All Forum Posts by: Lindsay Stewart

@Bryan Yokoyama

Hey Bryan,

There are areas that you can buy distressed MFR's and rehab for your budget, but will be probably more likely a minimum of $50-75K USD not AUD to purchase these. The you will have quite a bit of rehab needed at these prices...

As for transferring funds, I would certainly recommend opening an account, you can do that once you are there, or there are actually a couple of other options; then the best way is to use an FX company to send the funds to your US account.  Can do this in one hit.  Just say its for a property purchase.  You may get a call depending on the value of funds you are transferring, but no real issue :)

Best of luck!

Hopefully travel is all back to normal by June!  I was planning my next trip in July as well, probably going to postpone for the time being and see how everything pans out

Cheers

Lindsay

G'day @Rita Gunning!

Welcome to BP!  The US market can certainly be a great opportunity, even now, more so than ever!  As Jordan mentioned, it is really all about building a good team on the ground, including lenders and financiers, in whichever region you are choosing to work in.

I would certainly recommend, to start with at least, just pick one region and learn it WELL!  There is quite a lot of learning and 'legwork' to do to get comfortable in a region, but it is most certainly do-able from Australia!

Reach out if you have any questions or if I can help at all!

Cheers

Lindsay

G'day @Bryan Yokoyama, welcome to BP!

What Jordan said :)

Best of luck!

Cheers

Lindsay

Hey Michael, no i am based in Melbourne Australia.  Generally travel a couple of times per year to visit :)

From the US, investing in AU would be difficult without financing for sure, high entry prices here can certainly make it prohibitive.  

From a lending standpoint in the US, I preface by suggesting to have a chat to your accountant, but i do believe once you have lodged 2 positive tax returns with the IRS through your LLC, you do build enough of a credit score to access conventional funding. Need a bank account in the US as well, and a couple of other hoops to jump through but certainly possible

@Iris Cruz

Hi Iris, great to hear you took the plunge!  Best of luck with your US investing!  It is very exciting.

Which area of the US are you targeting?

Reach out if you need any help at all :)

Cheers

Lindsay

@Gary Bimbo haha Good luck Gary!  Wholesaling can indeed be fun and a roller coaster ride :)

@Avrom W. Smith Avrom, are you indeed based here in AU?  And if so we need to chat!  LOL

Cheers

Lindsay

Actually Keiran there is a world of difference between AU real estate and US real estate, be very careful investing in the US using AU strategies, it simply won't work (trust me, i tried it for 2 years...)

And you would not be able to use an Australian first home buyers grant to buy a US property. Has to be a property in Australia, and you have to live in it for a period and I believe it also has to be new properties (house and land packages or apartments). You could however, purchase a property in AU, allow time for equity growth and borrow against that equity to invest. In the US they call that a HELOC but we have similar here in Australia

@Dave H.

G'day Dave

You certainly should be able to get deals to stack up in Michigan for those figures. I am based in Australia and work actively in Michigan - both in and out of Detroit and can get 25-30% ROI nett from flips right now. Just need to allow 60-90 days on market for vacant possession or selling off market quicker for tenanted investment properties

Having someone on the ground you can trust is critical, so if you have a great contact in Michigan I would look there.

If you don't mind Detroit, try 48224, 48215 or 48221.  If you prefer the 'burbs try Warren, Eastpointe, St Clair Shores, Hazel Park.  Should find plenty within your budget

Cheers

Lindsay

@Michael King

G'day Michael,

Another Aussie here investing in the US.  Rather than accumulate rentals i focus primarily on flips, purchasing distressed properties, renovating them, tenanting and selling as tenanted investment properties.  Have been working in the market for around 7-8 years now in Michigan, Texas and Florida

There are certainly lending options available and it would be just a matter of shopping around lenders.  The rates are higher using private equity, although its really just a matter of budgeting this into the numbers.

@Wendy Brockman - I would certainly recommend an LLC, I wouldn't be too quick to invest in the US as a foreign investor in your own name, but certainly check with a qualified accountant or US registered tax agent to discuss the tax implications on this :)

Cheers

Lindsay

@Steve Clapham Hi Steve, welcome to BP!  As an Aussie you certainly can invest in the US.  I am based in Melbourne AU and am an active investor.  Can be a little more complicated that investing in our backyard, but with different strategies and looking at the market a little different, is surely profitable!

Best of luck!

Cheers

Lindsay