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All Forum Posts by: Jennifer S.

Jennifer S. has started 9 posts and replied 159 times.

Post: Which companies / consultants / brokers to register with & why?

Jennifer S.Posted
  • Investor
  • London
  • Posts 160
  • Votes 82

@Charles Maxwell, thanks for the post, I'm interested to hear about UK deals too and real intel on the state of buy to let given the tax changes (I'm a bit surprised people aren't posting more about this - I guess it's just not a big UK site). For a while I'd been avoiding the UK market because I'm overexposed to GBP, the BTL issue, Brexit, etc but I'm probably going to be here for a while longer and might want to do something locally. Even though the economy has been fairly slow since the referendum my local area seems to keep booming and I too wonder where developers are getting their deals. Feel free to PM me

Post: UK investing! Differences between UK and America.

Jennifer S.Posted
  • Investor
  • London
  • Posts 160
  • Votes 82

Apologies I didn't really address the differences with America thing- are you able to invest in the US or is the question how to convert the knowledge to the UK market? I am still getting to grips with the buy to let issue tax wise but my understanding is if you are domiciled in the UK, a US property using mortgage finance and not in an LLC gets dragged into the UK tax code which can be dangerous for high earners

Post: UK investing! Differences between UK and America.

Jennifer S.Posted
  • Investor
  • London
  • Posts 160
  • Votes 82

@Ashley Jones, hello and thanks for your post. I've been kind of bearish on the UK market for a while but I have observed people continuing to make money even since the referendum. High end central London has fallen but the lower priced areas seem to be holding up ok. I can't believe the amount of loft conversions and back extensions I can see just from outside my window. This during a "recession". There seem to be enough young families who have been holding off buying for a while and there is still a price spread between the price of loft conversions and the price of sale per sq foot. There is an old saying "Don't fight the Fed", meaning if the government is telegraphing something strong enough, they have more power than you and go with their flow. In the UK the message seems to be there's not enough affordable housing, we are not really going to fund it, we are going to tax the heck out of buy to let, etc. But rents seem to hold up (in fact the buy to let catastrophe seems to be pushing rents up (?) so if you can stay nimble and Don't fight the HMRC there seem to be pockets of opportunity. Anyways so much of it is tax specific but there seem to still be opportunities in reconfiguring space, doing better storage, loft extensions etc. Happy to keep chatting on this. I am a bit overexposed to GBP (e.g. my pensions are mainly GBP and locked up until I'm much older) so still more interested in USD exposure at the moment but I do keep my eye on the London market at least.

Post: Introduction of a first-time investor from overseas

Jennifer S.Posted
  • Investor
  • London
  • Posts 160
  • Votes 82

@Gregor B. welcome to BP and best of luck on your journey! I'm based in the UK but have done property in the US and UK. It's great that you are seeking out accountant references. I have been astounded how much tax can matter, even if I haven't wanted to be tax led. Having studied investments I always wanted to let the investment proposition lead and tax follow but tax can wipe out much of your gains, or on the flip side there can be big tax advantages. 

If you are mobile within Europe you may want to research Portugal's program where your non Portuguese sourced income is not taxed there. I am not sure how that works for EU citizens--I have been learning about the Portugal option from US citizens who have achieved FIRE (financial independence retire early). It sounds like there is a blossoming expat community in Lisbon, some of whom also have real estate investments in the USA. 

If you're tied to Austria maybe google the FIRE movement there in case there are meet ups. I have been pleasantly surprised that even in fairly high cost London there is a FIRE movement. The reason I mention all these meet ups is it might be a way to meet people who have a similar situation to you (onshore EU investing in USA)

@Eamonn McElroy @Michael Plaks @Matt Ward

Many thanks all for your great advice. I figured as much but never hurts to ask. Biggerpockets has drilled the value of persistence into me. Happy to keep talking on private message if any of your leads / referrals are interested. I know I have to go through AML checks, happy to do that. 

i can look into one of the mega firms but some have been in the papers for pushing the envelope too far

Granular examples, in 2020 high earners in the UK could face approx 70% tax on rental property income outside of an LLC. But if I do a UK LLC what are the USA tax implications. 1031 exchanges are good in USA but not recognised in UK. Once you are domiciled in UK which I am unavoidably for now, estate tax threshold is approx USD 500k Vs multi million in USA. How do real estate structures interact with these inheritance tax considerations.

and so on

Thanks Eamonn! I'm on my phone now and the name tagging doesn't seem to work. I'd pay that hourly rate these days because the impact of good advice is staggering given the complexity. As an example, I'm getting radically different answers on a key capital gains question from two different well qualified accountants and it could cost me $30k or so depending which interpretation is right. Good advice will also inform me if it's a total waste of time to do rental property in the USA or UK, to do flips , to do something completely different. If I could gain comfort that the advice was good I'd pay four figures an hour.

Originally posted by @Eamonn McElroy:

Very unlikely that a tax professional will be an expert in both.  Most US tax CPAs who deal with international tax law as it relates to the US will know US tax law very well and just enough about other countries' tax laws to be dangerous.

If you find someone who is an expert in both, be prepared for an (appropriately) high bill rate that will reflect the time and effort it's taken that person to get to that level.  I'd expect four figures per hour...

Most taxpayers would have a US tax professional and a UK tax professional work together as advisors to get the holistic optimal strategy.

Looking to find 1 accountant who knows the US and UK tax code and with experience in real estate. Yes I know I may be looking for a unicorn!

Post: Are there any international investors based outside the US?

Jennifer S.Posted
  • Investor
  • London
  • Posts 160
  • Votes 82

@Justin Hunt, thanks for the post! I'm in London UK and looking at opportunities in the US and UK. At the moment I'm having a lot of tax problems so looking to connect with good accountants who understand US/UK and real estate. 

Are you moving towards LLC investing in the UK with the new tax rules? Are you domiciled in the UK? On the one hand the buy to let sector seems to have a lot of repossessions coming as the tax law bites but that could create opportunity too. And if we are going to become the "Singapore of Europe" now could be exciting times. I'm still more bullish on the US market at the moment.