All Forum Posts by: Bruce Crawford

Hi @Andrey Y.  Wasn’t on BP when this first came out so I never saw it. Ziv is still active and seems to be growing (I have a few with him). There are also some others in Tokyo and Osaka that I know of. One in Tokyo no longer deals with anything small but they have a monthly rental division that is always looking for properties to take over due to the high demand. I haven’t found a good fit yet that I could secure, but still trying. Since you are outside of Japan, funding will be problematic so the smaller turnkey provides is probably better. I heard from my ex-colleague (now back in Toronto) that non-resident investors may soon be able to borrow. Not sure if it’s true, but google it every few months to see if anything pops up.  There are also several wholesalers of buildings but you need to be careful of some of these and do your homework well. 

Happy to provide you whatever info you want (if I can). Just PM me or ask direct questions here. 

Bruce

Hi BPers,

I am looking for any advice, links etc on how I can protect assets in the US should anything happen to me. I live in Japan and will be here for another 30 years probably (until my wife's parents pass away). What's the best way to ensure that the government doesn't take my assets (property, IRAs, etc)? She is not a US citizen so I am looking for ways to protect everything. I thought about setting up an LLC for properties, but can she be listed on it if she's not a citizen? An LLC of course does not impact my 401k or IRA.

Any advice would be great! Thanks!
Bruce

Great question - one I have been wondering and was going to post. Thanks! 

For your “pay stub”, I work in Japan (10 yrs now) and they have an electronic version but it is not sent to me. I need to log onto the payroll company site to get copies - I needed to do that for property here. That may be an option. My assumption is that since I file US taxes every year that I should be OK. My concern is my credit report as I only have a bank account in the US where I pay my monthly VOIP bill from.  I requested my free credit report but never received it. 

Any thoughts on how to improve my credit score if not living in the US? Hopefully I don’t need to, but thought I’d ask just in case. 

If this goes through, when is it expected to go into effect? I am actually staying in an AirBnB this summer with my wife and her parents to show them my hometown (hopefully there is a Sox game then!). 
Also very good to know as I'm looking to get back into the local Boston market after living in Tokyo for 10 years (no plans on moving back but looking to start investing again in the US)

Brandon will love this plug, but it was actually from his book (The Book on Rental Property Investing). I had been out of the game for many years after moving to Japan and selling off everything in the US (a regrettable necessity at the time) and downloaded his book to start getting back into REI. Great refresher and his mentioned BP brought me here. Met quite a few investors from this site, so I'm happy to have bought the book!

@Peter Rivera - post a notice before your next visit and we can direct you to our meet up or others may be able to meet you and give you some thoughts, leads, etc. Enjoy your trip!  Sorry but I won’t be around during GW 

Some other notes on Prestia based on my discussions with them - for a single apartment/condo, it must be at least 15 sqm is size and the building must have at least 20 units in it. They only work within parts of Kanto (as noted on the link Daniel posted) and the building must be less than 30 yrs old. For non-PR (permanent residents) and possibly out of country investors, their rates were competitive. They would not allow me to buy 2 separate units within a building at once, nor buy a larger building.  Once my PR comes through (hopefully in a few months) they may be more flexible. 

Hi Harry - we are in the same neighborhood. Welcome to the BP Tokyo community.  I am also happy to meet up sometime or talk at the monthly meet-up (always at Brew Dog in Roppongi). Although I would agree with David that some meet ups have not been useful, but it’s been good source for contacts (for me anyway - but only from a few out of the several I have been to).   

The Tokyo meetup is the 3rd Thursday of the month at Brew Dog in Roppongi. You can find details at: https://www.meetup.com/BiggerPockets-Meetup-Tokyo-Real-Estate-Japan-and-Beyond/events/246290884/

Look forward to seeing some of you there in the future.

My girlfriend used to live in Paris for 9 years and still goes back a few times per year. I am considering buying an apartment there for us and rent it out as an AirBnB when we are not there (need to look up rules/laws on AirBnB in the city but seems OK).  Does anyone have any experience there? She will be there in January for several weeks and I'll fly over for a few days to look as some apartments with her. My initial thoughts are to be within the main arrondissements (like wards), within 10 min walk to the train, and with nice restaurants/shops close as well as some tourist site. 
Any places better than others? Does anyone know of a good property manager, contractors, etc? We will be talking to her friends who are still in Paris, but none are investors so I hope to get some insights and references from BP members. Note that I do not own anything there yet, but if we can AirBnB it and use it when we are in town, that would be great for us (assuming the numbers work) so any advice / thoughts would be great. 

Thanks!