@Daniel Ryu, @David Gregory, @Simon Baker, @Deborah Tuck, @Helen Rolls, @Aaron Mercer
Great thread for those of us in the international space looking to network and share experiences.
Just a bit about myself - I'm an American (married to an Australian) now spending most of my days here in Oz and still investing in different cities in the U.S. with various ground partners, including with other Aussies, in a wide variety of types of real estate investing such as notes, buy and holds, flips, and new developments to name a few.
As previously mentioned in the thread, there are quite of few people offering real estate investments, many of which are extremely visible and active online. With that said, due diligence, both quantitative and qualitative analysis at the micro and macro level is key to ensure the investment matches your specific goals. Part of the due diligence process for me is to go thru all the possible scenarios of things that could go wrong and see how you would address those issues.
What if you have to evict a tenant?
What if you have to replace your property manager?
What if something happens to your partner?
How do you hold contractors, agents, etc. accountable?
What if a performing note stops performing?
If you are able to address all the issues, and the investment still makes sense and meets your goals, then continue on the due diligence process. I can’t stress the importance of due diligence, even more so when investing remotely, as in the majority of real estate investments, the profit is actually made on the front end when you acquire the asset, as opposed to the disposition.
Knowing what questions to ask is essential, looking beyond the numbers.
What are the key metrics/numbers?
How were the numbers calculated?
What assumptions were made?
And so on....
The U.S. is quite a different place than Australia in so many ways. For instance, the U.S. has 50 states each their own state laws, as well as local/city jurisdictions.
As Daniel Ryu mentioned, by finding the right network, it is possible to invest remotely and still complete the due diligence process thru trusted relationships. As I get on in my years, I find myself more focused on building scalable systems and processes to streamline my investing business. In my younger days I was more hands on which helped me learn. I will say the decision to be hands on and be physically present at your investment properties would be a personal choice based on your own comfort level and goals.
Another key point is to manage the relationships you’ve established in your investments by communicating frequently. If if you’ve subscribed to a turn-key solution, there is still the need to communicate and hold your managers accountable by remaining engaged.
I’d be curious to gage the interest in U.S. real estate here in Oz as I am considering starting a group similar to what Daniel Ryu has done in Korea to build a forum for sharing information and experiences.
For those in Oz, I spend most of my days in NSW and ACT and am always up to talk real estate investing to share the successes and mistakes over a coffee or beer.
Cheers,
Dash
