All Forum Posts by: Nicole Koch

Quote from @Becca F.:

 I would highly suggest visiting a handful of places and jumping into the expat groups on FB. I know A few people who lived in Mexico City. Some loved it -others found that it had bad air quality as it’s a huge city. 
As for Peru you can find really really cheap land but not in the areas where there is a lot of tourism or big expat communities. You can buy land here but it is a headache due to inheritance laws. I may buy in the upper jungle/cloud forest and then keep renting where I am currently since prices are dirt cheap. If you can make dollars while living in Latin America you can live a very comfortable life. However, many things that you didn’t even consider luxury will now become the things that you don’t have. You probably won’t mind. 

Agreed there are so many factors to consider. In the end each person has a different situation and outlook so there is not one real answer.

Quote from @Becca F.:

Quote from @Nicole Koch:

I am in the class and do enjoy it. I feel like I have learned a lot. I like being able to replay the weekly classes or hear ones from months prior to starting. I am using all his advice for doing due diligence on properties before buying, using the deal calculator to run numbers and looking for good market strategy areas. 

A thing I really like about Richard is that we fundamentally agree on most things. I live outside the USA so that my money stretches further, I have better food, better lifestyle and I am out of the rat race in the USA. I am looking to get another passport and prefer my kids to grow up in Latin America where values are more consistent with mine. I agree with his way of life and connect to it on a level where I prefer to support him and his family and learn from him. 

I recommend his classes.

I dislike the threads within a thread so I deleted the previous comments - visually it looks a mess. 

I'm also considering moving out of the USA if I'm unable to find a state with a lower cost of living and less stress (commute, crowds of people, high taxes, etc) than California.  I'm considering specifically a Latin American country after I do my research and fly there several times to visit for extended periods  - I speak and read enough Spanish to get around although I'm not fluent or highly proficient. 

Do you feel safe living in another country and what about the laws there (e.g. being wrongly arrested and imprisoned vs. in the USA there's at least due process and our Constitutional rights)? 

Can you share with us how much Richard's class costs? 

Hi!! I have lived in Peru for 17 years now. I have 5 kids and feel safer than in the USA. I live in the Sacred Valley and have lived in Cusco. I wouldn’t consider Lima safe but it is a big city. The cost of living is very low although property cost are high. Rent is low though. I’m not worried about getting arrested here and no one sues ever in this place. The food here is very good and healthy and mostly all local. There is a very big expat community and the locals here are very kind to foreigners. My kids move around by themselves in public transport and enjoy a simple life. You would want either an online job or a nest egg as working for someone here doesn’t pay well at all. You could open a business as well. The down side to Latin America is that the government can change at any time leading to civil unrest. I would not say that this is extremely dangerous for foreigners but can really affect your life or business. South America is great if you choose a safe area.

Richard’s class was around 4500 usd and includes a 5 day master class. Once a week classes, replays of everything and past classes. Educational material of all kinds including leases, contracts, deal calculators, write ups and additional classes. One on ones with him are additional costs and I have not done that. I am still sifting through the current material! 
Good luck!!

Quote from @Becca F.:

Quote from @Guy Gimenez:

Quote from @Joe S.:

So it looks like two of the post were created for the sole purpose of writing a positive review. 😳

 Exactly Joe. These are are always red flags but will often be overlooked by novice investors. 

 I've participated in Richard Garcia's free webinars or his spur of the moment Instagram Live, where people can type in questions in the comments and he answers them. His real estate contracts and some of the advice makes sense. Most of the content he has posted on IG recently is asset protection and international trusts (trust in the Cook Islands), international bank accounts (in Dubai), etc with videos of his family traveling in different countries.

For someone who owns multi-millions in real estate, that makes sense but for 98% of the investors on here, especially new investors, it makes no sense to pay $20,000+ to establish international trusts, holding companies and LLCs for asset protection (from lawsuits) and a tax shelter. If someone is buying a $200,000 to $1+ million property, all those fees will eat up any rental income and any "tax savings" is obliterated. A new investor buying a $150,000 SFH house in the Midwest or $500,000 duplex doesn't need a trust in the Cook Islands - ridiculous and not practical.

I know many California investors with millions in real estate who purchased umbrella insurance who don't even have LLCs. If someone's going to get an LLC, do it in the USA. Getting an international trust is overkill for most investors.

Most of the RE advice I've gotten is from networking with local and out of state investors, real estate agents and asking what they did and checking to see if I analyzed the deal correctly (rehab costs, etc) ... all free. Next time I go visit an OOS mentor, I'll take them out to lunch/dinner, costs way less than $5000 to $18,000 than what these programs charge. Attending local real estate meet ups is a great tool to learn from experienced investors. Talk to inspectors, local contractors and start walking properties (ask a local investor if you can tag along if they have projects in the works )- you start getting a sense of how much renovation costs are, what are major safety issues and what's minor, what your offer price should be, and the ARV.

I can't speak to the mentorship program since I'm not in it. Interestingly when you go to Richard's website and try to look up his courses and programs and the costs, it says "page not found".

If you just see what Richard posts on IG then you may think he suggests a cook islands trust or a Dubai LLC, however he is very clear in his masterclass that those set ups are for people with offshore assets, high worth etc. He never recommends offshore trusts or offshore LLCs for people getting started or with one home. He shows three asset protection scenarios, beginner, intermediate and high net worth individual with offshore LLCs/trusts. He is very clear that most people are not even close to needing an offshore trust. His asset protection is just one part of his masterclass.

I am in the class and do enjoy it. I feel like I have learned a lot. I like being able to replay the weekly classes or hear ones from months prior to starting. I am using all his advice for doing due diligence on properties before buying, using the deal calculator to run numbers and looking for good market strategy areas. 

A thing I really like about Richard is that we fundamentally agree on most things. I live outside the USA so that my money stretches further, I have better food, better lifestyle and I am out of the rat race in the USA. I am looking to get another passport and prefer my kids to grow up in Latin America where values are more consistent with mine. I agree with his way of life and connect to it on a level where I prefer to support him and his family and learn from him. 

I recommend his classes.

Must be a mistake in the book.

I think that most people looking for anonymity are basically trying to keep their name off public records so that if they own rental units some psycho cant just look up who owns the property, whats their FB, who is the wife/husband, kids etc.. It's just to keep a bit of privacy from the renters. If there is a law suit yes the lawyer can find you, of course. But who wants weirdo stalker renter finding Mrs. Smith who owns the 10 unit property and then start stalking her. 

Also, it is kind of hard for me to believe that it is not helpful at all to have the property in an LLC that only has that one asset in it and is not highly profitable. (Also with insurance at all times!)