[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 30, 2011 - 5:28 am

Hey Rosa

I am very scared to post latley, I have looked and not replyed, thank you for your kind words though.

We have found in our experience that making the purchase smooth just have the information available that the finance company are after.  They have a good idea of what is available and where.  Contrary to one ray of sunshines post, no fees or 'pounds of flesh'  are payed until the closing has happened. 

I would call and speak directly with them.  They have a wealth of information.

Melbourne Girl.

Oh just a question White_Goodman,  Who do you use to buy properties and finance them?  They must not charge fees ,have all the answers immediatley when you want them.  I would be interested to change if you have a better deal?

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 15, 2011 - 9:37 am

I couldnt resist posting again, White-Goodman, this thread is called My USA Property, I thought I was doing the right thing posting in this thread.  We havent used the services of any other finance or property people so I have nothing to compare to.

To make things crystal clear for you – I am based in WA, I grew up in Melbourne and desperatley want to move back – hence the name.  I am dealing with My USA in Gold Coast  and yes Loans USA is in Melbourne.

I have no vested interest in either of the companies, just thought I was posting in the right area.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 14, 2011 - 7:38 pm

white_goodman wrote:

melbourne girl wrote:

What a statement.  I can only speak for myself and my partner.  We are happy. We like the service we recieve. We are used to paying for service.   We are investing for the future, not a quick return. With every loan we have been given a spreadsheet that is very comprehensive as to the costs including maintenance, repayments, taxes, insurance and their fees.  Sounds like you can purchase in cash – you are very lucky.  Instead of down talking the services of these companies howabout calling them and asking your questions. 

All I can say is we are happy.  We have no need to down talk their services, have you actually tried to get the finance yourself? I spent a whole morning on the phone trying to find out about the HSBC comment listed on here and that was enough for me. I would pay that fee any day for all the mucking around to be done by someone else. 

im sure the 'service' is fine im simply stating the fees they are charging are too large to make deals profitable. Only on deals worth $100k plus would it even remotely make sense. But the properties being advertised arent in that range.

So on that spreadsheet may I dare ask how on earth you are getting a positive return after deducting loan repayments and all the associated property costs. My argument is simply a case of mathematics.

Also to charge someone $4400 when they wanna do it themself when all they are essentially doing is sending a few emails to their US lenders is quite alarming to me.

So I would take it from this comment that you supply finance to the US also?  What are your charges?

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 14, 2011 - 10:27 am

What a statement.  I can only speak for myself and my partner.  We are happy. We like the service we recieve. We are used to paying for service.   We are investing for the future, not a quick return. With every loan we have been given a spreadsheet that is very comprehensive as to the costs including maintenance, repayments, taxes, insurance and their fees.  Sounds like you can purchase in cash – you are very lucky.  Instead of down talking the services of these companies howabout calling them and asking your quesitons. 

All I can say is we are happy.  We have no need to down talk their services, have you actually tried to get the finance yourself? I spent a whole morning on the phone trying to find out about the HSBC comment listed on here and that was enough for me. I would pay that fee any day for all the mucking around to be done by someone else. 

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 14, 2011 - 8:15 am

We got 7.75% fixed for 5 years.  Purchase price $42,000.

Our fees were $2200 for finance.  Worth every last cent.  They answered so many questions and spent so much time going through everything with us. I think the non My USA Fee is $4400.  They said thats because they know the quality of the My USA homes and that when you dont buy them they have a hell of a lot more work to do.  Also they dont get any commission at all from the banks. 

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 13, 2011 - 7:58 am

seano4ever wrote:

melbourne girl wrote:

Rosa Tong wrote:

seano4ever wrote:

Hi everyone,

I recently had a meeting with Tony from myUSAproperty at the Brisbane branch.

I have a couple of questions that I would like to clarify with people who have previously dealt with myUSAproperty.

1) When they said the property had been recently refurbished, did you had to fork out any additional money to get the property up to scratch?

2) If the property is tenanted, did they provide details on how long the tenant had been living in the property, a history of the tenant paying rent on time, how much had the property rented in the past when property prices were higher?

3) I have trouble getting my head around this question – I have been advised that when you put in an offer for a USA property, at that point in time, you do not actually know what the interest rate will be if you are applying for a loan from a US bank. Only once you place an offer on the property, then the bank will advise on your interest rate which will depend on the previous owners level of debt and mortage rate. Once the bank offers you an interest rate, you can decline and retract your offer since the purchase contrat is subject to finance. Is this how the procedure goes?  I have also been advised that on average, interest rates are around 7% which seems awfully high for the USA at this point in time.

4) With the cheapy properties that myUSAproperty offer (around the 20K mark), I was advised that there is no guarantees whether or not the property has been refurbished. This sounds really odd to me. Do you know if myUSAproperty actually visit the properties individually or do they simply take an agents word for it?

5) Are you receiving the returns that you were expecting?

I am in agreement with Sean here… I also live in brisbane and would like to start investing  It all seems very well and good, but some other feed back is needed….I have heard many different sides to a few companies.  Can anyone answer sean's questions?

We have dealt with My USA Property, and so far have had no issues at all.  Here are my answers to the questions you have;

1. once you have bought your property dont have to pay any extra for the renovations. All the work is done, you can even ask for a list of what work is done, on some of the property sheets they list the details.

2.  If you want to know any informaiton about the tennant they supply you with a lease agreement, you can then ask them questions………..actually why wouldnt you ask the question?

3. We have dealt withUSA  Loans quite a bit now, you can call and ask them questions too.  From our experience it depends on how much you pay, where the property is as to what the interest rate is.  And check with some US banks yourself, the current home loan rate over there is 7% for a normal family. 

4. Dont know the answer to this one – never bought an unrenovated property – even though I know they have them.

I think you should call back and ask the questions directly to them.  Each dealing we have had they are happy to help and any information we have asked for we have gotten without a problem.

thanks melbourne girl 4 getting back to me i have some comments and some more questions…. 1. Thats good to hear – Last thing you would want is to purchase a renovated property and then have to fork out more money 2. If you don't mind, could you please shed some light on the tenancy agreement for the property you purchased? Was it tenanted from day one? 3. I just had a look on hsbc home loans for kansas city – their variable rate is about 3.5% and their fixed rates are around 5%. I have a suspicion that either myUSAproperty or their partner financing company is making money from trailing commissions – there is quite a big discrepancy between the rate you are paying to the rates the banks are offering directly – however i could be completely wrong!! SOURCE: http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/home-loans Click on 'view rates' select 'KS' 4. Thats cool 5. How long have u owned the property? Are you receiving the return that myUSAproperty advertised it to be? ps. I did call them and no one returned my call. I even emailed the director directly and he didn't respond…

I read your interest rate and was a bit gob smacked!  I called HSBC and after being transfered around and around and around I discovered that they would only now offer this for a second home for a loan of more that $150,000.  That is not the property prices we are buying at.

I also called Loans USA and asked the question strait out. Do you get commission from the banks in the states?  They categorically answered no.  The only payment they get is the fee over here in australia.  I also asked them about higher priced properties and the rates they can offer and they were from 4.25%.  Sounds fair to me.

Our rate of return is great. we are really happy. in a couple of properties the rent actually is more than they quoted and in a few a bit less so it evens out.   The places were mainly tenanted, if not they get a 'rental guarantee' so if they arent tennanted when you buy you have a guaranteed 60 days of rent paid to you. 

I cant say it enough.  Call them.  I cant understand that you cant get on to anyone. When I called they were in a seminar this week, but called the people at the finance part and they were happy to help out.

Ask people Ask them!

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 9, 2011 - 7:17 am

Hi Rosa

My partner and I have purchased several properties from Memphis, using My USA.  We have  had them all financed with out any issues.  Per property I would allow about 30K.

As I have said a couple of times, call them and ask some questions.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 7, 2011 - 10:28 pm

Also, Melinda at Loans USA has mentioned to us a number of times now that she has to build a great picture of us here in Australia because they have arrangements with banks that they dont have to have a US credit rating. We have given financials, bank statements and even had a credit file done on us.

I would call her, she is really happy to chat about what is required.  Stephen her boss is really knowlegable. Its hard to get through to him as he seems to be in high demand. their office will find out what you need to know.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 7, 2011 - 10:24 pm

Hi there

yes the bank will lend in the LLC name, we just didnt have our completed in time for the first ones.  we did a transfere, after the sale.

none of the banks so far have had an issue with an LLC that we have found

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 7, 2011 - 4:16 am

Rosa Tong wrote:

seano4ever wrote:

Hi everyone,

I recently had a meeting with Tony from myUSAproperty at the Brisbane branch.

I have a couple of questions that I would like to clarify with people who have previously dealt with myUSAproperty.

1) When they said the property had been recently refurbished, did you had to fork out any additional money to get the property up to scratch?

2) If the property is tenanted, did they provide details on how long the tenant had been living in the property, a history of the tenant paying rent on time, how much had the property rented in the past when property prices were higher?

3) I have trouble getting my head around this question – I have been advised that when you put in an offer for a USA property, at that point in time, you do not actually know what the interest rate will be if you are applying for a loan from a US bank. Only once you place an offer on the property, then the bank will advise on your interest rate which will depend on the previous owners level of debt and mortage rate. Once the bank offers you an interest rate, you can decline and retract your offer since the purchase contrat is subject to finance. Is this how the procedure goes?  I have also been advised that on average, interest rates are around 7% which seems awfully high for the USA at this point in time.

4) With the cheapy properties that myUSAproperty offer (around the 20K mark), I was advised that there is no guarantees whether or not the property has been refurbished. This sounds really odd to me. Do you know if myUSAproperty actually visit the properties individually or do they simply take an agents word for it?

5) Are you receiving the returns that you were expecting?

I am in agreement with Sean here… I also live in brisbane and would like to start investing  It all seems very well and good, but some other feed back is needed….I have heard many different sides to a few companies.  Can anyone answer sean's questions?

We have dealt with My USA Property, and so far have had no issues at all.  Here are my answers to the questions you have;

1. once you have bought your property dont have to pay any extra for the renovations. All the work is done, you can even ask for a list of what work is done, on some of the property sheets they list the details.

2.  If you want to know any informaiton about the tennant they supply you with a lease agreement, you can then ask them questions………..actually why wouldnt you ask the question?

3. We have dealt withUSA  Loans quite a bit now, you can call and ask them questions too.  From our experience it depends on how much you pay, where the property is as to what the interest rate is.  And check with some US banks yourself, the current home loan rate over there is 7% for a normal family. 

4. Dont know the answer to this one – never bought an unrenovated property – even though I know they have them.

I think you should call back and ask the questions directly to them.  Each dealing we have had they are happy to help and any information we have asked for we have gotten without a problem.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 4, 2011 - 9:16 am

speedy gonzales wrote:

Hi PropertyInvestor

You will find that LoansUSA operate specifically to arrange finance for clients of MyUSAproperty. If you don't buy a property from MyUSAproperty then you are not eligible to use the services of LoansUSA.
I have a contact for a bank north of Dallas Texas that will lend up to70% (or even up to 80% for strong applicants) but you must purchase property from a specific source in Texas to be able to get "a look in" so to speak. Rates at 6.75% and will do in the name of a newly established LLC
Other then that you will find it very difficult to arrange finance in the US as a foreign national

I think you may find this quote incorrect.  Loans USA do finance outside of My USA Property, I called to check this quote and they have said that My USA Property are a prefered client, but they can deal with other clients. 

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 4, 2011 - 9:12 am

The Nigel system sounds interesting. Although we have actually gained finance as Australians without any US credit rating by using Loans USA. They finance directly from the US, with US banks.  They can even get US bank accounts set up without any hassles.

Why wouldnt you just get preapproval for finance before you go overseas and use there services?  Just a thought.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

January 2, 2011 - 9:16 pm

Hi

I think you would have seen from some of my posts that my husband and I are dealing with My USA Property.  We have had nothing but positive experiences with them.  Everything they have promised so far they have delivered. Along with property management in the US!

I would speak to someone too about only using your drawn down funds from Australia. That can sometimes put you not in a position of stregnth as you move forward with purchasing properties. We attended just last month a little finance seminar in Brighton which was run by Loans USA – a bit of a drive – but well worth the trip.  They explained the benefits of finance over using all your available cash in Australia.

We havent dealt with the other companies that have commented above me – but they seem to make sound comments on this forum too. But as per your question, we have had no issue with My USA Property at all.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

December 28, 2010 - 8:08 pm

Hi Jason
thats why you buy through a company that offers all of that stuff done for you.  Then you purchase something called title insurance. 

I wouldnt do it on my own, too much to go wrong.  What happens if you think you have done all the checks & balances and then a $200K mortgage pops up? With back taxes of $55K.  Your bargain $30k forclosure becomes a nightmare!

Have alook around these forums – everyone uses someone different.  Gosh – just google US properties and several come up.  My husband and I use My USA Property.  I have read about Cash Flow Gold, US Properties, US Rental Properties, they all seem to do similar things, just different people overhere to deal with and I think My USA are the only ones with finance – dont quote me though.

Lots a stuff to learn – too many things to go wrong if you miss something small.  My vote – let the professionals do it for you.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

December 28, 2010 - 12:21 am

A storey which I think you may see a lot of.  He purchased through a company of the net, didnt do any checking into the property he was buying and it ended up being a huge lemon.  No tennants, no rehab done and he has paid for all of this to happen.  He bought a duplex – thinking he would have double the income.  But nope, none of the rehab was done, the property is very delapodated and he is currently trying to sell it.  He has decided that it will be a complete loss.  So an announcement – but not a good one.

A completly different story to the experience we have had. Thank goodness

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

December 27, 2010 - 10:26 pm

Hi there

No I dont think you do have to buy through My USA Property.  Saying that, there would be no way i could be bothered doing all the work they seem todo for the properties.  They have it seems to me, a lot of people on the ground in the US that do all the running around for me.

Rick H yes, we started looking at the 70% LVR and the approval time did take forever.  Melinda suggested the Memphis properties and we went for it. Cant beat a 3 week turn around time. 

If you get sick of waiting i would ask about those ones. We will fully own them in just 5 years.  My husband is the one who has bought them, but I am the lucky one who gets to do all the phone work with them.  I just have never dealt with someone who actually answers everything you ask, and they dont make you feel like a fool.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

December 27, 2010 - 7:34 pm

Hi there.  Rick H seems like your using the same company as me to finance my investment properties in the US.

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[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

December 27, 2010 - 10:14 am

I agree the people at Loans USA seem to be quite busy at the moment, I did however call today (thinking I could leave a message) and the phones were answered!

I got more information on an investment property we are looking at buying in Cape Coral.  We were quoted rates starting from 4.5% depending on the property and some other incidentals.

So far we have spoken several times and purchased twice and a friend in WA has used the service to purchase a total of 12 properties using their service.  I must say we and our friend are just so pleased with the level of service we recieve with each transaction.

I would call and have all the property details ready to go. They can give you informaiton over the phone and via email and fax.

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

December 6, 2010 - 9:10 am

streamlineinvesting wrote:

Hi Melbourne Girl,

I'm looking at purchasing a property in the US next year and was hoping to get some tips / advice.

I'd be interested to know whether or not you have set up a LLC and a US bank account in order to purchase properties in the US? Or do you simply transfer money to myusaproperty.com and they do all the paperwork?

Also, have you employed the services of an accountant and a solicitor to help you sort through all the legal / tax jargon? Could you please provide some information regarding how someone living in Australia would get taxed when purchasing a property in the US?

Your help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Hi there.

I set up the accounts that My USA Property suggested.  I am a registered member with them.  They have loads of information too.

I am buying in my own name, the LLC sounded good but I can transfere the properties at anytime into the LLC name.  The accountants that we are using are just great too.  I am dealing with a guy called Michael, who knows his stuff.

The paperwork is taken care of by the girl at Loans USA.  She seems pretty on the ball.  If you need more info – call them.  Her name is Melinda and the boss (owner) is Steve.

Good luck!

[melbourne girlMember@melbourne-girlJoin Date: 2010Post Count: 21]

December 5, 2010 - 7:22 pm

Interesting that you all mention the word caution so much.  I have come to think that the amount of money I am investing in the US market is similar to the amount I would be putting into a term deposit for my kids education.  I dont size up the bank,. take multiple photos of it or check out what every other web site is saying,  I simply look at the numbers.

That is why I think we are sucessfully purchasing in the US.  We are keeping emothion out of it and just looking at the numbers.

I think if you actually speak to My USA Property, then call the people at Loans USA and let them all explain what they are offering you will see that it IS a non emotional choice you are making.  They give you an excell spread sheet that has all the numbers on it.  The guy there Steven is the owner, he seems very experienced at the US market. 

We are now looking at properties in Memphis.  They are all newly rehabbed and if your super suspect you can even see them on youtube! A full home inspection! Technology is just unreal!   They have let me know that I will OWN the property in 5 years.  The rent pays my mortgage.