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USA Investing -My Opinion Only1 2sapphire101 [58 Posts] In my personal and humble opinion, the area to invest in the States right now is multifamily property. Capital gain is non existent and will be most likely for some time so you have to create your gain and it won't get better than now for some time as well.. The key therefore is to have as many income streams as possible and why not under the same roof, after all when that needs replacing you only have the one roof to do, one heating system, one lawn, one problem at a time and multiple people helping to pay for it. All your tenants are under that one roof and not spread out across the city. A property management company specifically geared to deal with multi-tenanted buildings is managing it as a business, not a sideline as many agents do and you are maximising your investment in every way. Foreclosures and discounted sales on these buildings are increasing as owners find themselves over-leveraged and unable to refinance their commercial loans (if you thought the housing situation was bad, the commercial sector is huge and in worse shape) I am living in New York and have been watching the market across the US since Jan 08 so have a reasonable handle on it. I have an example of a 10 unit block in foreclosure in one of the least affected US cities with the most prospect for employment and growth selling for $159,000. You can buy these places for as low as $4000 per door as they say here, for a 1 -3 br unit. I have many examples of these in various states right up to a large apartment complex in need of renovation selling for $750,000, just recently dropped from $950k and 6 mths ago was $1.4m. Now that may look quite drastic, but the place is assessed at $2-3m and the bank is just trying to offload it for what it can. With 146 apartments renting at $400 - $600 per month each, the potential there is large for the right investor with the right management company. You do the maths - the more doors, the more income. $1m in rent from one complex with a price tag of .75m and maybe a reno of the same there is a healthy return in there for someone. Another sold last week in Houston Texas with 201 units for $1.8m or $9,000 per apt. Another at auction in Cleveland with 24 newly renoed units, fully tenanted for $132,000. There was only one bid! In New York there are some great brownstones in foreclosure, 8 or more units, selling for 50% of their previous value.They require minor renovation and command excellent rent returns. It just depends where and what you want to invest in. You have to be very careful where you buy, not only the state, city and neighbourhood, but it goes down to the street, so I wouldn't recommend purchasing without having someone on the ground over here or coming here yourself with a very specific agenda in mind. The US is a big place with thousands of housing markets. Just have a look at www.housingpredictor.com for an insight. Hope this is of some help to you and if you are serious about investing in the US now and you'd like more information from someone on the ground over here then email me at sapphire101@bigpond.com and I will try to answer your questions. sapphire101 [58 Posts] One other thing..... with regard to all those people on this site offering to sell their investment properties in Buffalo, New York State. No offense to you, but there's a good reason for that and the fact they are all trying to sell since late 07, and throughout 08 says it all. Investors are like sheep most of the time and will follow other investors into the "next best thing" and then all get caught out if the market changes.This is what happened in this area with Aussie investors who bought in 04-06. I'm not saying it was all bad, but they've all taken a 50-80% drop in value. Do your research on US states and make your own decision, but to me anywhere that hits -10C or greater and is covered in snow half the year is somewhere people have to live, but don't want to. Many of these northern US areas were industrial and manufacturing based cities which drew the population to the area. This industrial age has now almost ended and the cities haven't diversified quickly enough. The people left there are the rich and the rest. You will be renting to the rest .... the unemployed 'rest'. All the good renters have moved to sunny Texas.  mattnz [270 Posts] Thanks Sapphire, interesting reading. I'm curious to know if you were aware of these great deals before they happened, or have just been reading about them after the event in the newspapers? There is a big difference between having the opportunity to purchase an amazing deal and hearing about someone else's that you never got to hear about in time. sapphire101 [58 Posts] There are literally hundreds of thousands of deals available now across the US. This is not an exaggeration of the numbers. I use software that brings up many of the bank owned properties daily. You literally just have to choose any state, and city and property selling anywhere from 2c to 90c in the dollar will be selected and there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. The choice is quite overwhelming. If you'd like to buy a 4 plex (4 units) today in Oklahoma City in a decent neighbourhood renting for $2000 per month you'll need $30k. If you'd rather 16 units, that will cost you $400k, an 8 unit brownstone building in Harlem NYC that will rent for $10,000pm will cost $600k. The situation here is so different to Australia, it's hard to imagine and if you can't find a deal everyday, you're either not interested or in jail, (or both). Try going to the websites for Bank Of America or any large bank and the 2 gov't lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and see what they are trying to offload from their books. http://www.homes-for-sale-center.com/freddie-mac-foreclosures/index.htm Also Century21 is a national REA, check out their site for a sample. Here's a sample Also try www.auction.com, the list of online resources to locate property is endless. Have fun and blow yourself away. sapphire101 [58 Posts] I personally wouldn't buy in Detroit but this is a better reference to available props through Century 21 - they only list 250 out of 1700 available and this is only one REA. marx3bull [87 Posts] Why do not you prefer Detroit ? Can I know please? As far as I heard the market here is in a good position now. Someone told me to invest here. Is it risky to invest in Detroit ? Thanks in advance. sapphire101 [58 Posts] Just my opinion re Detroit. I know of investors doing well there and a couple who are flipping houses making $20k+ profit per month but they are from Detroit and know the neighbourhoods well. Detroit has unusually high unemployment, many suburbs that would be difficult to maintain rentals in, a declining population and high crime rate so there are better cities to invest in, in my opinion. That being said, property is dirt cheap there. I saw a nice 2 storey house in a good street at a mortgagee auction with a starting bid of $500 and taxes owed for $6k. Previous value in 2006 was $240k. No-one in the country placed a bid. Not even a local. Odd isnt it? An area of investment I would consider there is the inner city fringe, where larger commercial buildings can be renovated for alternative uses, either warehouse apts, gallery spaces, etc. Depends how much money and time you have and what your ultimate goal is. Best to visit the US and have a look for yourself. Don't rely solely on what people tell you, me included. As far as multi family property goes, Detroit has many selling for peanuts, literally. $25k for a 12 unit building for example. I can't recommend buying them just because I wouldn't buy one myself. simon.lam [3 Posts] im certainly keen in investing in the US now considering the US?AUD is almost on par, i dont think there is a better time to start investing over there. Just wondering Sapphire whether you purchased any properties over there and if so, what are some of the implications you should watch out for, especially for non-US residents? Homes are dirt cheap and I definitely like the idea of having multi tenants in the one place as this reduce the risk of having no tenant and no cash flow. And the funny thing about most US homes, is that they are so big...you could even strip it all down and sell the parts and still get a profit...i think. kameruka [57 Posts]  Hello I just came back from looking at investments in America and found multis are more trouble than they are worth. for more information on investing in America www.cashflowgold.com.au www.cashflowgold.com.au simon.lam [3 Posts] In the States, is the multis considered like duplex, triplex and 4-plex? I have never been to USA but some of the buildings slightly differ to the ones here in Aus. S jaffafal [15 Posts]  Hello All, thanks sapphire101 for the website information for the US. I have been keen on the US market for a few months now, but I need to really settle on acouple of cities. also as you do research on the us market you realize that often a lower priced property can had been ransacked already for copper (ie: the plumbing pipes have been ripped out) at the moment a lot of them are cash only to buy or at least 30% deposit. my question is does anyone know a good mortgage broker over there? and I'd like a 4 to 5 city range to research, where else are people looking in the US? Joanne Falvey Qlds007 [7315 Posts] Joanne Been involved with finance in the US market for over 20 years and dont think you will find any US lender be too keen on an application for a Foreign National inthe current climate. Currently the only State we deal in is Florida which has specific laws for FN lending. Dont take applications these days from any other State. Cheers Yours in Finance jaffafal [15 Posts] Thanks for the update richard, yes it is tricky, it's interesting we are talking about US property and tonight at Steve Mcknight book launch he spend about 20 minutes talking about the US market, Richard would it help that I have a US passport and Social Security number, or the fact I live in Australia still makes it hard? Joanne Falvey Qlds007 [7315 Posts] Hi Joanne If you have a FICO score that will go in your favour. Passport does not especially if you are a resident of Australia. Cheers Yours in Finance simon.lam [3 Posts] Richard, If you are a non US resident, what are the chances of getting finance in the US banks? One of the CA banks replied back saying that if your a "legal resident alien with a green card", you can apply for a mortgage loan. From the post above, it seems there's almost little chance of getting any finance over there - even if the properties are CF+. Simon TCLinvestments [75 Posts] Hi, I am also very interested in investing in the US. and what about tax liens?? does anyone know more about them, or how can we in australia invest in them? TCL Investments Target: 6 Positive CF properties by Dec 2010!!- jaffafal [15 Posts] Hello All, TLC investments yes I am so keen on that myself, did you sign up for the 250K Club?, that was such a good deal! I have been trawling the internet for info but haven't found anything substantial. I would like to atleast buy one property in the US in the next six month it feels like such a unique time in history, a great opportunity. Joanne Falvey scha9799 [4 Posts] Hello Joanne, after read your post, I am really interested in investing in US. what's 250K Club ? jaffafal [15 Posts] Hello All, scha9799, good question! what is the 250k club?, Steve on his book luanch tour is looking for 250 people to sign up to accept the make $250,000 from property in next 18months. Man, he was throwing in 2 x 3 day conference tickets may 2010, the master class started pack, and creating a networking group, some other things I can't even remember for the grand total of$585. I paid $495 for a single 3day conference ticket in 2008! but let me stress the 250k has nothing to do with overseas investing, i think it's about buying in OZ. and adding value/sub dividing.. Have to see... Why is steve doing this he wants to collect testimonials for future books, he mentioned it at the Book Launch. Joanne Falvey TCLinvestments [75 Posts] I didnt join the 250k Club, on the night, I dont like doing anything on the impuse. are there seats left?? and who do i contact if i want to join. It seems like a great idea. but i couldnt do it on the spot like that. 250k, in 18 months, yes please. even if you only acheive 1/2 of that, thats like 125k, now thats gota be worth something. TCL Investments Target: 6 Positive CF properties by Dec 2010!!- jaffafal [15 Posts] TLC investments TLC you now have a copy of the book, are you aiming to follow Steve's 4 steps of having a plan in place before 2010? I aim to read the book the next 2 weeks and work on a strategy for 2010. AND of course save some money to buy some US property or Tax Liens! I figure by May 2010 I'll have worked out a way to buy in the US and be doing it. It's finding some contacts. Joanne Falvey 1 2 |
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