All Forum Posts by: Lisa P.

Hi @Isabella Phillips, we ended up buying with American Real Estate Investments (AREI)

@Anjesh Dubey, no I didn't find any references for Prime Properties, but we ended up buying in Dallas through one of their competitors about 7 months ago.  So far so good, but it's still early days.

That said, the mortgage broker we used had other clients who had bought from Prime Properties and he hadn't heard anything negative about them, so that's a good sign I think.

Good luck with your property journey!

Hi Kim, I spent many years in the UK and bought and sold property there.  DIY conveyancing is possible but I wouldn't recommend it.  As @Cameron Andrews points out, much of the property there is leasehold, which complicates things, and if you're buying a flat where there's a management company for the block it can be even more complex.  Finally if you're using bank financing a solicitor can handle that side of things for you as well.  I think licensed conveyancers are typically cheaper than lawyers, but in my view, lawyers are better qualified and are a safer pair of hands.

I think if you're still thinking about DIY, do a google search on the pros/cons and risks of doing so before making a decision.

@Tom Ott, thank you, this is helpful advice (and your blog post is great).  I will check through your list, and will also them directly for references, because I really can't find anything at all online.

Hello, I have been looking at turnkey companies operating in Texas and have come across the website of Prime Properties Realty but I've not been able to find any reviews of it.  Does anyone have any experience of this company?  Its founders/owners seem to be Ryan Bowers and Todd Bowers.  

It would be great to hear about others' experience.

Thanks!

Hi @Peter F, just wondering if you've ended up using AFEX and if so, how you've found them?

@Chris Nordella 

@Chris Nordella Thank you for posting this.  I have recently embarked on my real estate investing journey so reading posts like yours provides invaluable insight into the realities and what to expect. Best of luck with this one.  I'll be following with interest to see how it goes!

Thanks all for your replies and advice - I found them really helpful.

@Jay Hinrichs, I downloaded your e-book and found it to be a great summary of what to look for and what to avoid, so thank you for providing such a useful resource.

Based on what everyone has said, I can see I need to do a lot of research before I dive in!

Hello 

I’ve started to look into investing in US property, but am wary given how many other Australians have reported being burned.  Thanks to BP I think I understand the process well enough, but I'd rather not do it on my own.  I don't plan to do any kind of renovation - my strategy would be buy and hold only.

I’ve come across a few sites/services (most claiming to be Australian) who offer services for Australians getting into the US market.  I don't know if I'm allowed to name them here, but a Google Australia search of “invest in US property” brings up several such companies.

As far as I can tell, what they're offering is referrals to local accountants, lawyers, insurers, turnkey providers, estate agents, banks, financiers etc.  Or else they just tell you the process and "help" you with it. Some have some of their own properties for sale, others have "example" properties and say they can "source" others.  Most don't say what their fees are, but the couple that do are around US$1-2K.  Presumably they also get commissions from referrals.

I like the idea of a one-stop shop and/or advice, but given other people's bad experiences I'm not sure if these services are any good or not.

Has anyone had any experience of these kinds of companies? Are they any good?  Are there any to avoid? Are they worth the money?

Thanks!

Many thanks to you all for your replies.  I think they confirm what I thought - market value (but not above) is ok if other factors like tax, yield, etc work for me, and capital appreciation isn't the be all and end all.  Much as I'd like to get rich quick, I realise it's improbable.

@Jay Hinrichs thanks especially for the note about being wary of places pitching to Australians (are we more gullible I wonder?).  I've definitely come across a few - some look too good to be true (or just scams), and one of my next tasks is to figure out how to work out which are legitimate!