When you're not from the US, where do you go?

[Andrew MacPhee]

Hi all,

I discovered real estate investing around a year ago, as part of a larger journey learning about financial independence. I consume loads of information now: podcasts, books, blogs. However, I haven't bought a rental property yet. I live in the UK, and I've been looking for properties here as well as on Prince Edward Island (PEI - where my family is from). I have literally never seen a property that would satisfy the 1% rule, and costs seem to be higher here (no or reduced beneficial mortgage treatment, 10-12% management costs). I'm not sure what to do. When I'm visiting PEI this summer, I plan on driving for dollars with my brothers, who got into property earlier before the market picked up. But it's not a large market (c. 70 property transactions all year) and incredibly tight right now (less than 1% vacancy rate), so very difficult to find sellers who are motivated to take a discount. Is the American market unique in having areas with relatively low capital costs but high rents? Any advice on where or how I should be looking? Do I just need to cowboy up and look harder? 

Andrew