-mails this would be great).
Also I am thinking of buying 2 houses in the states…is this too big, too fast?thanks.
Meg,
Thank you for your post. I am more than happy to assist you through the process.
I will drop you am email with our blog info which will give you a bit more background understanding.
And 2 houses is a good start to USA investing.
Chat to you via email
tony carter wrote:I am very interested in this market as I am looking for cashflow.
My contracting business dose not generate enough for me to continue investing or pay for any extras
I have been looking at this market on and off for some years and there has never been a better time to get in.
But . Honesty, and interity seem to be at a premium.
So I will be watching this siteTony,
Don't worry – we can assist you through the hurdles of purchasing property with high income yield to supplement your contracting income. I would also advise you to have a look at our blog which has examples, lots of info and links to assist you learn quickly about the US property market. blog http://www.usaforeclosure.blogspot.com
I also am happy to offer to put you on the email list of prospective US property purchasers so you may begin to see how we work.
I think that we are the only people int eh industrie who have an ethical service form we offer people before helping them secure their own property. If i may email it to you I think you would be quite refreshed with the content. Please feel free to drop me an email at [email protected] if this may interest you.
mannyg wrote:Industrie Developments wrote:I have also been contacted directly by about 4 people per day, several each day request my assistance in securing them a good property in the south-western states of the US. I have decided to use my previous experience and expertise to set up a way for this to happen, especially after being disappointed after speaking to most of the buyers agents in the market place to date.
Hi Michael,
I'm not surprsied by the volume of interest you are recieving, the current situation will surely be a great opportunity for those with the available capital and right people assisting them. As my experience in property investment is limited, i will be very interested to hear how you percieve the situation "once on the ground". At the current time I am researching areas in the US that fit my perferences of low cost, high yield, low vacancy and stable (limited negative grwoth forecasts) property.
Cheers,
Manuel
Manuel,
Please have a read over my blog for more info http://www.usaforeclosures.blogspot.com There you will find many more usefull link and info to bring you up to speed.
I also have an email which goes out to our buyers group when we find out something new. Please drop me an email and I will ad you to this group. We provide a buyers service to people like yourself – some examples are on the blog of the type of property we find for people. I think you would be very interested. my email is [email protected]
Cheers and hope to chat to you again soon.
mannyg wrote:Michael,Good to see you making some progress over the last few months. With the small amount of research i have done there are definately some hurdles in buying US property. I have been following your blog too and would like to second the usefullness of sites http://www.trulia.com (very useful for researching house price trends) and http://www.buyingpropertyinusa.net. I will be watching your progress with interest.
Manuel
Manuel,
Thank you for your post. We have been making rapid headway towards successful US property purchases.
I have also been contacted directly by about 4 people per day, several each day request my assistance in securing them a good property in the south-western states of the US. I have decided to use my previous experience and expertise to set up a way for this to happen, especially after being disappointed after speaking to most of the buyers agents in the market place to date.
It is all forward from here and if in any way i am able to assist – please don't hesitate to contact me anytime.
Cheers,
IMC Newbury wrote:Hi Michael and others, This is a great site. Wish I found it earlier but thank God not to late. I have been researching for a month and ready to pounce. Still to read all the info here. I initially got interested through one UK website http://www.brennanproperty.co.uk which was NY state (Buffalo, Rochester etc) and rental returns of 16-25%. They have now moved into Florida. Another one is http://www.dollarpropertyinvestment.co.uk which I'm about to purchase a $18K property in Rochester for a net return, including management fees and all cost, of 18.6%. Finger still on the trigger. Idea was to get introductions to local service providers for the first purchse and then go it alone. I have 2 local agents in Orlando looking at Condo's for me. They have set up mls listings which gets emailed to me, plus access to personalised website, with any new properties. They appear honest but not "pro active" Guess you get what you pay for. Orlando is a bit like the Gold coast with the theme parks and some of the Condo are $25-30K now which sold for 175-200K plus 2-3 years ago. Rental returns are fairly low due to high taxes and HOA fees. I have used http://www.movoto.com to search real estate and find it pretty good. Another site, which includes a blog with local agents, are http://www.trulia.com. Finally worked out how to setup up a US savings bank account through HSBC locally for rents etc. I note a few references to finance but seems no one has actually done it (unless I missed it). From my advice there is none available in the US but hope that's wrong. Would love to travel to the US but can't for the next 6 months. Love to participate if possible, ei. excess to requirements or be part of something larger. Personally still a bit all over the shop. It's a bit of a daunting task Cheers HenrikHi Henrik,
Great to see you are taking the leap and making things happen in the American market.
There are more helpful websites out there to assist in your search than others. A good free one is http://www.homesforsalelists.com and http://www.georgiamls.com. It has a Florida search component as well. For rental comparison estimates use http://www.zilpy.com. We are currently applying for our Georgian real estate license which will give us direct access to the MLS hopefully soon.
In reference to finance we have intensively searched and now have 4 brokers, although with quite stringent requirements, to assist with financing. Please feel free to email us directly for details.
Well done on obtaining 18% returns. If you are looking at diversifying a little we have some fantastic properties down south with a 20% return in Atlanta, GA which is the fasting growing metrolpolis are in the states. We are putting in bulk offers for foreclosure property that is built post 1990 in areas of high tenant demand. They are 3 bedroom. 2 bathroom with great commute to the city.
Call or email if you have any questions or we can further assist.
Xarp,
Good work, just be aware that if you set up in Nevada you are not able to buy Nevada properties with that LLC.
There are several other states which don't have state tax but Nevada and Delaware are the most favorable.
Thanks for the web site referral – will check it out now.
