You would be better off buying already tenanted homes from other companies. The property that I purchased fro0m TRR settled in July and reno completed 2 months ago and still no tenant. TRR finally came back to me and said that I needed to do some more reno works to attract a tenant.
What a dud!!!We work very hard to find to secure the best wholesale foreclosure deals in Atlanta for our clients. We work 18 + hours a day sourcing properties, tenants, managing renovations and any other issues for our respected clients. The US foreclosure housing market is not a market for the faint hearted but can be very lucrative. The near parity of the dollar, the greatly depressed prices and strong rental yields are a huge incentive compared to the Australian residential housing sector.
I am available to all our clients by phone, email and Skype and it is not uncommon to receive a phone call at 3am because someone has a concern and it is not a problem because that is my job. We are very proud to be able find brilliant foreclosure properties and are very picky with the properties we choose? Our largest complaint is that we do not have enough stock.
I currently have 400 offers on the table to banks, employ two full time diligent brokers, a full time Aussie assistant and we have a full time American Property Manger with over 14 years experience in the Atlanta market. Over 50% of our homes receive applications during the renovation term. We advertise as soon as the home is presentable enough to show without potential tenants tripping over power tools. We have a brilliant personal relationship with most of our clients that relies on them being open to communication and advice that we offer; especially being here and living in Atlanta.
To the above query: If I advise a client that their property WHICH AT TIME OF PURCHASE WAS an owner occupied short sale and presented very well with furniture, we need to work through the issues presented. We did manage a brilliant purchase price on this property and some work is to be expected.
After multiple property management showings and following the advice of our dedicated property manger, the property requires painting to be more competitive in the market for tenancy. It is our job to advise the owner. I would wish to have open communication with my owner, resolve the issue, paint the property, tenant the home and create a productive result. Here is a competitive market and a well presented home will make all the difference in being able to tenant the home. We purchase properties direct from banks and will have to occasionally work through respective issues with our respective clients. Integrity is not an issue.
I love talking to ne w enquiries about their concerns and excited questions about the US market, particularly towards targeted statistics which is my passion. If our investors or any potential investors have any queries on investing in the US and the process which is vastly different from Australia, I would be very open to chat on 0011 1 404 441 3360 or on Skype at toprentalreturns. We do not expect you to become a client. When we were initially looking to invest in the US we were frustrated at the unnecessary veiled secrecy and covered seminars. We are all investors here supposedly to help each other.
Both Michael and I are very reasonable to chat and recently had a young couple stay with us for 4 months who were looking to learn how to invest in the American market. We wish we had the same opportunity when we were starting out.
We invested in mining town markets in Australia which were certainly more volatile than the US markets. The US has different parameters and need to be dealt with the respect they deserve.
We are always here for any assistance regarding any enquiries you may have on the Atlanta market.
dan luchmaya wrote:You would be better off buying already tenanted homes from other companies. The property that I purchased fro0m TRR settled in July and reno completed 2 months ago and still no tenant. TRR finally came back to me and said that I needed to do some more reno works to attract a tenant.
What a dud!!!Hi Dan,
My brother in law purchased 4 properties in Atlanta over 5 months ago, he has only rented out 2, the other 2 are still vacant. I do sympathise with you.
I have started a business that deals with investment property, however unlike most of the people that are selling property in the USA I have a property investment background, my business partner is a mortgage broker, who is also a property investor.
We concentrate on area’s in the USA were not many people here are investing. Some of the area’s offer very good positive cash flow and good ROI prices start from 31K up to 100K, already tenanted.
The other area’s we deal in provide capital gain but one would need to hold for at least 7 years. The positive returns are not bad.
I can only suggest that if you were to make another purchase and from what I read of your situation that maybe unlikley. Please give us a call we would give you much better advise.
Jeff
Hi All,
I bought in April. The reno was finished in June, but still no tenant, 5 months later. The problem seems to be that my place only has one bathroom, which is apparently a non-starter for a lot of American families.
I’ve found Michael and Bronwyn to be responsive; email usually within a few days, but they always pick up the phone if you call. They also made it easy for me to visit a number of properties they were renovating at the time when I visited Atlanta so I could check out the quality of the renovation, which were really good.
If you’re considering buying, I’d definitely recommend already tenanted properties to reduce the vacancy risk. The returns of already tenanted properties don’t seem to be that much lower than vacant foreclosures. I’d also recommend you rule out any house with only 1 bathroom.
I’ll be sure to update the post if/when I get a tenant.
Steve
I suggest everyone who buys off these companies post the amount they paid for the property, the commission paid and the rent (if any) that they are getting. That way people can see for themselves
I have been trying to buy from Top rental returns USA for weeks. They say, skype, email or call. Calling is not really an option because of the time difference, skype is not answered at all and emails, if you get a reply are so lat that the property is sold before you have a chance. They have lovely properties for sale but the website photos and videos only work sometimes.
Probably better in the long run to buy property already tenanted as I believe it can take a while for the Rehab and tenant applications to process.Hey Portpirate,
In my opinion….if they are so uncontactable now…..imagine what it's going to be like after the purchase (if you get there). Reading the posts….seems to be a common denominator with them.
Why are you so keen to buy from them specifically ? Is is the fact they are Aussies so you feel you can trust them or is it that they are providing a one stop shop ?This is a new area for me. How do you go about raising finance for US properties, through Aussie banks or US ones?
Hey Russ,
a) You can raise cash through the equity in your own home here in Australia and effectively then become a cash buyer in the US. An Australian bank is not able to lend you funds using a US property as security
OR
b) raise cash through the equity in your own home here in Australia to use as a deposit and get the rest of the funding from a US source.Issues…
- most people on the forum will tell you the difficulty in getting finance from US banks/lenders due to the lack of funding available.
- only a few banks operate nationally in the USA (Eg Bank of America, Citibank etc) and none of these have lending programmes that allow lending to a foreign national (which is what you are called) since the GFC.
- need to use lenders that will lend in your state of purchase or in the geographical area you invest in
- issues involved getting funding for homes in foreclosure. Homes need to be liveable condition at the time of approval with no maintenance issues or structural issues allowed.
- can use what are called "hard money lenders" but rates tend to be quite high (above 12%) and for short loan terms which can effect projected cashflow and as the name suggests…these people don't muck around.
I purchased a home last October and fortunately it was relatively easy for me to get funding for 70% of the price paid. Loan in the name of my LLC over a 20 year term. I am heading to DFW this weekend to purchase some more homes and have finance pre-arranged for at least 50%….hoping to get this up to at least 65% and will be over a 30 year term. Very few have been able to achieve this and NO….I have not used a buyers agent in Australia
Hi Speedy,
Thanks for the reply. I understand all of that, nice and concise. The b) option is the way that I would intend going. Looks like I'll need to start researching US banks. and agents. I don't have the luxury of a US trip just at the moment
. Will have to put that on the agenda for next year!I'm guessing that your finance is through a US bank in DFW. Did you travel to US for your purchase last October as well?
Russ,
Nothing beats being able to leverage in the US and yes the finance I have lined up is through a local Dallas lender. The property prices I am looking at range from $50K to $90K & Yes I also made the trip over in October as well…..mostly because I wanted to see for myself first hand and meet the people I would deal with face to face…gave me a lot of confidence.
Just so I don't confuse the issue….you don't have to go to the US of course…it could have all been done by distance and I would have gotten the same outcome and to be honest….this is most likely how I will invest in the future now that I have made the contacts and built a high level of trust with them.
Happy to pass on the details to you if you PM me…don't think I am allowed to plug them or give them free advertising on this site but also reiterate…in both cases the lenders would allow me to borrow purely because of the reputation and who I purchased through….I couldn't just buy using any agent or company and expect to get finance approved…..still seems to be a case of who you know while finance is so tight over thereHi Speedy Gonzales,
yes, the one stop was the main reason. And the properties they promote seem to be a bit better than some others. I have also been talking to Housebuyersusa, Lux and a few others with varying degrees of communication. I have emailed a few agents in the US but not much interest there.
I see you are concentrating on DFW area, not a bad idea as I believe finance is easier to come by there although prices are somewhat higher. I have been looking mainly in the Atlanta area but still not set in concrete. I can buy 1, maybe 2 cash, but would love more.I saw Top Rentals Returns in a newspaper article some months ago, located their website and signed up for their mailing list…and like others here was too slow in pulling the trigger and missed out on several wonderful properties. After making the trip to Atlanta for a week meeting their entire staff, seeing a multitude of properties, and coming back feeling twice a confident as I was previously I promptly purchased 3 properties and they started rennovations. I returned 52 days later to find that 2 of my properties were tenanted and we had to make appointments with the tenants to see the quality of the work! I was impressed with the fit and finish as much as I was the quality of tenants I was able to meet. Our thrid property looked just as gorgeous and while did take an additional 3 weeks to rent, they placed a quality tenant with good references and after 5 months I have had only a few minor maintenance issues and NO late rent payments. I found that while emails can sometimes be responded to in 2 hours or 3 days, if I needed something urgently they are available via phone espcially during our morning hours. I feel that they have taken very personal care of me and my attempt at retirement someday. I look forward to working with them in the very near future.
I think as you read the above posts and as smart as the aussie investor is. once you factor in vacancy factor, as in it takes 1 to 5 months to rent a house there is no way these houses return 15% Net returns.
That could pick up as you get tenanted, but what happens when the tenant leaves and its 2k to rehab and you sit vacant another 2 to 3 months.
these are my points, the proformas offered by these companeies that really have no long term history owning US rentals are all just hype and best case scenerio. I would bet anyone here that if you do better than 10% net return your doing fantastic.
Not that that is bad its great but its not 15 to 20 like is bandied about on this site. And especially if you take into consideration your travel over here setting up your LLC 's and such.
One of top rental return clients has been e mailing me. bought in Feb for 94k. took 2 months to do a 2 week job. Just got rented middle of July the rent that was represented was 1600 it ended up renting at 1400 which is still really good. However the 12.56% net return was based on 100% occupancy which of course it never had and rent at 1600. So this deal will be far south of 10% acutal return. Although I really liked the house looked nice
speedy gonzales wrote:Hey Russ,a) You can raise cash through the equity in your own home here in Australia and effectively then become a cash buyer in the US. An Australian bank is not able to lend you funds using a US property as security
OR
b) raise cash through the equity in your own home here in Australia to use as a deposit and get the rest of the funding from a US source.Issues…
- most people on the forum will tell you the difficulty in getting finance from US banks/lenders due to the lack of funding available.
- only a few banks operate nationally in the USA (Eg Bank of America, Citibank etc) and none of these have lending programmes that allow lending to a foreign national (which is what you are called) since the GFC.
- need to use lenders that will lend in your state of purchase or in the geographical area you invest in
- issues involved getting funding for homes in foreclosure. Homes need to be liveable condition at the time of approval with no maintenance issues or structural issues allowed.
- can use what are called "hard money lenders" but rates tend to be quite high (above 12%) and for short loan terms which can effect projected cashflow and as the name suggests…these people don't muck around.
I purchased a home last October and fortunately it was relatively easy for me to get funding for 70% of the price paid. Loan in the name of my LLC over a 20 year term. I am heading to DFW this weekend to purchase some more homes and have finance pre-arranged for at least 50%….hoping to get this up to at least 65% and will be over a 30 year term. Very few have been able to achieve this and NO….I have not used a buyers agent in Australia
The above method of buying US property, for the average investor in my Mind I Fraught with peril. Your banking on your house renting and everything going perfect, what happens when your house does not bring in cash flow.
This kind of leveraging up caused the current crisis to a certain extent. If I could give any advice to our aussie friends.
It would be this if you do not have enough money to pay cash for a rental without mortaging your house then you have no business buying in the states. and anyone who encourages this is out to just make money on you and does not care about your long term success.
However if your bound and determined to borrow against your house then be darn sure where you invest. And be very carefull of texas with its property tax its a huge burden, I was on the phone today with an LA investor that had 3o rentals there and lost his but because of prop taxes/
And being a hard money lender of prominace in the states the above statements of hardmoney loans for 20 year terms are purly bull crap. he may be thinking of something else but hardmoney loans are one yare 20% apr type loans I know I lent millions this way.
best
Jay,
Thought I would clarify a few points as I am the owner of the 94k property you are referring to yet I have never spoken to you or emailed you so it sounds like there may be some chinese whispers going on here……..
In all fairness to Top Rentals the 94k property was nothing short of sensational. It is an amazing property and far exceeded my expectations when I visited the property. The property is in such a high quality area and subdivision. In fact it is the lowest ever sale price in that subdivision and when I last checked all other properties in that subdivision are listed for between 169 -269k. I bought it for the quality area and was not overly concerned re the 12.56% estimated net return as I feel it is a great return for that area. This is only a guide that outlines what the actual expenses are such as insurance , rates , rental estimate etc. To me it does not make much difference if the return is 11 or 15% I am more concerned of the quality of what I am buying.
Regarding the actual rent achieved it was higher than the 1400 you quoted, it was 1450. I did have an opportunity to accept a 1600 a month rental early on from a very good applicant with a very high credit rating but decided against it as they had pets and I felt the house was not suited for pets seeing it has no fence and I have just installed new carpets. I was the one that made the decision to drop the rent to get a tenant in there quickly as I had purchased a few properties at the same time and wanted rent coming in asap.
Just to clarify some of the other points you raised, "the property was purchased in Feb", it was perhaps offered in Feb but I did not settle until March I believe. (I would need to check exact date)
All up I am very happy with this purchase and would buy this same house again if presented with the same circumstances.
I suggest not buying anything unless it is already fully rehabbed, has a defect warranty attached that will cover you against any and all maintenance or defect issue for a 3 or 6 month period after purchase with no excess amount, AND has a 12 month tenant already in place. If it is not tenanted then write into the contract that settlement will not take place until a properly vetted tenant on a 12 month lease is secured.
Rob
uspropertyinvest.com.au
Hi Guys, We have purchased 4 properties with Top Rental Returns and found the experience to be very disappointing to say the least. They are very prompt when it comes to taking your money and closing the deal (receiving their $4,000 fee per house) which is no surprise. All places were tenanted reasonably quickly but they certainly do not check the records of the tenants as we have had two evictions and thousands of $$$$ damage done. Our experience with the property manager is you are better off managing the property from australia as you will end up with same outcome (terrible) but you save the $75 a month management fee per place. They are making an absolute killing of $4k per house and hope to do the same when people get sick of the hassle that the Atlanta property brings. If you want customer service and know that your investment is being looked over then we would suggest you look elsewhere. if someone knows of a place please let me know!! Also not much point signing the lease agreement as they will constantly pay your money out over and above the signed agreed limit without being contacted. Maybe it is because they are based in Atlanta that they feel they know best but with any business you must follow the contract. In summing up if you want to get a US property we would suggest looking elsewhere.
Mcivor.
unfortuantly this happens to many investors US or Foreign. Property management is the biggest problem. Any one can buy these properties rehab them then flip them its a big business here in the states obviously.
And not everyone has these experinces but I would say far more do that will not come public with it because of the embarrassement of feeling that you have been had. And if you bought 4 properties you have probably invested a sizeable sum 200k or more. this to a lot of investor's could be a life changing event.
And for this sole reason we started http://www.truewholesalehouses.com its by far the safest way for an absentee landlord to purchase rentals when they are not avaliable to personally manage them. At the end of the day the management company has no liablity to your property and neither does the company that sold it to you. YOu are on your own.
so it really does not matter what any company quotes you on returns if your houses get trashed and vacant what kind of return is that. Remember a huge amount of these foreclosures comes from Landlords that have given up.
And like any big city you have to be very Careful in Atlanta where you buy, Atlanta is a huge place takes 2 hours to get from one side of the metroplex to the other. And there are good pockets and bad pockets. However nothing will keep you from be abused by poor to non exsistant property management.
Any way if you want to e mail me I will get you a referral to my partners there in Atlanta we usually do not take on clients outside of our portfolio, however we can at least try to help you corral what you have stabalize them and then maybe take on management as long as they are in areas we work in we would do this first step as a courtesy to you.
Every month at the end of month such as tonight we want to give every one of our owners good news on the end of month statement. We were on the phone to owners tonight regarding a few late rents we are chasing up where my leasing agents were out until midnight last night collecting the final rents.
There are incredible opportunities investing in the USA Foreclosure market and yet it does need to be backed up by sturdy, reliable and trustworthy property manager; which with confidence we feel we have in Atlanta.
The best way in the Atlanta Market to screen tenants and reduce tenancy risk is by running full criminal and credit checks. We do not accept any tenant, nor should anyone else, that has a previous eviction. We also call all previous landlords and check their identity off tax records plus ask for the last 3 pay slips from the tenant. We have knocked back over 150 applications in the last two months.
We also have many brilliant tenants who love their newly renovated properties and hundreds of happy owners.
To be competitive in the market we create a freshly renovated property with particular attention to the little aspects that attract tenants. We are very proud to show owners their properties and the completed renovations. For owners that are unable to visit their home we video the home including the subdivision to show the surrounding neighborhood. I know of no other company that is as transparent and honest in assisting investors nor with as much passion as we are.
Knowing the Atlanta area which is spread over a massive area we have developed fantastic relationships with external leasing, insurance and corporate relocation agents who constantly compliment us on the renovations of our homes. We try our hardest to find the best wholesale deal for our clients through the foreclosure process. There are many companies who advocate a turnkey product but are you as the purchaser really aware of their original purchase price and the true renovation cost?
When we started here we interviewed many property management companies and found that we were not able to find a competent property management company to look after our clients. We personally begun our property management company here as Michael has previous built very successful property management companies in Australia and we have attempted to replicate our own expectations which are different to those in the US.
We are very caring of our clients and work exceptionally hard to satisfy our 250 + owners. We love what we do and have a passion for property.
With purchasing for clients, we have sat down with many owners or potential investors to discusses the why, how and where on property; including property location, popular school districts, pitfalls of investments and individual investment goals.
We invest in Atlanta ourselves, live and breathe the market and are growing the second fasted property management company in Atlanta with a close-knit experienced team.
Mike & Bron
. Will have to put that on the agenda for next year!
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