Postive cashflow USA

Hi Karen

I have invested in th US property market. I am now assisting other Australian Investors do the same.

What questoins doyou have?

neplusultra.com.au

Karen,

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE conduct you DD very very carefully.

There are so many stories of people thinking grass is greener only to find that they have been legally conned. Buffulo is a very good example of this. So much so that the city mayor is actively discouraging overseas investors. Cheap place bought buy "clever buisiness man" advertised offshore as exceptional deal. Aussie buys, middle man gets a premium. Rent falls over as too much maintenance, or too many buildings for rent, property sits empty/abandoned, city has to foot the cost for demolition or vagarent removal. I know this sounds extreme and my purpose for posting is to highlight that the other side of the coin is far from rosey.  Search this site and you will find many posts regarding this.

Proceed with caution

Mcik

Last July my wife and I purchased a property in Texas which fit the profile of a good investment. Good area, rents would cover the mortgage plus extra every month, etc. What I did not expect was the poor job the real estate agent did to get this place rented. Scratch that, make that the poor job 2 different agents did. Granted we live in Tokyo, but it took the agent a week to return calls (when they did call), and 2 months before any pictures were on the website of the interior! Mind you we were told only a handful of people had seen the property over the course of these couple months. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it the agents job to market the property in order to get the most people to see it? That's really the the only reason why I'm staying away from investing there again. We have a property in the northern suburbs of Melbourne as well that we are very happy with the service and attention that the property gets. In fact that is where we are looking to invest again.

BTW – that place in Texas – we did finally get it rented after we enlisted some family to be the property managers.

In short, make sure you can find good re agents that will get your property rented out and managed to your liking.

Rob

Hi Rob,

Can I ask why you say stay away from Detroit? I was actually talking to a company (I'm happy with their reputation) about buying in detroit earlier tonight. I have read articles on the net about detroit going backways population wise and there being a lot of empty houses, however 30% yield is pretty good, and these guys have any renovations required and the houses rented withing 6 weeks as they have an aussie over there managing the 3 US agents they have working. It is wefindhouses that I'm talking about.

So yeah, any information on why to stay away from Detroit would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

The Detroit economy relys heavily on the car industry. I used to work in Automotive Design and have seen over the 12 years that I worked in it, more and more of the work going to China. In my view the major auto manufacturers in Detroit and elsewhere will continue to downsize significantly. I am sure there are better areas in Detroit as well, but unless investors are willing to travel there and research fully, they are in danger of making expensive mistakes. The fact is if you compare the net inward migration figures and unemployement figures of Detroit against any of the big Texas cities, Texas is much stronger and will provide a more stable rental income and long-term capital growth.

Nigel

let me guess?
Is it where you have your business?
lol

Nigel

What I suggest is just directly promote your business as apposed to what you are doing which is indirectly promoting your business which by using scare tactics over and over again investors see through you rubbish, I know they tell me!

just stick to what you know
as apposed to what you think you know

Investors aren't stupid running people like me down all the time every chance you get isn't making you look good mate have a rest, take a day off and catch your breath.

A professional would focus on what he or she knows and not act like yourself that's why you are the only one acting in this way, like i have said before if you like Texas or where ever great talk about that and let investors do the same homework where ever they want to go.

If you wish to do this for yourself then you need to do your own extensive research. You also need to invest a great deal of time to research the markets on the ground and locate the right people to manage your investments. If you are not prepared to do this you should rethink your investment strategies.

I realize that some people think that I comment to be negative. I do not. I comment because people need to be aware of what they are doing. If I make a suggestion here then people should question that suggestion. As I said it is your money.

Nigel

Mate you just don't give up!
 
Don't you think it is getting a bit embarrassing?
All investors should do their homework investing any where just don't be an expert on everything and everywhere it is a bit hard to swallow and you will do fine.

Nigel

How much do you know?
Do you know a company you represent refer their clients to a 3rd party who sell overpriced property in DETROIT?
Oh you forgot that or have no idea what they do?
With significant commissions!
Property checked by me when asked was advertised by this third party purchased for $2,000 advertised at $18,000 + rehab it is no wonder you are concerned about Detroit it is you, do your homework!
Give Spiro a call and ask him how many homes he has had a commission in from Detroit! and referrals to this third party broker.
LOL no idea!
Stick to what you know and no more!