Renter · Amsterdam, North Holland · Member since 2014 · 1 post · 0 votes
Hello Everyone!
I am relatively new to BiggerPockets (and real estate investing altogether), and am interested in making contact with people who have had experience investing in Europe. I am currently based in the Netherlands, and would like to start locally, but would be interested to hear of real estate investing experiences throughout Europe.
Virtual Assistant · Reynoldsburg, OH · Member since 2014 · 66 posts · 23 votes
12y
I'm in Europe most of the time, but do my investing in the states because the returns are really high and it's pretty stable as far as knowing what to expect. But I'm not sure how taxes and such would affect your rate of return when dealing with bringing returns back home.
Otherwise, I've noticed that all the core principles are the same for investing in Europe (US and European laws are pretty similar most of the time when it comes to business, usually just a different label or a little different twist).
I'll be following this post for a while to see what people say, great question!
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland · Member since 2013 · 75 posts · 26 votes
12y
Kate, welcome. Few tips for you:
Search 'Netherlands' for posts and members, and do join a Dutch REI club like Vastgoedbelang.
For investing in the Netherlands start with a general book on real estate business practices such as "Praktijkaspecten vastgoed" ISDN 978-90-01-49400-1 (or check the extensive library of Amsterdam School of Real Estate, University Amsterdam). Also read "Real Estate Finance & Investment Manual"by Jack Cummings ISDN 0-13-493396-6. Third book to read is The "Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller c.s. ISDN 9780071446372.
If you are interested in income properties in Amsterdam check out www.mva.nl (our brokers' association, chapter of NVM) and the auction (held in De Rode Hoed, Keizersgracht).
For international real estate business: look for agents who are truly working international. Most are member of FIABCI (fiabci.org), the international real estate federation, or belong to national associations that are represented by ICREA and hold a TRC certification (worldproperties.com has all RE agents, check for TRC for international). Thirdly, check for the CIPS designation (Certified Internatonal Property Specialist) of NAR: http://www.realtor.org/designations-and-certifications/cips-designation/cips-network/cips-search