Michigan Property Market

Hi Jason,

I have been investing in Detroit since late last year and have purchased 5 properties in a LLC.

With tax time coming soon (I elected to do a 30 June balance date) I am looking for an accountant to do my tax returns.

Is there anyone you can recommend?  If not, I will start googling.

Cheers

Robert
Are you saying you can elect for a different year end in the US?  This would be really helpful, rather than needing to do your tax return financial summaries twice a year!

Thanks
Josh

Some thoughts on working with ground partners in America

Ground partners are a necessity if you are buying property in another country. Even if you were to move to America it is unlikely that you could do everything required to renovate and rent or sell your property. This is especially true if you plan on renting your property. Unless you plan on living here forever near your investment property, you will need a property manager.

So here are some pointers to assist you in researching, vetting, and hiring your ground partners.

1. Look up their business on the official state website. Almost every state has a database with business registrations on it. This will tell you if the business is registered with the state, if it is in good standing, and if it is a real business.

2. Look them up on the Better Business Bureau website. Don’t be surprised if they are not on there as many business are not but it doesn’t hurt to look. Also, don’t be to surprised if they have a few complaints. It’s hard to run a business and not upset someone. Look to see if the complaints were responded to and/or settled.

3. Google the business’s name and the owner/agents name. Google is a powerful tool when looking up dirt or good things about a company. Don’t be surprised if you find both. Ask questions about anything negative you find. As a rule of thumb, most people will do what is right when it is easy, fewer will when the chips are down or if the solution cost them money. Find out about projects that went bad and what they did to fix it.

4. Ask for references and testimonials. Nobody will give you their entire database but I don’t know any good business owner who won’t give you 3-5 references to help secure some business.

5. Check out their business websites, blogs, and social networking profiles. Get to know them, how they approach business and life and make sure this reflects what you want to see in a team member.

6. Ask questions and verify answers. This is probably the toughest part because most people don’t have enough knowledge about that area of expertise. Before you invest, read about property management, call property management companies and ask about rent checks, vacancy, and fees. Ask to see contracts and agreements in writing. Educate yourself in their field enough so you understand what they are saying. You don’t have to be an expert in everything (not possible anyway) but you really should know enough to spot the B.S.

7. Take your time when hiring! Don’t make snap decisions. Contact as many business’s as possible, narrow it down, and go through it all again. Yes this will take time, but if you’re not willing to take this time and be diligent, you should probably just leave your money in the bank. Most risk in investing is due to a lack of knowledge and poor execution. Take your time, learn, THEN leap.

8. Pay your professionals well. Yes, you want a bargain and a competitive bid but often the low price leader doesn’t deliver the highest level of service or the best quality. To a certain degree, you get what you pay for. Remember, everyone works (unless you’re independently wealthy!) and people expect to be paid based on quality of workmanship, knowledge, reliability, and results, including you.

9. Call and talk to the business owner or rep. See if you like them and you get along. Check how quickly the respond to emails and phone calls. This may seem silly but you are considering a long term investment and you will be working with this company for a long time. The whole experience will be much better if your communication styles match and you like the person.

Hope this helps.

Jeremy Burgess
The Detroit Market Expert
http://www.google.com/profiles/jeremyudw

Depends on the property. I’m sure 800 is reasonable for a good place in a nice area. Don’t forget though that Michigan has slot of not so nice areas with huge vacancy rates. Just check the websites like yahoo real estate, homeopath, aol, trulia, bestplaces.net. There’s so many to get an idea of these. Also research your target areas on city-data.

Personally,I wouldn’t buy in Michigan due to how much it’s suffered economically in the last few yrs.

If I were to buy in Detroit I'd wait until mid-winter (if you can stand the cold) or early spring.  Property markets in the US (like they are here in China) are seasonal: they go cold in the winter (except for the southern sunbelt).
 
The Case-Shiller graphs of the Detroit market are enough to make bargain-hunters drool: prices hardly went up in the boom times yet crashed enormously during the GFC.

The only reason I'm not jumping on the plane to Detroit is because I don't know if prices are going to turn around soon, and I'm put off by the hassle of owning rental properties for the long-term on another continent.