All Forum Posts by: Felipe Lois Affini

Hi Mohammad,

I bought my first property in Texas at a tax auction (through an LLC). I chose Texas for some reasons like the State economy, migration, number of counties, real estate market appreciation, and affordability.

Florida, for example, is a market very desired by Brazilians, but the values are way higher than Texas. 

Georgia is a good State to invest but, in my case, the tax auction rules there are not so investor-friendly like Texas (I have been to some auctions in Dekalb County). 

I bought an SFH, rehabbed and put on the market to sell a few weeks before the COVID19 hit and the government determine shelter in place (not very lucky, right!?). So I believe it´s going to take a couple of months to sell.

 I made some deals in partnership with other investors in Georgia and Tennessee (off-market) and then decided to focus in Texas. I spend a few weeks visiting these States, talk to people in the market before making my decision. 

Once I decided to focus and invest in Texas I searched a lot and talked to people here in BP. If you what to talk to someone there to understand better the market I can recommend you @Bruce Lynn that is really knowledgeable and a very nice and helpful guy. 

If you want to understand better the rules and tax auction in Texas talk to @Arnie Abramson (from Texas Tax Sales Resource Group). I am a priority member with then and it is very helpful for an out of state/country investor (I can give you more information on that if you want to).

If that is any other information I can give to you just let me know.

@Jasraj Singh,

I am from Brazil and investing in the US (Texas). I recommend you follow some steps:

1) research where and in what type of property you want to invest;

2) run the numbers on a few properties that match your criteria;

3) talk to people (other investors, realtors, contractors) in that area to understand better the market;

4) fly there at least one time to drive, visit properties, etc;

5) Invest.

Even with all precautions, you can still have problems with rehab/tenants, etc. But this is part of investing in real estate.

It is possible and profitable to invest in another state/country.  

Do your homework and go for it!

Let me know if I can help in any way.

Hi @Aaron B., and fellow BP friends,

I am really amazed by your post.

I am from Brazil and, although I have been several times to Rio de Janeiro I don't live there (I'm in São Paulo).

Before I give my thoughts about your investment I would like to give general data about Brazil (and its real estate market):

Yes, it is a great time for foreigners to invest in Brazil. A couple of reasons (some you have mentioned already):

- our currency is under-evaluated (to US dollar). It's due to our (local) recession that came after the impeachment of our former president (Dilma Roussef) and was aggravated by COVID19. Besides that, our stock market faced the biggest loss among stock markets around the world. So all this together led to BRL (Brazilian Real) lost a lot of value.

- After several years of Operation Car Wash (that dismantled one of the largest corruption schemes in history), our legal/compliance system improved a lot. This led to better laws and practices and a safer environment for international investments.

- although we had a huge increase in real estate prices in the last 6 years we still see opportunities in our market. Brazilian Companies lost investment power and US Dollar and Euro are really strong (for now) making foreign capital buy more here.

That said, I would like to ask you some questions that remained unanswered by your posts (or I may have passed through the answers. If I did I'm sorry):

- What type of contract did you sign when you bought this property? 

- It is not clear if you signed a lease agreement with your tenants. Did you?

- I believe you don't have an "Escritura de Compra e Venda" or a "Matrícula de Registro de Imóvel" (translating that to English it would be a formal deed. Here in Brazil we have this figure - Cartório de Registro de Imóveis (it is like a mix of a public notary with a title company. It´s a delegation of public power to a person that is, then, responsible for the register, maintenance and any modification of real estate transaction records. You cannot chose the one you want. It´s determined by the location of the property). Do you have one of these documents?

About investing in favelas: 

For me, this wouldn't be my first option due to the risks involved. Mainly because, legally, you probably don't own this real estate you paid for (your answers for the questions above could determine that). 

Favela are a risk due, too, the existence of 3 figures (all heavily armed and - imagine that - not trustful): The Police, The Militia and the Drug Cartels (this last fighting each other now and then). The pacification was heavily applied (and advertised) from 2013 on because of World Cup (2014) and the Olympic Games (2016). During the largest event in the year - Carnival - that is special operations in place to maintain the city as safe as possible (it includes non-aggression deals between police and drug cartels). It´s true that the situation is better than 5-10 years ago but this is a problem not solved yet. 

So that is a very unstable situation because all 3 parts in this equation want to see their power prevail. This often led to conflicts (you can go to youtube or google to see how it goes).

So as you already invested and are getting paid (and I really agree in the part you say that is reliable and honest people that live there because they have no option) I would recommend you to be extra careful and keep track of this first investment and the local situation before jumping in other deals.

These are just my thoughts and the most important: If I can help you in any way (Legal or non-legal question) just let me know. 

Hi  @Alice 

@Alice Ward,

I am from Brazil and invest in US (living in Brazil). As far as I know the undocumented have 2 options: Buy cash or buy as a foreign using a brasilian address and having access to the foreign conditions (25-30% down, higher interest rates, etc). 

 Great info @Rabih El-Khoury.

@collete 

I have been through the same path.

I'm from Brazil (still living here) and after 2 years of studying, researching and traveling to the US I start investing in SFH. I got my first property on my own in a Tax Auction in Texas (Wichita Falls) that is currently under rehab.

I had another property that I bought with a group in Memphis that I sold last year.

The bank account was the hardest part for me. I used some contacts and decided to open mine LLC acct in BB&T (As my LLC was originally formed in Florida I used to had an acct in SeaCoast, but as it is local it makes hard to make business in Texas without a branch there). I did that when I was in Dallas (you will have to be there to open an acct. But I suggest to first call the bank of your choice, send the docs that they need so when you get there you have all set - that way you won't waste time or risk have some issue and don't open your acct).

I don't know how easy is to you to go to the US but I would try to set all you need (virtual address, LLC through an Accountant/CPA - I didn't use an attorney, and info from the bank) before get there so you are able to get all done in one trip.

Good luck and if you need any help just let us know.

Regards,

Felipe

Hi @Valleri Turakhia ,

My partner is. 

Feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Hi @Clarence Gong,

The property tax that you are going to pay is not directly related to the value you paid in your property.

It is related to the assessed value of the property by the County where the property is. 

Generally, the County has a commission that put together a few data to find the assessed value of all properties and, upon that value, applies a mileage rate (a percentage). For ex. if the assessed value is 200k and the mileage rate is 1 it means you going to pay 2000 in taxes. 

I just gave a general idea, the property tax has more details. If you go to the county tax assessor website you probably going to find the values for 2019 and explanations of how it is calculated.

Thanks @Mike Reynolds for your input.

I know @Arnie Abramson and have been working with him this past year. He is great and really helpful. 

My intention with TAI inner circle is to have access to more hands-off deals (as they have rehab teams in their markets and do most of the process).