All Forum Posts by: Bryce B.

Hey, all. I am looking to invest with a syndicate that purchases larger apartment complexes. I am looking to be more of a passive investor since I live abroad in Seoul, South Korea. If you are aware of any individuals or companies who do this I'd really appreciate any info on them so I can contact them. Also, I'm not an accredited investor so there may be some limitations for me depending on the deal.

Hey Claudio,

I really appreciate the information. I'll look into that and keep inquiring with lenders.

Hi All,

I am currently looking into investing in property back home in the USA. I'm originally from California, but I work in Seoul, South Korea. 

I am currently looking into how to get preapproved for a mortgage. Has anyone heard of US expats doing this before? I have only worked for Korean employers, so all of my official documentation for taxes/assets/bank acct. info/income is in Korean. Given this, I think I will have to have 2 year's worth of this documentation translated into English by a certified translator IN THE STATES. Does this seem right to you? Will it be possible to get preapproved if I do this?

My other concern is that if I apply for loans for properties over the next five years or so, will I have to have this documentation translated EACH time for the most recent 2 years? Or can I just use the translated documentation even if it's over 2 years old? If I have to translate them each time I apply for a loan, I imagine it will be quite costly.

I'd appreciate any ideas about this! I'm currently looking into this with some lenders now.

Hello All,

I am a little new to BiggerPockets and I'm really impressed with the community and the site. 

These days, I am thinking about investing in property in the USA, probably either a turnkey (invest alone) or commercial apartment property (capital investor). I'm more interested in passive investments and positive cashflow, hopefully with some appreciation in the property over the years. Flipping houses is probably more lucrative but I'm not sure I have the time or interest in playing that game at this time in my life.

One concern I have is for the mortgage. For a rental turnkey property, as a US expat in Korea, would it be possible for me to get mortgages that are on par with those received by residents of the United States? I heard that banks sometimes require US expats to put 35-55% down at 8-10% interest for non-owner occupied properties. I feel if this is the case, it might be hard to find a US property that will perform well.

Also, what are your thoughts about finding a commercial partner and getting involved in apartment complexes and the like? Would the returns be as good as a turnkey property? Of course, returns can vary from investment to investment, so I suppose this is not easy to answer. The good point about commercial investment for me seems to be that I could get involved in a partnership and be more passive.

Overall, I would like these properties to be in decent neighborhoods (Class A/B), preferably suburbs at least 20 mins from metro, positive cash flow, not old properties, and lower property taxes with decent tenant laws. Do you know which states/cities would be good for these kind of properties, for either commercial or turnkey duplexes? I've heard good things about Georgia and Ohio.

I hope I'm not asking too many questions. I'm basically just asking what might work better between a turnkey duplex/multifamily VS commercial apartment building (being a capital investor), AND what cities/states would be best to look into for either of these types of properties.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Bryce