self managing in the USA

Still have to deal with the tenant if their section 8 or not…. Section 8 by and large only pays a portion of the rent… You will get folks that have 100% vochers. then there are some that only get 50% and its up to the PM or property owner to collect the other 50%.

95% or more section 8 in the US is single women with dependants…..

this goes to the whole social aspect of which Freckle has been talking about…. a Huge amount of US citizens that are raised by their mothers and grandmothers with no father influence…. In the Hispanic families if they are in the Barrio its usually because daddy got shot dead in a gang land type thing… In the African american its just that the men on the lower end of the social scale are like rolling stones where ever they lay there hat is there home…. Very common for one women to have 4 or 5 kids all different baby dadys.. and that is your section 8 tenant…. by and large.

so the danger in collecting rent comes when you confront these unstable situations and some relative or boyfriend is there which creates conflict….. Now the white trash in the US is no better… Just check out Swat of KC you can see that first hand… they tend to be tweakers and theifs…

so if you go to study prision populations in the southeast they will be 90% black… In CA.. Hispanic Black about 45 45 with white making up the difference and the whites are usually the skin heads…. then throw in some Nasty Asian gangs members and you have a pretty motely crew.

In our prisions in Oregon were Oregon is 92% white 6 % Hispanic and 1% Asian and Indian the rest Black Samoian etc.  Our prisions are dominated by White supremist skin head types and or just low life white trash tweakers… All the same hard to collect rent from any of these dudes.

JLH

I could write a couple books on all the crazy stories with my experiences.  The best come from a slum lord i know from California that is a real slime bag, i used to do some side work to help him out.  He never fixed anything and only kept tenants for 3 months maybe.  He had a handy man that was a real piece of work, Gary.  He was trying to sell some houses to some investors from  Cali that he had brought to town.  Well they get to one of the houses he is selling and when they get there they open the door and Gary is  having sex with a hooker in the living room.  Lol, i wish i could have seen the look on the investors faces. 

My property manager carry's a desert eagle .50 caliber with him when he collects rent. 

lol, i like that THE RENT COLLECTORS 

Hahahahaha OMG

Hi Deb,

    I lived in the US (on a H1-B visa, which means legally) between 2000-2006; in New York 1/2 year, Virginia and New Jersey for another 1/2 year each and moved in Indianapolis (Indiana) which is Mid-west for another 5 years (My brother still lives there since 1991). Due to the pretty rough immigration laws and the huge processing backlog I couldn't stay legally any more, so I moved in Canada, where I've got the Canadian citizenship. To be honest, my heart and soul are still in the US and, so far, I don't know anybody coming from the States in Canada who doesn't  enormously miss that country. As I've seen 90% of the eastern coast, all the states in the Mid-West, plus northern states, etc. what can I say: it's gorgeous! As I say to all the guys I know in Canada:" If somebody will give me the US Green card I'll jump in the car and drive across the border immediately, without looking back." I love the US maybe more than a real American citizen, because of those things they can't realize, only if you come from outside…
    As I passed through a lot of immigration processes, I'll try to help you giving some info (legal advice you can get from a qualified immigration attorney, though). To qualify for a visa based on E2 criteria (investor visa) you have to spend at least $50.000 on the investment (in some cases visa were issued for $30.000, but is depends on the type of investment), not counting the money for repairs. The $50K have to be spent only on the investment (the investment has to help the US economy !)and also you have to prove that the investment will give you enough financial security for you and eventual for your dependents as long as you'll live on the American territory.
Individuals I personally know got the visa for $100k and respectively $120K in the Washington state. From what I know USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ) processes the visa following different criteria, with regards to the state where you want to move and the type of investment used. The visa is issued for 1 year and can be extended indefinitely. The dependents over 21 years can apply for the right of work and seek employment.
     When investing in RE a major, major component is the state where you intend to move. You have to chose a location where with the money you'll get from rent, you can have a decent living. There are many states following this criteria and we can open another topic just for this.
 

Couldn't agree with you more. I wouldn't trade the outback for any city in the world except New York & Tokyo (which might be a tad contaminated atm).
The lower east side used to be my favourite lurch.

Best of luck!

    It's so right !

   Also, Deb if you want to buy a property and live in it, that will count as an investment, but as a passive income…it's gone…

yes via my website

If you can open a business (committing 100k in funds, or maybe less according to Mihovi’s post) that would be best I believe, to satisfy the E2 requirements – and since you are already self employed in Oz it maybe a pretty straight forward exercise to write a convincing business plan that the US embassy in Australia approves of. Plus, a new business venture has the potential to generate more employment for US nationals, which is something that is looked upon favourably by the decision makers. Here’s some more info: http://www.cilsimmigration.com/american-visas-e.html If the “investment” is a new business that your are starting, then the cash flow projections that show your expected salary and/or expected profits would give enough security, and it should ideally show >65k / year. *I’m not a lawyer, any of the above is not professional advice* The attorney in the link above specializes in E2 visas, and will give you the first consult for free, as most immigration attorneys usually do.

Yes and yes – you’ll still have to apply through the embassy in Oz though…