The United States is the most appealing location for overseas investment, but an expert warns to do your research before entering overseas markets
A COMPETITIVE property market is stripping many of their chance at buying a house, but some creative Aussies have found a way.
FACED with an extremely competitive property market, many Australians have given up on the dream of buying a house.
But some creative property seekers have found a surprising way to become homeowners by looking a little further when it comes to getting into property.
An increasing number of Australians, including Millennials, are investing abroad with the United States as the most popular destination.
There is no denying that the Australian property market is tough to crack. Despite Australian house prices falling 0.2 per cent in June on a national basis, overall prices are still 32.4 per cent higher compared to five years ago.
Figures from the recent Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Report — which surveyed 1774 Australian expats in 65 countries — revealed a 29 per cent increase in Australian residents purchasing properties abroad.
Brett Evans, managing director of Atlas Wealth Management — a company that offers financial advice to Australian expats — said this is because Aussies have been priced out of the Australian market and they are trying to get a foot into any property market.
“More recently the demographic of the Australian resident buying an overseas property has changed to a younger investor who either can’t afford a property in Australia and/or feels that they have missed the property boom in Australia and is looking for the next opportunity overseas,” Mr Evans said.
“We believe the increase in the younger demographic is occurring due to the high minimum price point in purchasing Australian property as opposed to the relatively low entry price point overseas.”
The report revealed the group investing the most is 38- 48-year-olds who accounted for 35 per cent of overseas property investment by Australians, followed by investment from Self Managed Super Funds at 20 per cent (down 28 per cent), 58- 68-year-olds at 16 per cent.
It was the younger demographics 28-38 year olds and 18-28 year olds that had the biggest increase, respectively up from six per cent to 10 per cent and from two per cent to four per cent.
According to the survey, the most attractive destination for Aussies is the United States at 48 per cent, followed by Asia (18 per cent), the United Kingdom (17 per cent) and the United Arab Emirates (10 per cent) — with the main appeal being lower entry prices, higher income yields, more diversity and choice of property.
The median house price in Sydney is just shy of $AU900,000, compared to the US where it is roughly $AU250,000.
“In countries like the US there are tax incentives to purchase the property that you live in and this can often be the deciding factor,” Mr Evans said.
The graph shows the median house price of major Australian cities compared to other countries. Source: Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey August.
The graph shows the median house price of major Australian cities compared to other countries. Source: Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey August.Source:Supplied
As for the UK, Mr Evans said Aussie investors have been enticed for two reasons.
“The fall in the pound after the Brexit vote and the second has been falling property prices in the UK due to the economic uncertainty that Brexit may bring to the UK.”
Mr Evans warned that even though the above factors can make an international property purchase appealing, changes in either the exchange rate and/or local tax legislation can have the opposite affect.
“These considerations should be at the forefront of any decision-making process when considering investing internationally,” he said.
“For most countries you don’t have to be a resident or citizen to purchase a property but the rules do vary quite wildly, so it’s always best to do your homework.
“You also want to find out whether the country has a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) to avoid the potential scenario of double taxation on your rental income if you were to rent the property out.”
Respondents cited tax changes as a deterrent from buying property in Australia with 41 per cent saying that wouldn’t buy in Australia because of it. Source: Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey August.
Respondents cited tax changes as a deterrent from buying property in Australia with 41 per cent saying that wouldn’t buy in Australia because of it. Source: Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey August.Source:Supplied
When it comes to Aussie expats living abroad, the survey figures showed that 41 per cent who were considering buy property in Australia, have been deterred by recent tax changes.
“In May 2012 the Australian federal government removed the 50 per cent CGT discount on Australian investment properties that are held by nonresidents (including Australian citizens) resulting in them paying 100 per cent capital gains tax on the increase in the value of the property while they live overseas,” Mr Evans said.
Mr Evans said the biggest challenges faced when purchasing a property overseas (apart from finding the right property) is not only finding a suitable property manager to protect your interests, but also understanding and monitoring the market.
“The internet is a great asset, but nothing beats on the ground intelligence when it comes to what the market is doing,” he said.
Of the 58 per cent of Atlas clients who own property overseas, 70 per cent is in their Principle Place of Residence, 25 per cent is for investment purposes and five per cent is retirement planning.
There has been an increase in Aussies purchasing properties abroad.
There has been an increase in Aussies purchasing properties abroad.Source:AAP
WHY INVESTORS AREN’T CONSIDERING AUSTRALIA
Australia is no longer an attractive market for international property investors, whether they are an Australian expat or a foreign citizen, according to Mr Evans.
Last year’s state and federal government reforms enforced steeper charges on foreign purchases, less favourable tax treatment and a cap on new development sales were introduced — resulting in the recent boom foreign buyers to be over.
The state and federal proposed tax legislation — Main Residence Exemption (MRE) for both foreign citizens and Australian citizens moving overseas — is yet to be enacted.
“What this proposal means is that if you were an Australian citizen and purchased a house and lived in it for 15 years (as an example) as a Principal Place of Residence (PPoR) and were to move overseas — if you were to sell that property while living overseas (whether that be in your first week of living overseas or five years in) then you would potentially pay capital gains tax not from the time you moved overseas, but from the date of initial purchase,” Mr Evans said.
“This has resulted in a lot of Australian expats selling their Australian properties before moving overseas.”
Most Australian states have started taxing both Australian expats and foreign citizens who own properties back in Australia.
This proposed legislative changes to the Main Residence Exemption Rule (MRE) was passed in Canberra by the lower house in February and is currently before the senate to vote on when they resit in August.
“The most extreme has been Queensland which does not distinguish between a foreign or an Australian citizen,” Mr Evans said.
“They levy a Absentee tax which is an annual charge of 1.5 per cent of the property value greater than AUD$350,000.
“These state tax taxes are in force now. As an example, if you own property in Queensland then your residency status will be noted as at the 30th of June and the Absentee tax levy will be sent to you.”
Linz’ Musings – May 17th, 2019
/in Newsletter, Think Abroader /by Lindsay StewartG’day all
Happy Friday! In this election version of our newsletter our country will be headed to the polls this weekend to vote for who we believe should be leading us forward for the next few years…or considerably less, if recent history is any indication…
With that in mind, and irrespective of your view or political alignment, I believe everyone would agree that Australia lost a legend of Australian politics this week in Bob Hawke. Labor’s longest serving prime minister, the Hawke’s government did a lot for the economy of this country and helped put us in a great global position. From creation of Medicare, to deregulation of the financial sector and floating the Australian Dollar, much of this was pivotal in shaping economic Australia. One of Australia’s greatest Prime Minister – RIP Mr R J Hawke.
On the other side of this particular political coin, we have struggled in the past 8-10 years to have any consistency or leadership in the role. This election does seem to have a larger impact on the property market in Australia than elections of the past. It will be interesting to see how Labor’s concept of scrapping Negative Gearing (one of the most overused, and overrated strategy in our market in my view) will effect the market; with Morrison’s implementation of a new First Home Buyers (FHB) Grant, where essentially if the first home buyer can save 5% of the deposit, the government (read taxpayers) will fork out the remaining 15% of the deposit so the FHB can avoid mortgage insurance… interesting…
I do feel that with the FHB Grant probably imminent, irrespective of which party wins, and an interest rates cut imminent in June as well (the banks are already starting to pass this on, thats how certain it is…) that we may start to see the bottom of the property clock, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney and prices start to pick back up again, but lets watch and see
Anyway, I would wish the pollies all the best in the election and say “may the best candidate win” but I am not certain the “best candidate” is even running…but that’s another blog for another day…
Have a great weekend all and Happy Investing…oh and voting!!
Cheers,
Lindsay
An increasing number of Australians, including Millennials, are investing abroad with the United States as the most popular destination.
/in Uncategorized /by Lindsay StewartThe United States is the most appealing location for overseas investment, but an expert warns to do your research before entering overseas markets
A COMPETITIVE property market is stripping many of their chance at buying a house, but some creative Aussies have found a way.
FACED with an extremely competitive property market, many Australians have given up on the dream of buying a house.
But some creative property seekers have found a surprising way to become homeowners by looking a little further when it comes to getting into property.
An increasing number of Australians, including Millennials, are investing abroad with the United States as the most popular destination.
There is no denying that the Australian property market is tough to crack. Despite Australian house prices falling 0.2 per cent in June on a national basis, overall prices are still 32.4 per cent higher compared to five years ago.
Figures from the recent Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Report — which surveyed 1774 Australian expats in 65 countries — revealed a 29 per cent increase in Australian residents purchasing properties abroad.
Brett Evans, managing director of Atlas Wealth Management — a company that offers financial advice to Australian expats — said this is because Aussies have been priced out of the Australian market and they are trying to get a foot into any property market.
“More recently the demographic of the Australian resident buying an overseas property has changed to a younger investor who either can’t afford a property in Australia and/or feels that they have missed the property boom in Australia and is looking for the next opportunity overseas,” Mr Evans said.
“We believe the increase in the younger demographic is occurring due to the high minimum price point in purchasing Australian property as opposed to the relatively low entry price point overseas.”
The report revealed the group investing the most is 38- 48-year-olds who accounted for 35 per cent of overseas property investment by Australians, followed by investment from Self Managed Super Funds at 20 per cent (down 28 per cent), 58- 68-year-olds at 16 per cent.
It was the younger demographics 28-38 year olds and 18-28 year olds that had the biggest increase, respectively up from six per cent to 10 per cent and from two per cent to four per cent.
According to the survey, the most attractive destination for Aussies is the United States at 48 per cent, followed by Asia (18 per cent), the United Kingdom (17 per cent) and the United Arab Emirates (10 per cent) — with the main appeal being lower entry prices, higher income yields, more diversity and choice of property.
The median house price in Sydney is just shy of $AU900,000, compared to the US where it is roughly $AU250,000.
“In countries like the US there are tax incentives to purchase the property that you live in and this can often be the deciding factor,” Mr Evans said.
The graph shows the median house price of major Australian cities compared to other countries. Source: Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey August.
The graph shows the median house price of major Australian cities compared to other countries. Source: Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey August.Source:Supplied
As for the UK, Mr Evans said Aussie investors have been enticed for two reasons.
“The fall in the pound after the Brexit vote and the second has been falling property prices in the UK due to the economic uncertainty that Brexit may bring to the UK.”
Mr Evans warned that even though the above factors can make an international property purchase appealing, changes in either the exchange rate and/or local tax legislation can have the opposite affect.
“These considerations should be at the forefront of any decision-making process when considering investing internationally,” he said.
“For most countries you don’t have to be a resident or citizen to purchase a property but the rules do vary quite wildly, so it’s always best to do your homework.
“You also want to find out whether the country has a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) to avoid the potential scenario of double taxation on your rental income if you were to rent the property out.”
Respondents cited tax changes as a deterrent from buying property in Australia with 41 per cent saying that wouldn’t buy in Australia because of it. Source: Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey August.
Respondents cited tax changes as a deterrent from buying property in Australia with 41 per cent saying that wouldn’t buy in Australia because of it. Source: Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey August.Source:Supplied
When it comes to Aussie expats living abroad, the survey figures showed that 41 per cent who were considering buy property in Australia, have been deterred by recent tax changes.
“In May 2012 the Australian federal government removed the 50 per cent CGT discount on Australian investment properties that are held by nonresidents (including Australian citizens) resulting in them paying 100 per cent capital gains tax on the increase in the value of the property while they live overseas,” Mr Evans said.
Mr Evans said the biggest challenges faced when purchasing a property overseas (apart from finding the right property) is not only finding a suitable property manager to protect your interests, but also understanding and monitoring the market.
“The internet is a great asset, but nothing beats on the ground intelligence when it comes to what the market is doing,” he said.
Of the 58 per cent of Atlas clients who own property overseas, 70 per cent is in their Principle Place of Residence, 25 per cent is for investment purposes and five per cent is retirement planning.
There has been an increase in Aussies purchasing properties abroad.
There has been an increase in Aussies purchasing properties abroad.Source:AAP
WHY INVESTORS AREN’T CONSIDERING AUSTRALIA
Australia is no longer an attractive market for international property investors, whether they are an Australian expat or a foreign citizen, according to Mr Evans.
Last year’s state and federal government reforms enforced steeper charges on foreign purchases, less favourable tax treatment and a cap on new development sales were introduced — resulting in the recent boom foreign buyers to be over.
The state and federal proposed tax legislation — Main Residence Exemption (MRE) for both foreign citizens and Australian citizens moving overseas — is yet to be enacted.
“What this proposal means is that if you were an Australian citizen and purchased a house and lived in it for 15 years (as an example) as a Principal Place of Residence (PPoR) and were to move overseas — if you were to sell that property while living overseas (whether that be in your first week of living overseas or five years in) then you would potentially pay capital gains tax not from the time you moved overseas, but from the date of initial purchase,” Mr Evans said.
“This has resulted in a lot of Australian expats selling their Australian properties before moving overseas.”
Most Australian states have started taxing both Australian expats and foreign citizens who own properties back in Australia.
This proposed legislative changes to the Main Residence Exemption Rule (MRE) was passed in Canberra by the lower house in February and is currently before the senate to vote on when they resit in August.
“The most extreme has been Queensland which does not distinguish between a foreign or an Australian citizen,” Mr Evans said.
“They levy a Absentee tax which is an annual charge of 1.5 per cent of the property value greater than AUD$350,000.
“These state tax taxes are in force now. As an example, if you own property in Queensland then your residency status will be noted as at the 30th of June and the Absentee tax levy will be sent to you.”
Building Your Team
/in Uncategorized /by Lindsay StewartI have a lot of people ask me when looking to get into the US market, what is the first thing you need to do to get started? My answer is always the same…
Build your team on the ground!
This is, I believe the most critical and important step to do and do well. If you are looking to purchase an investment in your neighbourhood, or nearby suburb, or even a nearby town, you are able to visit the property, do the walkthroughs and inspections, query the agents etc yourself. Not such an issue here, you can do your own due diligence and trust yourself. But if you lived in Sydney and wanted to buy a property in Perth, you would need to ensure you get a good agent over there who you can rely on to give you the right information, ask the right questions for you, I would even recommend finding a good buyers agent in that area to work for you!
Same with the US. There are a few people who are important you find good ones and people you can rely on.
1) First and foremost would be a Realtor you can trust. They will be your “boots on the ground”. They will find the houses for you, do the inspections, negotiate on your behalf etc. Finding this person can be difficult; you may know someone already in the States who is a Realtor; have friends or family there that may be able to refer a Realtor they have used; check out and call references that the Agents have (yes often the good agents will have references you can check) etc.
Once you find this person, they may then be able to recommend a good title company once you have found a property, and will likely be able to refer a good home inspection company to do Home Inspection Reports etc for you.
2) Secondly, to do a flip, you will need to find a reliable General Contractor, and this person will be again, critical to your success in the project. Will need to make sure they do good standard of work, and they will often be able to supply to you a folio of previous jobs they have done so you can see. Possibly can even get a referral here too, someone you know might know a good contractor etc
3) Thirdly but certainly not lastly, would be a property Manager if you intend to rent the property. Again the Property Manager (PM) can make or break your investment if they do not manage the tenants well, don’t collect rents, deal with maintenance issues etc. Referrals here and references can be crucial.
On the other hand if you don’t have a solid way to find good contacts in the US for your investing, fear not… We do!
This is really the backbone of what we do. We have sourced, screened and used hundreds of property professionals in the US to narrow down to the ones we have that we trust…
Leverage off our team in place, book a call with us today to discuss how!
Linz’ Musings – April 12th, 2019
/in Newsletter, Think Abroader /by Lindsay StewartG’day all
Happy Friday! As Easter draws near, the US have started their Baseball Season and football and Hockey is shelved for another season. Here, we are well into our football, AFL or NRL, pick your poison and go <Insert Your Team Here>!
Its great to see the passion a great many have for their sporting teams. Watching the games, the sports news and discussion shows, listening to talk back radio, its a big thing! Then the week at work, all the discussions around how the weekend went well (or didn’t go well depending on the results!). In my family tipping competition, i have gone from last years champion (reigning premier yeah!?) to having trouble tipping a hat at the moment.
What we need to do is also ensure we use the same passion on the other areas of our lives. Imagine how different our society would be if we also were out for a few drinks on the Friday night and chatting to our friends about how well our career/business/relationship/life was going; friends listening intently and giving hints and tips on how to get better… But alas, it seems we are rather more intent on judging and making sure we don’t “get ahead of ourselves”. We even feel or justify to ourselves that by keeping our friends or family “grounded” we are doing the a favour…hmm….
So we stick to sports as an outlet, rather than have the passion across all areas of our lives. We often get so caught up in one area, we start neglecting the others. It may not be sport it might be business, or career, or even health. Now, any of these areas certainly deserve our focus, our passion, but not to the detriment of the others?
What if…Monday you made a goal to spend at least 15-20 mins focusing on each of the 6 areas of your life every day – Family/Relationships, Social, Health, Finance, Career/Business, Intellect. Imagine then, in a months time we are at the pub having a couple of Friday frothies and talking about how each area is going? Would it be better? Would you find you have more passion across the board? Would be an interesting experiment to test out…
Have a great weekend all and Happy Investing!!
Cheers,
Lindsay
Asset Protection Strategies
/in Uncategorized /by Lindsay StewartOne of the first steps we do for clients, and I would certainly recommend for anyone investing in Real Estate anywhere, is to discuss with your legal team or accountant about asset protection. Real Estate, albeit one of the more stable and less-risky investments, still comes with its fair share of risk, and as an educated investor, we need to ensure to mitigate as much of these risk as we can.
One way we can do that is to ensure to protect our assets as much as possible, and structures or entities are one way we can do this.
By broad definition – an “asset” is anything useful, desirable or having exchange value. Taking an equally broad view of the definition of “asset protection” then, would be – “steps taking to help protect the asset”.
Two of the more common methods or structures used to protect assets are Limited Liability Companies (LLC’s) or Corporations. Both have their pros and cons, particularly in the area of taxation and I would ensure to talk to your accountant or US Tax agent re these.
A corporation is a legal entity that exists within the contemplation of law, which is separate from its owners, or also known as shareholders. A US corporation is similar to an Australia Pty Ltd Company in this respect. A Corporation can be a good asset protection vehicle in that it shields the shareholders’ personal assets from that of the business or corporations’ assets. This corporate shield can also be referred to as the “Corporate Veil” and is in place provided a number of formalities are followed.
Limited Liability Companies or LLC’s as you will often hear them referred to are another popular method of entities used in investing particularly, within the US. These are non-corporate business entities which by design are substitution for the corporate entity. LLC’s are bound by a number of state based acts and statutes which generally set forth a number of rules that directs LLC operation and governance unless the members (or owners) of the LLC agree otherwise. Since they emerged in the 1990’s they have become one of the most popular form of business entities within the US
We have a great legal team based in the US who handles all of our work and would be happy to refer their details if you need, or if you would like to discuss getting started in US Investing, book a call with us TODAY!
Linz’ Musings – April 5th, 2019
/in Newsletter, Think Abroader /by Lindsay StewartG’day all
Happy Friday! April is upon us, and its almost time in the Southern states to put our clocks back to normal. I will admit I am a fan of daylight savings to a point, the extra daytime in the evening is fantastic during summer periods, but I do think it goes on a bit too long. Getting up at 6:30am to head to the gym is certainly not early compared to a lot of people, to be still dark in March is crazy really, and even this week, still almost dark when I finished at 7:15! Wow. Anyway, as they say, change your clocks, change your smoke alarm batteries!
I was reminded this week by our wonderful neighbourhood Facebook, of a seminar I attended two years ago in Sydney and was able to see Arnold Schwarzenegger speak and meet him. Probably a highlight for me as he as been one of my heroes, with what he has been able to achieve. To have reached the pinnacle of success in not 1, but 4 completely different industries – Bodybuilding, Real Estate, Acting, Politics is incredible. I guess it does just show that whatever you put your mind to, no matter how different, you can achieve.
During the seminar he spoke about his 5 Rules for Success and elaborated on each. Funnily enough, a week or so ago, Facebook also showed me a video of the same speech he had done elsewhere (this is not a recording of the Sydney seminar i went to but another). I posted this on our Facebook site but here it is again below if you didn’t catch it, just click on the photo. This is a cut down version, only around 7 mins, so I definitely recommend you watch it when you can. In brief, his 5 rules are:
1. Find Your Vision
2. Think Big
3. Ignore the Naysayers
4. Work Like Hell – he uses slightly different terminology 🙂
5. Give back
Go ahead and watch this and he goes into each one briefly. I love the quote right at the end, and am going to put this on my wall:
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”
Wow!
Have a great weekend all and Happy Investing!!
Cheers,
Lindsay
Why the US market for Rentals?
/in Uncategorized /by Lindsay StewartI do get asked a lot about why is the mid-west US market so good for rentals? The answer I believe comes down to two main reasons:
1) First and foremost, affordability! The actual cost of the property is cheaper. As the land value in the mid-west US is very inexpensive and abundant (unlike our land costs on the eastern seaboard of Australia – wow!) the property prices are much more affordable. This enables us to get into the market for much less capital and helps with the return
2) Secondly, the actual rental returns are not tied to the cost to purchase the properties. Rental prices (just like any other commodity) is tied to supply vs demand. If you have a region with massive amounts of vacant properties for rent, you will find the rental rates go down – will be very cheap. If on the other hand, there are not many rental properties available, then rents will be high, rising and more expensive
The mid-west US has some fantastic employment opportunities for job seekers, some fantastic schools and universities for studies and the affordability to live there is very attractive. Many Americans are still scarred by the GFC crash and find purchasing homes harder and the job market harder so they are happier renting than owning. The dream to own your own home with the white picket fence is almost gone now, very few millennial’s are striving for this. Also, even more high income earners are finding it better to rent where they live, and purchase investment properties where they can get the best return!
Click on the graph below to go to a recent article by Maven Money in the US analysing renting vs Owner Occupied properties for higher income families – the results are astounding!
If you want to find out more about how to access great deals in this area (or another others) book a call with us TODAY! at the bottom of this page.
If you want to find out more about how to access great rental deals and get excellent passive cashflow, book a call with us TODAY! Below.
US Property Investing – Mar 29th, 2019
/in Newsletter, Think Abroader /by Lindsay StewartG’day all
Happy Friday! Wow what a week its been! For us, we have seen some unprecedented growth in the past few months and have now just brought on a business coach (big shout out to Ben Slater!!) to help us grow the team and business effectively. Exciting times ahead – watch this space!
I must admit I absolutely loved one of his diagrams on the balance of life – the YIN and the YANG essentially. How so many of us sometimes focus on the masculine side of the YANG (business/career, wealth/finance, intellect) but so often miss or forget the feminine side of the YIN (health, social, family). It’s so easy to do.
Only though, when you have all 6 of these areas in balance, do you really achieve the elusive 7th – Intimacy. Now essentially this is referring to Intimacy with life, which you may translate to happiness, fulfillment or even peace and often if you are finding that you do not have this, look to the other 6 areas and see which of these maybe you are neglecting?
Every day, we need to ensure to nurture each of these 6 areas of life, just a touch in each is enough, but don’t let any of them slip away. Even if it is just a call to your parents or loved ones weekly, our touch base with that great friend you haven’t spoke to for a while. What are you doing in the Health aspect of life? Gym, yoga, Pilates or even simply a healthy diet – this all makes a huge difference. Yes we can help with the business or wealth side, but only you can look to the others (essentially Pillars of life) and ensure you are also moving forward in each.
Here is a copy of the image below. Save a copy or print it out and look at it daily! It was seriously a game-changer for me! And for any further information on this – look up Ben Slater and his LeadFlow program for the Seed of Life – wow! (or click on the image below)
Have a great weekend all and Happy Investing!!
Cheers,
Lindsay
Due Diligence – Driving the ‘Burbs
/in Uncategorized /by Lindsay StewartI have been writing a lot of content lately for our upcoming online course on flipping houses in the US and thought I would give a little bit here. One of the important topics is Due Diligence. Now, we hear the term used in property and/or investing all the time but really what does it mean?
If you looked it up in the English Dictionary, you would get something like: “Reasonable steps one takes to ensure the safety of themselves or others and their property”. From an investing viewpoint it is probably more along the lines of: “Research done prior to entering into an agreement or contract to ensure the safety/profitability of the deal”
In Real Estate, there is a number of different types of due diligence you can do. Generally it would be specifically related to a particular house purchase or deal but often i find its worthwhile doing “due diligence” long before you start looking at a specific properties.
One of the best things you can do to set yourself up first, particularly when looking to invest from afar, is to get to know the area you want to invest in. I like to be in control of my investing from the first moment. I will always look at the regions I’m investing in and pick the particular areas or suburbs I want. Then, I will look through deals as they come up, and only investigate the ones in my areas of choice. This way, I am choosing my investing areas carefully, not allowing the deals to decide by simply offering good numbers.
Using Google maps can be a great tool to look through areas and streets you would like to invest in, but one of the best ways is to “drive the ‘burbs” yourself, so to speak. Now I know that we all can’t do that from afar, and often don’t want to spend the funds to fly overseas to drive streets to purchase a house (depending of course how much you are looking to invest!). In these occasions, it may be possible to get someone to do it for you? You may be looking in an area that you have friends or relatives there, possibly a work colleague, or even Realtors will often have, or be able to do this for you (even at a fee, it’s a worthwhile investment!).
Or alternatively, have us do it for you! 🙂
Here is a video that one of our best contacts in the US have done for one of my favourite areas of Detroit – East English Village. We have a number of properties in this ZIP code including a number of client properties. It is a real up and coming area with the city of Detroit spending millions in this and nearby regions to revitalise the region! It is neighboured by some of the most expensive areas of Michigan in Grosse Pointe, Harper Woods etc.
Have a watch and please “like” or leave a comment if you found it helpful, Emilio would appreciate it I am sure.
If you want to find out more about how to access great deals in this area (or another others) book a call with us TODAY! at the bottom of this page.
US Property Investing – Mar 22nd, 2019
/in Newsletter, Think Abroader /by Lindsay StewartG’day all
Footy season is back! For some of us it can be a very exciting time, chance to see your team again this year run around the park, possibly look to do better than last year. Others sigh, and prepare for a long 6 months of try to get your partner to watch something on weekends other than sport…
I have some great friends of mine coming from the US to visit our great country next week, and we are planning on spending some time showing them around Oz. Its a fabulous opportunity to show the best of our land, and can really remind us how much of a fantastic country we live in, and to some degree how much we take for granted.
In our day to day grind of life, sometimes we can lose sight of what is important; caught up with all the busy-ness of everything; the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. We need to always remember the reason WHY we are doing all this.
As quick as I will be one of the first ones to tell you all about the benefits of investing in the US market, property investing is just a tool, a vehicle that is designed to take us or get us to a destination. In my case it is the chance to see more of our country, to not just spend 1 or 2 days on a weekend out but whenever or wherever we want in this beautiful land of ours. Visit those wine regions (Barossa was fantastic by the way hehe), go to the Blue Mountains, hire a catamaran from Airlie Beach and sail the Whitsundays, visit Uluru or maybe is just being able to see more of your footy team play live. To me, its all about enjoying the great land we have.
Whats your WHY?
If you want to chat about helping determine an investment strategy including incorporating US property into your portfolio, jump over to our website below and book a call with me or jump on our webinar!
Have a great weekend all and Happy Investing!!
Cheers,
Lindsay