New to Austin, Texas from Vancouver, Canada

[Alice Huang]

Hello everyone,

Been on BP for about a month now but I thought I'd introduce myself.

Background

My name is Alice and I grew up on the west coast of Canada. Got gentrified out and left in 2009.  Lived in 8 countries and since and have had a very humbling experience in the last 11 years.  If anyone needs travel tips or contacts, feel free to reach out.  I may just know someone.  I've lived in Mexico City, Berlin, London, Melbourne (Australia), Taichung, Shenzhen.

Worked for real estate developers and consultancies in Canada, Australia and the UK.  Worked mainly on pricing, marketing and sale strategies for 37 - 2,000 luxury apartments.  Owned and sold my own property management company in Taiwan.  

The Awakening 

FIrst came across BiggerPockets through BRRRR by David Greene and it changed my life. I've always worked in the opposite end of the market as the the properties are always new builds in prime location and highest standard of materials. There is no room for "forced appreciation", apart from what and how the market is doing.

Now I binge listen to 4-5 podcasts a day and force them onto share them with my friends.

Current Challenges

In November, 2019, I decided to move to Austin, Texas, to build a real estate portfolio. Currently evaluating which market is the US would work best. I would like to focus on Single Family Homes or small Multi-families with positive cash flow. Any market recommendations would be appreciated.

Biggest struggle I am faced with right now is actually getting funding as I do not have a visa / green card to live and work in the US yet. Not ideal for the BRRRR strategy if I cannot be refinanced. If anyone has any recommendation apart from owner financing or flipping, please get in touch as well.

Alright.  That probably sums up the longest intro.  

Sincerely,

Alice

[Kris Wong]

Well, as you've pointed out, the problem with residential property is that you don't have access to leverage. If you were looking at commercial property, the lending is entirely different. As I understand it, once you form a valid entity in the US, with an EIN and bank account, then you would have access to a commercial loan. Your other option, as I see it, is to find a money partner who is able to sign on a residential (conventional) loan here in the US. However, since you won't be signing on the loan, that mitigates most of the risk for you, which means your partner would have to have a very high level of trust in you. Or, perhaps you could bring all of the cash required to do the deal, your partner could sign on the loan, and then you could split the returns. That way you both have skin in the game.