Forum Replies Created
AussieInvestor,
your eBook sounds a great idea. (Just done the survey. Looking forward to seeing the first draft!)
I totally agree about the benefit of having all of this scattered information consolidated into one database. It’s otherwise quite a challenge to filter the good information from the bad.
When are you hoping to have the first draft ready?BB,
just wanted to say “thank you” for your generosity with your posts on this thread. I see I am hardly the only one who has found your journey fascinating/inspiring/informative. I hope to be able to return the favour by sharing what I learn over the next few months with my debut USA investment trip approaching (Jan/Feb 2011).Cheers, TH
G’Day all,
RickH, sounds like you’ve got them over the line, with regard to the finance. Well done!
Can I ask what rate are you being offered? (apologies if I have missed this elsewhere).Marthamel wrote:JamesI think the issue is that if you have an LLC that is newly established, then you don't have a credit rating. However, this can be gotten around, if you are a bit creative. For a start, if you are 90% sure you will invest there, set up your LLC and get "trading" … that will help. Then when you are ready to go ahead, you will find it more easily. There is a business, associated with my USA attorneys, that helps with establishing a credit rating for newly formed entities.
LLC is definitely the way to go according to my USA attorneys. The most protected states for litigation for LLCs are Wyoming, or Nevada if you have more than one shareholder. I am happy to share the details of my attorneys if you want the info. The will do the registering of an LLC for just under $700, and have good packages to deal with ongoing issues like mail and agms, etc. If you buy property in a different state, you just register for operations in that state too.
Wyoming is very cheap, as it is trying to establish itself as a good state for people to incorporate.
However, you also need to insure.
The structure of an LLC protects the personal assets of an investor. It also protects any unrelated investment assets. Eg, if you have 20 houses, in say 5 different LLCs, and someone sues, they can only sue *that* specific LLC … the other investments are safe.
Also, the way Wyoming and Nevada laws are written, the way compensation can be accessed is more difficult for the complainant, and protects you that way too.
Hi Marthamel,
As far as you know, is Nevada and/or Wyoming the best place for setting up an LLC for an individual (as opposed to multiple shareholders)?
Cheers,
THHi Marthamel,
Could you please forward to me the details of your attorney?
Email to :- [email protected]With thanks,
THThanks Reme.
I’m thinking I will do regular blogs on this forum, leading up to, and whilst on this upcoming trip. I’m happy to share my thinking and learnings as I go, and invite others to offer their feedback and contributions as well. It’s a learning curve for all of us, and I believe in the concept of synergy. I’ll let you know if and when I start a new thread on this.
Cheers.
G’Day Runway,
Thanks for starting this thread. A worthy subject, and you’ve raised some good points.
I’m brand new to this forum, but just finished reading some great threads, including the Miami ad(vice) thread from top to toe. Fantastic contributions from many, but particularly British Buyer. A wealth of information.
I’m very keen on investing in the USA. I’ve been weighing up this issue of buying by remote versus going over to see for myself. I’ve been trawling the main RE websites to learn as much as possible about suburbs, neighbourhoods, employment figures, history of values, and spent hours on Google Streetview “walking” the streets, all to try to satisfy myself that all the research can be satisfactorily done on the Net from home.
And I have considered the one-stop-shop companies, and the associated risks with using them which I think we all understand quite well.
I’ve decided to go over there, for a few reasons :-
1. I want to get a proper feel for a property, a street, a neighbourhood by seeing it for myself. And to meet the locals. To me, it’s a big part of due diligence. To really observe what the status is. To get a sense of where the area is going (combined with using statistics). If i’m committing my hard-earned savings into a USA property portfolio, it deserves to be done properly. Why cut corners and kid myself I can do it from my armchair, just to save a few grand?
2. For the same reason, I want to meet the relevant people. To meet solicitors and agents face-to-face and form relationships. I’m big on looking a person in the eye and listening to my gut feeling on them. Do they deserve my trust? Can you tell that from an email or even a phone call?
Then, there are the smaller details. Some of these can be done by remote, and some cannot :-
1. Opening a USA bank account. My view is it’s best to start forming a relationship with a local bank (e.g. Bank of America) to start building a credit rating, so that I can one day get some leverage using finance rather than limiting my purchases by always paying in full with cash. As I understand it, opening a local USA bank account can only be done from over there. (as for international banks, I’m not keen on tying up $200k in a HSBC Premier Account earning stuff-all interest, just to avoid their heavy monthly fees).
2. As a landlord, forming an LLC is clearly the way to protect yourself from litigation. (From what I’ve read, USA landlord insurance policies do not give you sufficient protection). Yes, there are companies who offer to do this for you by remote (and provide a permanent USA mailing address, which you need for registering your LLC). But I plan to first apply for an ITIN with the IRS, then set up an LLC through a solicitor that I have met and trust, whilst there. I will arrange the permanent mailing address whilst there.
Flights are so damn cheap now. And 2 or 3 weeks of accommodation and car hire isn’t going to break the bank. What can I expect to achieve in 2 or 3 weeks? After having done the groundwork on the Net and having narrowed the field down to a shortlist of say, 30 or so properties in a given area, then 2 to 3 weeks is enough to inspect them, shortlist them further, and make some offers. Also, meet a previously researched short-list of agents face-to-face and form relationships.
Anyway, that’s how I see it.
So, all things going as planned, I’m heading over there in late January 2011. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Wish me luck!
