All Forum Posts by: Andrea P.

I am Italian. I worked in Alabama from 2007 through 2011 for an Italian company. I purchased a house in 2009 which is now rented out.
In 2009 Europe were not in crisis yet and Euro was Stronger ($1.48 per Euro).
Despite the fact my US property did not match the 2% rule I consider it a good choice because in this time the Europe/Italy future is uncertain and It is good to have an asset in Foreign country.
Furthermore it is good way to learn how to manage a business remotely.

As international investor living abroad, the chose of the property manager is very important.
I already deal with a PM who manages my property in Alabama since 2011.
I payed the house $104000 in the regular market and I rented out at $950. Therefore I am pretty far from the 2% rule. Nevertheless I had no problem so far.

I asked PM to find another rental property.
He recommended me to chose a property rented out at at least $900 because cheaper rent attracts problematic tenants. Therefore he proposed me houses above $100000.
The local market (Huntsville, AL) provides houses having higher ROI (in the $50K) but it is hard to find property managers who manage them.
From the PM prospective high rent means better tenants and less work.

Somebody recommend me to hire less accredited PM who works more for less money.
I believe is riskier.

What do you think?

I am trying to figure out a method to identify the best place (Metropolitan Area) in the US to find a "buy and hold" property.
A common method is to identify several parameters, score each of them.

I identified the following parameters:
Unemployment in August 2012 (from city-data.com)
Unemployment trend (from city-data.com)
Zillow Home index value
Zillow Rent index
Property managers accredited by BBB

Can you recommend a different method?
Can you add some other parameter to take into account?

Originally posted by Marco Santarelli:

That's a good start, but some of the data may be dated.

I have been impressed how fast the market changes in the US.
How long does it take to saturate a profitable market?
I believe the unemployment takes several months to change, it is slower than rental price.

My target is Orlando, FL

Because:
-It is in the list:
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/04/20-best-markets-buy-single-family-rentals-realtytrac-456/
-I could plan to go there for vacation on September.
-I already have been there.
-There are property managers accredited by BBB.
-Unemployment is decreasing 8.7%

The criteria I used is pretty simple: RealtyTrac, Zillow and city-data.

Do you have some proved searching technique (demographic trends)?

Every European country has a different taxation.

For instance Italy has no capital gain tax when you resell the property. You have to pay IMU (Imposta Municipale Unica) it is like property tax. You have to pay 21% on your gross income.

I worked for 3 years in Alabama.
I purchased a Single Family House with cash, I lived there for 1.5 years.
I come back to my home country (Italy) in 2011 then I rented out the house.
Now I want to buy another rental property.
I believe this forum is a good point to start with.

I am Italian, I spent 3 years in the US for job.
I started my credit history in 2009.
I left the US in May 2011 and I rented out the property I purchased with cash.
I am still using the US credit card which could add records to my credit history.
Can I get a US mortgage for financing rental property?