US Investing Where from Here??

It might have been one of those once in a lifetime deals – mining boom and high dollar – GFC and cheap US property. I’m sure there are deals but you might have to have lower expectations?

I think there are still good opportunities in the states but I think the focus needs to be on commercial property including apartment complexes. Then it is essential that you have a good property management company that can look after the investment. Trying to do this on your own is difficult because the Americans will rarely tell you something cannot be done. Plus to try and understand a foreign market is a challenge and takes more than a one week holiday. I have had enough issues working with someone on the ground so trying to do this on your own is not a realistic option unless you are prepared to spend a great deal of time on the ground.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by  Nigel Kibel.

Hi MTR,

I am working with an Australian multifamily investor based in LA who invests multifamily sites across the USA. This is a syndication opportunity with a major institutional investor and multifamily operators who have a transparent track record. Send me a message if you want the 27 page Investment Package detailing the current $26.6M / 320 unit opportunity in Dallas, TX. This is a Class B asset and an opportunity to pivot into multifamily.

Invest well,

John Carney

Whats the best way for an Australian to get finance on single family homes there?
And what sorta yields are you getting?

What I have found is that flipping houses is just too hard. Now I am talking about the Florida market. My view is that as flipping has become more popular the banks have raised the prices and hard money lenders have raised there fees. What this means is that the margins have become much tighter. Generally the best market to aim at is the owner occupier market, because if the property is under $300,000 and sells to an owner occupier then withholding tax does not apply on the sale. However funding for owner occupiers is still tight.

I am now focusing on a strategy of buying small apartment complexes. If work needs to be done we will do it. We then have a very good management company that will rent out the properties and manage them. For their are two strategies here. One is to buy well rent it out as a long term investment and secondly buy rent up and onsell to a US investor. My experience tells me that this will be a far better investment option rather than deal with cheap homes.

MichaelE wrote:

I’m currently in Atlanta, and will be there until the end of the year. There’s an insane amount of building going on around here. The Braves (the ATL Baseball team) will also get a new stadium which is to be completed very soon. I guess this will drive in huge amounts of traffic and make the surrounding area a growth area. That’s just my two cents, although I’m a total beginnger in investing. Congrats on your success! That’s an amazing achievement!

Hi Michael,
I am a newbie and learning about this. Are there any Australian agents based in Atlanta to contact and get help?
Thanks if you could share the info.

I am working on a new model of buying from smaller to larger apartment complexes ranging on a value of between 2 and 10 million. I am working with a high level tax Accountant in Australia and a few in the United States including a finance expert who has experience at leading at anything up to 100 million. Now I realize that we are all used to Americans making big promises and not delivering. However a client of mine brought a 26 unit apartment complex for around 1.3 million. Despite promises of finance the best we could do was get emergency funding at around 11%. I have two brokers working on the deal neither could put anything together. Now the guy I am working with went to work and got the deal refinanced for 15 yeas at around 5.3%. He is currently refinancing an office building. We are also looking at another deal up around the 2 million mark.

So what is the secret. Deal with smart people who know what they are doing. Going with someone who appears cheap will cost you a lot. Remember you get what you pay for.

Hi Generally around $100,000 and up

The benefit with larger properties is we can borrow around 70% non recourse at a good rate

The problem with single houses is that if you are keeping as an investment the returns are not there. Generally finance is expensive. If you lose your tenant you have a problem. If you are renovating to onsel the risk is too high for the returns. So we look at larger investments that cash flow but the idea is to keep the investment for at least 5 years and you then also get to share in the capital growth.

I have been involved in the American markets for a number of years. I am establishing a new straight forward model of buying large apartment complexes in the 2 to 6 million mark depending on the number of investors we can put together. The benefits are that we can get non recourse finance at around 70%. We have just refinanced a 26 unit complex at 5.3% for 15 years. If you have a few vacancies it does not overly effect your investment.

I am working with a finance specialist who has experience dealing with funding of up to 100 million. I have learnt that to be successful in the states you have to deal with very highly accomplished professionals. I am also working with financial planners in Australia who are experts in dealing with self managed superfunds and making sure that they are compliant with Australian law.

So the concept is simple buy b and a class assets make sure that they cash flow well and hold them for at least 5 years. We are mainly looking at Miami and other parts of Florida I am personally also interested in Texas.