All Forum Posts by: Josh Keys

Hi
I am a newbie from Sydney. I am 31 years old and work as an accountant. Am just starting out in real estate investing as I have built up some reasonable equity in my own home.

I am interested in purchasing a buy and hold property in the Denver region and would like to speak to people in the area or on the site in general!

My main goal is to start building a property portfolio in the states, using Denver as a base. I live in Sydney, but will travel over next month to hopefully see some properties, meet some realtors and just get a feel for the areas that I have narrowed down my search to. Hopefully by then I will have built up some contacts on BP to meet up with :) Intending to come to the US once a year for work or leisure anyway.

I am not a intending to be a flip investor. As I am based in Australia, I imagine it would be tough to manage the rehabs required when not there. Interested to hear from anyone that sucessfully make this work though? I am willing to make basic repairs to properties though as required but will no doubt need a good property mgr to make this work.
Interested to hear from other Denver real estate investors!

Josh

I am also an oz buyer and I have managed to get some assistance from a US lender. Below are my queries and her responses. It is certainly possible! Even easier if going through an LLC.

- what level of deposit would br expected under an LLC structure? For me, around 70-80% lvr would be fine but if I could borrow 90% that would be preferred.
A: Please note the underwriting guidelines are changing every other day. Therefore, the answers I provide would be very general. Typically, banks want to see at least 15%-20% down payment for investment property. Although 20% or more would be ideal. Since you are a non-resident, some banks might require more down payment from you because of the risk. Although every banks is different, I am certain that no banks would lend on 90% LTV (loan to value).

-Am I able to borrow for multiple properties through 1 LLC?
A: Since it will be a brand new LLC, unfortunately, you will not be able to borrow for multiple properties through one LLC at this time. However, once your LLC has been established for a while and has been generating income, essentially, you will be able to use this LLC to borrow more money and buy more property in order to expend your empire. At least, that is the current regulations but some banks might have their own underwriting guidelines.


- I see alot of fixed rates being offered in the US. While I have no problem with this, in Australia usually fixed rate mortgages carry penalties for additional repayment or early repayment of the entire loan. Is this the case in the states?
A: Although this is the case in the US; however, it varies by banks and by programs. Generally, pre-payment penalties (if you pay the loan off early) only apply to those ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) programs. It hardly applies to fixed rate programs, but it's always good to pay attention to such details. By the way, I have your best interest so I will never offer you programs like interest only payment or loans with pre-payment penalty. Unless it makes sense to your financial goal.


- I can provide payslips and bank stmts plus tax returns if need be. Obviously these are all Australian sourced. I do not currently have a us income or asset source.
A: These will be the financials we would request from you.

- is there a minimum loan amount for your lenders? Depending on property value and your responses to the above, I am looking to borrow around 70-80k.
A: There is no minimum loan amount for my lenders.


Hope this helps!