Real Estate Investing Overseas

[Kathleen McCabe]

Hi Everyone! I am new to this.... Pretty much in the "learning" phase aka waiting to save up enough for my first down payment on an investment property (Just a few months away!). One thing I'm very drawn to but haven't seen much about is real estate investing abroad. For example, buying an apartment in Mexico (ex, Tulum) and renting it out to tourists on Airbnb. Has anyone done this and do they suggest it? What are the pros & cons?

[Julie McCoy]

@Kathleen McCabe I believe the reason you don't see as much about investing abroad is the added complications foreign investment brings.  What are the laws regarding real estate ownership by non-citizens?  What are the tax implications?  The U.S. will tax your foreign income - will you get taxed by the country the property is located in, as well?  Will you hire a property manager, or self-manage?  Self-managing, even long-distance, can be pretty straightforward in the States, but internationally would present more challenges, and property managers take a big chunk of your profit.  Is there a language barrier to overcome?  

Those are the complications I see off the top of my head regarding international investing, which are in addition to the usual considerations of what makes a good STR. I'm with @Michael Baum - for your first investment, you're more likely to succeed with something closer to home; once you've gained some experience, you could always reconsider going international.