I think My USA Property has ceased functioning under its current name.
Name change: US Property Sales Australia
interesting, the website is still functioning. But that doesnt mean too much i guess.
Unfortunately, there are a number of agents selling US Property and providing bad service, bad advice, and just after a quick dollar.
Mainly trying to sell to unwary mom and pop investors, especially with trying to flog the very high rental yield return and not caring where they sell it or what they sell. Which is a terrible thing to do.I have had first hand experience of this and know how easy it is to sell to unwary and sometimes gullible buyers, just wanting to get their signature on the dotted line.
Also, some of these folks are very knowledgeable about the US Property market ( and slick talkers ) and their knowledge is what sells. again, this is a terrible thing to do.
The other thing is that if charging up front fee, then getting someone to pay excessively high fees again to get an accountant who knows the US market to set up an LLC and do other services, ( I know that fees up to $1,600 were charged for this service by one company, and others charging $8-$900 ) all just blatant rip offs.
So yes, be very wary of using local agents, however, as i am one myself, and i know of others that DO care, and don't take advantage, and provide a very personal and helpful service, also, can get you the best US Tax Advice from one of the very few REAL experts AND charging a very nominal fee for services provided, you should check out and talk to a number of agents before deciding on who you will go with. You should be made to feel comfortable and they should be very transparent in their information and dealings with you.
If you do get a good agent to help you purchase safely and securely in the US, it can be a great armchair investment, without the hassles.
Hope this helps.
They are it seems, trying to do a phone service and have changed their business model, I think their Melbourne Office is only open part time on some evenings.
Jayman wrote:They are it seems, trying to do a phone service and have changed their business model, I think their Melbourne Office is only open part time on some evenings.How sure are you about your info Jeff. Certainly not defending MyUSA but casting doubt in peoples mind about a competitors business is a little unfair unless you know it to be 100% correct.
Not putting anyone down at all, and certainly wouldn't be so blatant about saying anything detrimental about any other particular agent or supplier, sure there are really good and some not so good, many with different business models.
In this case, it's a fact that they are just changing their business model it seems, I'm not judging whether that is a good move or not. just stating a fact. Good luck to them if it works out.
nothing on there website to say they are changing the business. As far as i am aware the Melbourne office was only "open to the public" for appointments anyway.
""In this case, it's a fact that they are just changing their business model it seems, I'm not judging whether that is a good move or not. just stating a fact. Good luck to them if it works out.""
This is the sort of comment i refer to …"its a fact …… it seems" if unsure dont say it
white_goodman wrote:speedy gonzales wrote:Charles 1 wrote:Interesting article in Property Update yesterday on investing in the USA. http://propertyupdate.com.au/articles/is-the-investment-grass-really-greener-in-the-us.html Read it and take out of it what you will. There are always different opinions on how and where to investInteresting that this sounds like a recent article from Neil Jenman. Both even made the exact same mistake of saying that if Americans can borrow at rates of 0.50% why aren't they buying the properties. This sort of statement is crap. 1. Banks simply aren't lending regardless of how great your credit score is. They can make better returns on the markets and have no incentive to lend 2. Americans cannot borrow at rates of 0.50%. Anybody can research that and see thats a load of bull Statements like this reak of someone who has their own agenda and have no credibility
yeah source and reliability…
what business does the article writer run
You can get .05% interest rates in the US. But only one Place http://www.Naca.com this is a non profit anit sub prime neighborhood stabilaztion program that is only avalible to US citizens. This is underwritten by B ofA and Chase. they have 10 billion to lend they are not in every state.
How this happens is that the Seller is allowed to BUY down the interest rate all the way to .50 % I sold one of my REO's to a NACA buyer it was a 114k house he put not a penny down even closing cost I paid 12k to buy down his rate and he ended up with a .69% rate of interest and a monthly payment over 30 years of 132 a month. B/C his tax's and insurance were higher than the mortgage all in he was 300 bucks a month. You then have to pay 50 a month to be a member of NACA you cannot sell the house for 10 years if you do you owe them the equity. And you have to go to 2 or 4 Sat seminars and tall others about your good fortunes.
Look it up. http://www.naca.com No credit requirements but you do need a job.
However as home builder which I am I can only buy down a FHA or conventional rate .50 to 1.00 depending on lender.
I received an email update from the recently formed USPSA (US Property Sales Australia Pty Ltd) advising that the Licensee of My USA Property (Australia) is currently at the end of a Licensed Agreement to market US property for all of Australia, and, through mutual agreement with the CEO of My USA Property, has agreed not to renew the Licensee agreement for a further term.
It then went on to say…
Through an Australian restructure, all Australian staff who worked under this agreement have now been terminated by the licensee and most of these staff have accepted an offer posed by US Property Sales Australia Pty Ltd (USPSA) in conjunction with International Portfolio Group, LLC to continue to service their personal clients.
I am guessing a lot of existing clients and website subscribers received this same email. I am interested to know from others what this means for their existing clientele?
YGWYPF : thanks for some concrete information.
I am still a paid up member and received nothing. (only paid up member as they refused to refund the money …..)
interesting. Hope existing members are looked after
I received the same information from them. I am only on their emailing list. I have never actaully dealt with them.
i must have been black listed after defecting to another company ……..
RickH wrote:i must have been black listed after defecting to another company ……..It's astonoshing to think that you're a paid up member yet you haven't received any correspondence of any sort. I never personally dealt with MyUSAProperty. I tend to forget the people who say they're going to do something and then never follow through with it!
I'm unsure of your situation Rick but I bet you are like me and have a somewhat negative approach towards 'buyers agencies' or whatever they call themselves. It's sad because even though I am a hands on investor and I do like to get in to the nitty gritty of it all, there's times when I need to focus on my day job. It sucks for the guys who are out there who do have the knowledge, who are providing a service and delivering what they promise yet there is all these 'Spruikers' who are deminishing the good buyer's agents. The kinds of one's that I would personally engage!
As we all know, it happens in all industries… domestic real estate especially. How many stories of people who you know personally or through friends who have been taken for a ride on property bought in Australia?
I ened up buying with HouseBuyers USA and have found them to be totally professional.
Providing multiple option to look at , negotiating deal through to after sales i am still in contact with everyone there i need from CEO down.
Their response times has been very good and I have no issues with their service at all. MyUSA werent in the same league. Slow response times and a lot more hard sell. Dont try and hard sell a salesman ……. doesnt work !I have spoken to Housebuyers USAquite a few times but I cant quite get my head around paying upfront to look at listings. Makes me wonder what they're afraid you're going to do. One place I know of, did send me some pics and information and I tracked down ho they were buying from in the U.S. and it was $10,000 cheaper so I guess they have to hide their sources.
Fellas, I too started with MyUSA property signed off paying my outrageaous start up fee of about $600 and all I can say is:
DO NOT GO WITH MY USA PROPERTY !!!!
<moderator: delete personal comment> im trying to get my money back aswell as i was promised to be on the emailing list but somehow always had issues with my email address. All I can add is there are better companies out there that give a better service, with out an upfront fee, dont try to tell you all they get is a flat $3000 commission expecting you to buy it and best of all some also give you a 3 yr rental guarantee which is not quite the going yield however shows that their confidence in the market and there is still some source of income.
I eventually bought a house with US Prime and never been happier
Most buyers agents I'm sure, try to do the right thing for clients, and like in any service business, there are good apples and bad apples, and it's always the few bad ones that seem to attract the most attention.
From an agents point of view, an upfront fee is mainly to sort out the serious buyers from those that just want to waste your time with no intention of buying, also, if the agency has spent a lot of time and effort in researching, and establishing business relationships with suppliers in the U.S. or even other countries, there are those few that would try to go around your back if they know who your suppliers are, and approach them direct, which causes many problems, just to avoid paying any fees etc.
But having said that, many buyers want to find out about their tax situation, info about setting up the right structure and opening an LLC if called for, etc, as well as having a bank account opened, all this has to be taken into account, normally that is all part of an upfront registration fee.
But in the end, it's the service before, during and after a purchase, that is very important, and also being very transparent from the start of any dealings.
Buyers have to feel comfortable with the agent of choice, and what they are offering, and if they can meet the needs of the buyer, with a good choice of properties in different price ranges, and also locations.
And lastly, are you dealing with a salesman who is just after their commission? Or are you dealing with the principle/s?
I posted on here 2 days ago stating that I had visited their Melb office on 2 separate occasions an found nobody there and for some reason my post got deleted??
I also noticed that their website no longer has Australian addresses listed, nor an Australuan contact number? It only has an Orlando address and a US contact number on their website. Check it for yourself. Given that YGWYPF received an email from a newly formed USPSA company being formed because licenses were not reviewed it sounds like either my USA property has either closed or is closing down or it has just rebranded itself with the new name? Has anybody else heard anything?
RickH wrote:YGWYPF : thanks for some concrete information.I am still a paid up member and received nothing. (only paid up member as they refused to refund the money …..)
interesting. Hope existing members are looked after
Hi RickH I am in the same boat as you. I am a paid up member also but I have not received any emails from the newly formed company.
I have not purchased through any other company either so I doubt you have been blacklisted.Question are any of these buying services Licensed to SELL Real Estate in the US.
If I was the gentlemen who lost a bunch of money on a deal that was misrepresented first thing I would do is see who got paid what commissions. And unless these buying services are coming into title and selling their own properties. I would venture to guess the question is no they are acting as licensed agents without a license.
Anyone care to comment on this.
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