Foreign Investor in Indianapolis

Foreign Investor in Indianapolis

Real Estate Investor · Den Haag, ZH · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 8 votes

Hi all,

I have to confess my sin. I'm not really that new here but I have been shadow-reading all the posts without introducing myself.  So, here I am!

In 6 week's time, I'm visiting Indianapolis to meet local turnkey providers, investors, wholesalers, and brokers and lenders that I've been in contact with for the last few months. Right now, I'm putting together a 3 day agenda in Indianapolis. If you know of any foreign-investor-friendly wholesaler, realtors, or private lenders I must say hello to, please let me know ;)

I'm Dutch part-time investor with rental properties in Netherlands. Now, I'm living in Asia with only my passive rental income while starting up my business consultancy firm as a travelling nomad.

Having rehabbed (part contractor, part DIY), done house-hacking, and rented out the investment properties in Netherlands, I really had to take a break because the rehab project totally wore me and my partner out. We both also realized how much we loved renovating properties but we also knew how much we'll never want to renovate homes as our full-time career. After more than enough tropical sun, it's time to get back on the horse again.

In the coming 3 years, I target to close 2-3 deals every year with a mix of turn-key and BRRR with my own team. So, hopefully in 3 years I'll own 8-10 cashflowing properties in US through a mix of cash and leveraged buys. I'm not in a rush...

Since I focus 100% on growing my consultancy firm, I'm only doing real estate investing part-time. However, I have interested local investors that keep asking to invest with me potentially as partners or lenders. So, I'm now learning as I go so that eventually I can market deals or work BRRR with local partners to get wholesale deals and rehab properties for rentals.

Long story short, my personal investment comes first. The latter will come after I get a better impression of the market and people I meet during my upcoming trip.

I look forward to meet and get to know more of you here. 

I've been learning a lot from BP forums and I'm grateful with the generous posters here. I also refer a lot of people from my social circle in Asia to BP as well. They all have been in awe how much valuable information you can get for free without paying for seminars. They didn't believe that I learned what I knew from only BP...because a lot of them have paid hundreds or thousands of US dollars to attend a real estate seminar course and learn something what's covered in BP blog posts for free.

Look forward to learn more from all of you. 

P.S. I'm always ready to diversify myself by observing what's happening in other markets eg: Birmingham, Kansas City, and Jacksonville. But I focus on Indy for now.

Peace out.

Jo

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Josh C.Pro Member
Property Manager · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Indy is a great market if you buy in decent areas and have a good team in place. Let me know if I can help. It's a pretty popular market for foreigners who do there research based on our economics and landlord friendly laws. Getting any debt will be your challenge. Good luck!
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  • Professional · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Jo Lynn Tan

    Welcome to Bigger Pockets. Make sure to listen to the podcasts. They are very informative, and contain ample information. https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/

  • Developer · Hobart, IN · Member since 2014 · 773 posts · 225 votes
    9y

    Welcome to the site! You are at the right place. There is a ton of information on here and some awesome connections to be made. Stay active on here and network like crazy. If I can ever help at all please let me know. 

  • Josh C.Pro Member
    Property Manager · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y
    Indy is a great market if you buy in decent areas and have a good team in place. Let me know if I can help. It's a pretty popular market for foreigners who do there research based on our economics and landlord friendly laws. Getting any debt will be your challenge. Good luck!
  • Real Estate Agent · Wheaton, IL · Member since 2008 · 66 posts · 32 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Josh C.:

    Indy is a great market if you buy in decent areas and have a good team in place. Let me know if I can help. It's a pretty popular market for foreigners who do there research based on our economics and landlord friendly laws. Getting any debt will be your challenge.

    Good luck!

     Hi Josh, what is a good way to gauge decent area for investing in Indy?  (I.e. crime reports, school rankings, etc..?)

  • Real Estate Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2013 · 474 posts · 214 votes
    9y

    @Jo Lynn Tan Welcome to BP! Where are you based in Asia? I have a lot of family there and travel back frequently. I just started investing long distance in Indy, but I don't have much to add. If you ever want to know more about Jacksonville just let me know. I find Indy on the whole to be a bit cheaper and better ROI on paper. But we're just dabbling there, Jax is the market we really know.

  • Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2015 · 393 posts · 116 votes
    9y

    @Vladimir K. I think crime reports, school rankings, etc can definitely be used to help, especially if you are not from Indy. Most local investors are simply familiar with the market and areas/neighborhoods from personal experience and know right off the bat. Many investors look at rental amounts and year of construction to get a basic idea- for example, it's thrown around that $750+ in rents is the sweet spot to get decent tenants; below that and you might run into problems with the tenant pool. As far as the property, many investors look for homes built in the 50's or later. These are just some examples of what investors keep in mind, although different investors have different criteria. Hope it helps a bit!

  • Specialist · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2014 · 670 posts · 352 votes
    9y

    @Jo Lynn Tan welcome to the site. Indianapolis is a solid investment market to target. As you mentioned Kansas City and several cities in Alabama provide investment opportunities as well. Finding a trustworthy team, who's focus is transparency and has the investors best interest in mind should be your primary focus as this alone will make or break your out of country investment experience. Stay away from the $30-50K purchase price for turnkey in these areas! Happy to provide more information if needed.

  • Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 601 votes
    9y

    Hi Jo Lynn Tan. Couldn't tag you for some reason, but welcome to the forums. I'm a "foreign-investor-friendly wholesaler":) in the area. I've been at it here for 10 years. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to chat or set something up. 

  • Specialist · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2016 · 841 posts · 480 votes
    9y

    Jo Lynn,

    If you have need for local contractors or top-notch wholesalers - PM me?

    I have some good people I can connect you to.

    I do a lot of  project management for remote investors and I'd be happy to meet with you.

    Thanks,

  • Real Estate Services · Olathe, KS · Member since 2015 · 329 posts · 57 votes
    9y
    Feel free to pm me about Kansas City!
  • Wholesaler · Montreal, QC · Member since 2016 · 66 posts · 20 votes
    9y

    Hi, Jo Lynn

    I happen to know of a lender to Foreign Nationals.  Don't have the time at the moment to hunt down his name, but would be happy to if you'd like me to so just send me a PM.

    Wishing you great success in your investing and your consulting business.

  • Real Estate Investor · Den Haag, ZH · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 8 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Vladimir K.:
    Originally posted by @Josh C.:

    Indy is a great market if you buy in decent areas and have a good team in place. Let me know if I can help. It's a pretty popular market for foreigners who do there research based on our economics and landlord friendly laws. Getting any debt will be your challenge.

    Good luck!

     Hi Josh, what is a good way to gauge decent area for investing in Indy?  (I.e. crime reports, school rankings, etc..?)

     Hey @Vladimir K., you posed your questions to Josh. But I thought I could share my experience after assessing tonnes of input I read from the forum threads.

    For me, I used crime stats, top employers/companies locations, local news sites about development in neighbourhoods, school rankings and most importantly, I read almost every threads with keywords "indianapolis neighbourhoods". 

    But these data and stats only told me so much. Google map only showed you how a house/ street look like. Since all the crime and school stats were telling me I should stay away from where I want to get to, I've compiled what local investors' commented about specific streets in Indy neighbourhood into my own report. So, I could find exceptions within certain neighbourhoods I like. At the end of the day, the investability of every deal differs street by street. This is what I've been hearing and I agree after my own due diligence. 

    Your criteria and budget on the type of houses you look for will make a huge difference as well. That's where you can spot areas based on rentability.

    I've got a few sites in my favourites but these are some sources I've been referring to:

    Affordability Map (someone shared this in the forum)https://www.trulia.com/local/irvington-indianapolis-in/type:home_prices_listings_affordability
    City Datahttp://www.city-data.com/city/Indianapolis-Indiana.html
    IndyMaphttp://maps.indy.gov/MapIndy/index.html

    Hope this is helpful.

  • Real Estate Investor · Den Haag, ZH · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 8 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Lynne Jacob:

    Hi, Jo Lynn

    I happen to know of a lender to Foreign Nationals.  Don't have the time at the moment to hunt down his name, but would be happy to if you'd like me to so just send me a PM.

    Wishing you great success in your investing and your consulting business.

     Hi @Lynne Jacob, I would appreciate it. I have some people reaching out to me. I would like to see how I can make the numbers work. Let me send you a PM! Thanks so much.

  • Real Estate Investor · Den Haag, ZH · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    @Jason Hawk, I'll definitely keep you in mind! Since I have friends in Kansas City, it's a place that's been on my mind and I want to look into after I get first few deals going. Kansas City is not in my agenda during this trip but might be on the next one. Let me add you so that I'll keep you in mind.  Thanks!

  • Real Estate Investor · Den Haag, ZH · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    @Jeff Wallenius, thanks for the tip. Before I looked into US market, I had a friend back in Europe that invested in $30k properties many years ago. It didn't turn out well for him. in Florida or some place I've never heard about being a solid market. His experience stuck with me since then... no matter how successful some people managed to make it work for them... Anyway, Portland is a place I've always wanted to visit. I'll keep you in mind if I do pass by!

    @Mark Nolan, I stopped listening to podcasts for a while now. I'm living the fast-food life now...quick consumption only. So, I definitely dig the blogs because I can consume them quicker. Appreciate your advice!

    @Josh C.: thanks for offering your help. I may take you up on that offer as I could use boots on the ground or just second opinion at some point. Let me send you a PM to follow up and understand better what you do and how I can help you in return.

    Big thank to all of your warm responses. This is why I love BP!

  • Real Estate Investor · Den Haag, ZH · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 8 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Maxwell Lee:

    @Jo Lynn Tan Welcome to BP! Where are you based in Asia? I have a lot of family there and travel back frequently. I just started investing long distance in Indy, but I don't have much to add. If you ever want to know more about Jacksonville just let me know. I find Indy on the whole to be a bit cheaper and better ROI on paper. But we're just dabbling there, Jax is the market we really know.

     Hi Maxwell, Thanks for your response! I'm curious to learn about Jacksonville even though it may not be something I'll make a move immediately. I'm based in Malaysia and Singapore for now. Let me send you a PM.  

  • Batavia, IL · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 14 votes
    9y

    @Jo Lynn Tan Thanks for sharing the website links.  Interesting data!

  • Real Estate Broker · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2013 · 749 posts · 399 votes
    9y

    @Jo Lynn Tan, have fun on your trip. If you change your mind on Kansas City, MO PM me. I have a bunch of heat maps that show where you should and shouldn't buy.  Best of luck to you!

  • Mike D'ArrigoPro Member
    Turn key provider · San Jose, CA · Member since 2010 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9y

    @jo lynn tan We've been selling turn key properties in Indianapolis for several years and have had a lot of success there but you have to know the right areas. You can find a lot of information about Indy on our website and on our podcasts which are on the website too. Let me know if I can be of help.

  • Ryan RomingerBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 340 posts · 144 votes
    7y
    Hi @Jo Lynn Tan I operate a property management company in Indianapolis called Intrigue Indy. I am also a licensed real estate broker with Nottingham Realty Group and I have had a lot of success helping investors (both local and out-of-state) buy investment properties, repair them, and either lease them to quality tenants (BRRRR) or sell them as a flip (BRSR). Let me know how I can help! I’d love to connect for coffee if you’re ever in town!
    Intrigue Real Estate & Property Management4.6285 Reviews
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