Our attorney opens bank accounts with Wells Fargo for all our clients. We set up their LLCs.
Banks accounts are free business banking accounts and LLC cost $150 where were also obtain and EIN (IRS tax ID) for you.
No need to go to the US if you don't want you.
If you open an account in USA, which address do you use? the same with your LLC.
Do you need an address in USA?
Thanks
Mosqui
Top rental returns,
If your Attorney opens the bank accounts, are they in the name of the LLC? Does your Attorney have a Power of Attorney to act on behalf of your clients? Really interested to learn how this works.
Mosqui,
You need the services of an Agent, usually an Attorney and a US address, again usually the Attorney’s for service of notices.
I see this thread is a bit old, but it is still relevant to many I assume.
We have recently sent off our information to set up our Florida based LLC. Have sent off the application for our Australian based Citibank Transaction Account. At the moment am enquiring about getting a US based Citibank Account. With the free currency exchange transfers we are hoping to limit our expenses for our investment.
The US account will be in the LLCs name so I guess the Property Manager can deposit the rent into this account. And we can transfer it back to Australia if we need to. However not sure if we would need to, depends with the AUD/USD conversion rate is doing, as well as the interest rates in Australia. We can link the Australian based account to a savings account with decent interest as well, with the US bank accounts getting next to no interest comparitively.
It would be nice if we could set up the US bank account over the internet, but I doubt this will be the case, and in which case we may have to get an attorney to set it up for us, either that or use the registered agent company we used to get the account for us. Either way, few things to do yet but getting close to having everything set up and ready to purchase.
streamlineinvesting wrote:I see this thread is a bit old, but it is still relevant to many I assume.We have recently sent off our information to set up our Florida based LLC. Have sent off the application for our Australian based Citibank Transaction Account. At the moment am enquiring about getting a US based Citibank Account. With the free currency exchange transfers we are hoping to limit our expenses for our investment.
The US account will be in the LLCs name so I guess the Property Manager can deposit the rent into this account. And we can transfer it back to Australia if we need to. However not sure if we would need to, depends with the AUD/USD conversion rate is doing, as well as the interest rates in Australia. We can link the Australian based account to a savings account with decent interest as well, with the US bank accounts getting next to no interest comparitively.
It would be nice if we could set up the US bank account over the internet, but I doubt this will be the case, and in which case we may have to get an attorney to set it up for us, either that or use the registered agent company we used to get the account for us. Either way, few things to do yet but getting close to having everything set up and ready to purchase.
I think this thread is still very interesting for many people. Please keep posting to see how your account goes.
thanks for sharing your experience with us.Hey Guys !
HSBC wont give you a loan so a credit ratings a bit of a waste IMO.
I got a credit card with them though quite easily which apparently helps later on with them .
HSBC are also pretty poor service wise.(net banking)Bank of America are pretty good especially to deal with from OZ(well as easy as possible- being a foreigner in another country)
Oz forex are awesome and usually the best rates!
In regards to an address for llc and bank accounts .You can use yr accountants or even yr investment properties if you prefer.
I then just added the aussie address's as the postal address for both LLC and bank accounts which worked fine for bank but i ended up chaging to my accountants addres for LLCLuke Taylor | Hope Property Investing
http://hopepropertyinvesting.com
Email MeProperty Support,Strategist and Buyers Agent
I have a quick question if anyone has any experience. Say we have started an LLC in Florida, and now that we are looking to open a bank account, would it be an issue if the branch of the bank was in California (have a contact there who may be able to help us). The bank in question also has branches in Florida, just not sure if the different state would cause an issue and if they want it to be with a particular branch, or at least a branch in the same state.
Hi Streamline,
If it's of any use…..if you have a Florida based LLC… I have a person at Wachovia in Florida who will open both a business account (for the LLC) and a personal account (for you) if needed. All done pretty easily without you having to leave Australia.
PM me & I'll pass on the contact details.
Hi,
Yes you can open an account thru Wachovia Bank in FL – there are no significant fees.
Steve
From what I understand each state has different rules & regulations. I have set up a LLC in New York LLC, I needed an attorney to do that.
He got me the EIN which helped me open the bank account with HSBC.
His advise to me was to use an attorney , eventhough it is a little more expensive it is worth it to know that one has proper legal advise.
Jeff
In my experience, it is an advantage to open the LLC in the state which you intend to invest in.
Sometimes the banks aren’t going to let you open an account with them unless you’re domiciled in that state (a Nevada LLC can’t open an account in New York, unless the LLC is either based “domestically”, or registers with the state, at a cost) although this seems to vary from day to day and branch to branch!
Either way, it is usually better to have the company at least registered in the state which you own properties, as utility companies etc often want to see paperwork that you are “domestic” to that state – don’t ask me why!
As for individual accounts, most of our investors have come to the U.S. at one point or another to open it up (best way in my opinion) although HSBC can also do it for “premier” clients, and I know E*Trade also offer an account, although I’d imagine it is pretty limited.
So just how easy and how long will it take to open a us bank account? Reason I ask is because I will be in San Fran for 4 days in late August. Beside your passport are there any other documents required?
I tried opening an account from HSBC here in Vic, however they require $200 in fees and have a existing account with them for at least 3 months.
Might as well open one while I m there.
I planning to open a citibank account since they have branches here in Victoria. Any recommendations on which bank?
Brennan,
I can really only answer your first question – I am not sure if you're looking for a business account or a personal one..For a personal one, yes a passport and a U.S. address where they can send your visa card, pin etc should be enough, although they'll most likely ask you to sign a form (the name escapes me now) to either a) give them your ITIN (tax ID) number or b) state that you don't have one, which means you will be subject to witholding etc.
For a business account, you will also need your LLC incorporation docs (most likely you need to be registered in CA to open an account there) and also something to show that you are able to sign on behalf of the company, you also need to show the EIN number etc, and also an address in the state.
You also need to make some initial deposits.
The whole process should only take an hour or less, although it'll most likely be a week or two before you get the cards etc thru in the mail.Be careful, most banks will charge $10 for every incoming rental payment you receive from the property manager.
Also when you are depositing some AUD into your US bank account, most banks charge up to $40 for incoming wire transfers
I tried opening an acocunt with HSBC and they said they no longer offer accounts to Australians due to restrictions imposed by the australian government.
Great discussion. Opening a bank account is very easy if you come to the US. If you’re not planning to come to the US it can still be done in three steps:
1. Open an LLC and obtain a registered agent.
2. Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for your LLC
3. Open the US bank account in the name of your LLC with your EIN.I would recommend you setup the LLC and the bank account in the state you plan to purchase property in because it just makes things simpler. If you need help getting this done, I would be happy to help those folks looking to invest in Michigan.
Cheers,
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