All Forum Posts by: Josh Smalley

Simone, I know this thread was a long time ago. Do you still use this CPA? Is this CPA still in good standing with you. If not, and you are still Georgia, would you recommend a different CPA?

Now 9 years later, what are people's thoughts on investing in this market? Dried up? Too saturated? Just curious.

Brand new to BP. Where are "groups" found? Or is this no longer a component of the BP website?

Hello everyone,

My wife and I have identified Georgia as a state where we would like to begin our real estate investing careers. We live and work in Europe but are US citizens. We are looking to be semi-aggressive investors even though our role will be passive. 

We are very new to this, however, and trying our best to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible.

Questions:

1. We saw this article and the external link to the interactive map (https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/25-single-family-rental-markets-predicted-highest-growth-2017/). What do you think are some of the best markets in Georgia and is the outlook in these articles accurately representing the situation?

2. We would like speak with conventional lenders in Georgia. Any recommendations?

3. f my focus is cash flow, would duplexes be a better option than SFH in some of these markets in Georgia?

4. Should I avoid ATL or are there still good deals for a newbie to consider?

5. I think I've identified an attorney/consultant and a realtor, but I'm still open to hear from others about reputable realtors and attorneys throughout Georgia. 

6. Finally, if I go the turnkey route, what TK providers would you recommend?

@Brian Ross

Yeah, thanks. I will be in the Istanbul airport en route to taking students to South Africa on an animal conservation trip in less than two weeks. :) 

Yeah, I really want to get involved this summer when I go home for a few weeks. I feel like I have some financial room to work with but I don't want to be the "loaded shotgun" as they call it, being some stupid newbie with money to spend and no real wisdom. So, trying to take it slow and learn quickly simultaneously. 

Well, if we, either of us, find connections, let's link together and bring a sub-group here in BP that are US citizen investors from abroad. 

Thanks for engaging.

@Brian Ross

Thanks for the note. Yeah, I feel like I'm in this inbetween spot where most advice mostly applies to my situation but not always. I'd like to learn from someone investing from overseas--their strategy, their management, their markets, etc. 

I'm brand spanking new to everything and I have yet to jump in on anything. Picking brains with someone who has similar goals would be huge for me right now.

What do you do in Turkey if I may ask?

I teach in Belarus.

I hope this question matches the category I've selected for this post:

I'm an expat (US citizen), working and living 10 months out of the year outside the US. I have been reading and studying and preparing myself to get involved in real estate investing.

So often, it's suggested to know people in your community, rub shoulders with so-and-so, take investor X out for coffee, go to an REI meetup, etc. That's harder for someone like myself. I'd love to discuss with other expats who already do what I am hoping to do. Their advice and path will likely be more pertinent to me as much of the advice I get is for someone who lives stateside.

Is there an expat group or forum? Obviously, BP is the first place to start (and maybe there's a sub group inside BP that I'm not aware of at this time). I'm wondering if there is a specific, dedicated online group for expats investing in the US.

Any thoughts?

I feel the same hesitation many of you have. However, I want to set myself up right from the outset. Sure, I'm a complete newbie but I'd rather have all my ducks aligned on the asset protection and tax-wise side of things before leaping ahead. I had a call with Anderson. Their costs are crazy high. 12k for essentially all their services for life (excluding the costs for each LLC, trust, etc.). So, I suppose I'll go around asking more questions but it seems that setting everything up right at the beginning is the best thing. What do you think @Sheryl Griffin? 

 Tom,

Thanks. The BP postcasts are so many and the threads are so voluminous that it can be difficult, even with specific searches, to find the material of interest. Thanks for the links!

 Ibn, thank you for providing some additional options for me to look into. Thanks.

As for overseas, yes, we will definitely be doing that. We already have several things planned out. And costs are significantly cheaper where we want to purchase property (we are not fans of most countries in Western, Central, or Eastern Europe, for example).

The issue one can run across in Central and South America is ensuring you have a layer who helps you truly have sole ownership of a property (and protecting against any number of individuals coming out of nowhere claiming they, too, have a stake in the property). 

Again, thanks for the feedback! Awesome!