Investing from overseas questions

[Derek Horn]

My wife and I currently invest in rentals and flips outside of Savannah, however at the beginning of next year we will be moving to Japan for 4 years. We are trying to make sure and have all of our ducks in a row to continue purchasing properties. So, considering the wealth of experience on here, I wanted to reach out and see what recommendations everyone has for conducting business while overseas. How you setup banking, deal with mailing contracts, how you maintain contact with your team, etc? 

Appreciate it in advance. 

[David Gotsill]

@Derek Horn - I'm a Japan-based investor.  There are a handful of us here on BP.

In my experience investing in the US from Japan, the biggest hassle is closing. I believe that the only place you can legitimately get documents notarized is the US embassy/consulate for the area in which you live (maybe not the case if you're a service member). So, notaries are a pain, and quite pricey ($50 per page). With that in mind, having a POA set up with someone local that you trust in order to carry out closing may be something to consider.

Another consideration is if you'll be working at a US company or Japanese company, and if Japanese, then you would likely need to have all your income related documents translated into English for the benefit of a US-based lender.  Again, a bit of a pain.  

But as to the team, etc. - If you already have the people in place, there's really little else that you need to do.  Pinging a couple other Japan-based investors so that they can chime in: @Daniel Mills, @Steven E. Quasha