All Forum Posts by: James Warren

Really interesting and thanks for doing all this research. 

There are also many Chinese investors currently seeking properties in Detroit. For them it just seems too good to be true. A whole house, clean air, democracy for just 10 or 20K USD. When comparing that to prices in 1st tier Chinese cities where an average apartment costs around 400 to 600k it's a bargain and hard to believe. 

Just a few other facts:

When you go to China you will notice that most often there is no 4th floor in the building. Neither will you be able to find a 14th floor. 

Property which is facing south in China can often be rented out for up to 10 or 15% more than other identical properties. The selling price will also be higher.

Yea Youtube can be great to attract many visitors to your site. However, you will also want to attract quality or interested users which is not always that easy via youtube. Pinterest can also serve as a great platform to bring in new traffic to your website. Posting images of your current listings etc.

One has to actually put in the effort and start to free up some time in order to hangout in the places where foreign investors, who are often luxury buyers tend to be in. It also depends on what group of foreign buyers you are aiming at. Those who have been in the country for a few years already and are aiming to purchase their second home etc will be in very different areas and attending totally different events than those who come as tourists which could transfer to potential buyers in the future. 

When looking at Chinese investors for instance, at partnerGo where we connect international real estate buyer with seller agents directly we noticed that a lot of foreign buyers start out as being tourists in the area where they will later purchase a property. These areas are mostly prime locations or tourist destinations.

When looking at Chinese real estate buyers in France for instance, the French Riviera is one of them. Other areas include luxury properties in Paris with views of the Eiffel tower and other famous landmarks. Properties in Bordeaux and Monaco are also sought after. If purchasing in the French Riviera, properties with ocean views are more desirable. Remember that many of your Chinese buyers will most likely start off as tourists to the area, fall in love, and only later on purchase property. Try and target the tourism industry in your area too for future prospects.

The most important thing is that your content starts to engage your users. To create such content is effective as long as you have time and a lot of patience.

I believe to create a quality article would take me at least 3 to 4 hours. I also believe that often longer articles that are consistently packed with quality information from start to end can create you some backlinks which will last for years to come. When creating content for your  website blog you might want to check out this article written by Tim Ferriss

http://fourhourworkweek.com/2013/05/02/a-few-thoughts-on-content-creation-monetization-and-strategy/

Yup Donald Trump all the way. The Art of the Deal. 

However Robert Kiyosakis book: The Real Book of Real Estate also includes a section on negotiations and making deals. 

Sure, it should not be a problem to rent our to your 2 Chinese students. However make it clear to them if pets are allowed or not. A lot of Chinese guys will also have the habit to smoke indoors, if that is not what you want, also make it clear to them. 

You can also first try and rent out the property on a month to month basis. 

One option nowadays is via social media networks or social media applications. Best is always to try and adjust to your customer's means of communication. Here are just a few examples of commonly used social applications and social media in general in different countries:

Japan: Line

China: WeChat or QQ

Europe: WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger

Communication Apps such as Skype are pretty good because it is most often not blocked in any country. 

Other methods to keep in contact with your international partners would be to sign up on international real estate referral networks.

Oh, and funds are usually wired in. 

hello there @Irina Balueva,

You made the right decision to come and join us here at BiggerPockets. Basically anything about real estate, from beginner to pro, can be found here. 

@Gerrit Stukkie Yea makes sense. Il add that to my list. 

Thanks for the input