All Forum Posts by: Tess L.

Hi All,

I'm looking at a promising property in Calais, Maine. Do you guys have any thoughts about that town, or recommendations for agents, managers or contractors that way? Would Bangor be the closest hub?

Hi Ladies! I think there's plenty of us out there, great to get connected with you all!

I'm just getting started with a SFH in Norwich, NY, one in Detroit, and a duplex in Cleveland OH. For the time being, they will be rentals. It's a random strategy, but I like to think I'm mitigating risk by investing in different markets. I'm going to try to stick with these areas for a while, but who knows? There are so many interesting real estate opportunities around, especially in these times and looking forwards.

Happy investing to all!

Anytime Mailbox. It was a bit fiddly at the start because there's a legal requirement to sign an authorisation form before a notary to have mail forwarded, but even this was able to be done online for a reasonable fee. It was with a real notary via webcam which worked great! I had to hold up my passport to the webcam and also my evidence of residential address (in Dubai), and also upload copies.

Just to be clear, the $25,000 is a fine for failing to submit your IRS 5472 form, it's not going to be imposed if you file properly!

I wouldn't be discouraged by the above. I have set up an Arkansas single member foreign-owned LLC online from Dubai on a shoestring budget. Getting the Employer Identification Number from the IRS was free, and once I had that I could open a new bank account in USA remotely. I pay $50 per year for a registered agent, $10/month for mailbox that scans my mail and sends to me, and $10 for a USA phone number connected to an App.

It's a lot of extra work, but in my opinion the opportunities are worthwhile. I'm using virtual assistants from Upwork to help me with my bookkeeping and property research, and using this fantastic BP site makes it easy to connect with agents/property managers/contractors on the ground where I'm buying.

I'm only just getting my first purchases underway now, so I don't know how much tax I have to pay. But presumably, it's only going to be on my profits, so there is not a huge downside risk there. If I didn't do this, I wouldn't have any profits! I'm a lot more comfortable investing in real estate than shares or funds that I have no control over and where their value can change overnight.

Hi Antonio,

Unless something drastic happens, I wouldn't be too optimistic about Australian real estate. In my opinion, it is really expensive and transfer taxes (stamp duty) are high - and in Melbourne, they are paid by the purchaser. I was looking for more than a year and my deposit on anything decent would mostly go to tax and closing costs. Then it would be a struggle to put up 20 or 30% of the purchase price required by the bank.

We're not like America where there is a much broader spread of people across geographical areas and in dozens of cities. 70% of us live in only a few major cities. Prices are ridiculous after decades of negative gearing and wealthy foreign buyers driving up prices. 

I literally cracked the s**ts at my country about the middle of last year and decided it's not getting any of my real estate money. I've found so many better opportunities in just the last 6 months looking at USA investing.

Yes, I am buying a duplex in Stockyards area now. I am trying to add a garden for the building! It seems as though this should be possible because the vacant plot next door is owned by the city, and there is a program to do this. 

@Tae Kim, I set it up myself in Arkansas. It was really easy, you don't need to pay anyone else to do it. You just find a registered agent (via Google) and pay them $50-$100/year, then you can apply online via the state website. 

There's a company called Northwest Registered Agent, they have a website that has the forms and good explanations. They can also be your registered agent if you want. I found their guides very helpful so that is what I used.

To get a bank account, I needed an EIN from the tax authorities. I filled out form SS-4 as a Foreign-Owned US-disregarded entity Form 5472, and faxed it to the IRS.

Ahoy Aussies! 

I'm also a new investor, dipping my toes in Norwich, NY, Cleveland, OH and Detroit, MI. My LLC is set up in Arkansas because that's where I was originally planning to invest, but at the moment I'm trying a few other markets.

Thanks for the link to the Aussie forum, I hadn't realised that was there; following now.  

And BTW, how crap is Australia's real estate market? I'm so glad I realised there are better options elsewhere!

All the best for sound investing, Cheers

Hello All! Wondering if anyone could share their experience with the City of Cleveland’s Land Reutilization Program. Looking at the Scheme, it looks as though if a land bank-owned vacant lot is next to my property (both narrow), then I can apply to have it joined as a side lot (see city website).

It sounds like a great scheme, but often these things are not great in practice. I'd like to hear if the process is as straightforward as it seems, or if such applications end up costing time, money and effort for little result. In particular, whether there are any restrictions on the proeprty being owned by a USA citizen, or by an owner-occupant (I will be neither).

Thank you!

I've also looked at the Land Bank and they all seem to require huge rehab budget which is not feasible for me.

There's an infamous Syracuse land owner that has recently listed many properties for sale. On the one hand, the properties are mostly already tenanted, and he is offering seller financing for 5 years at 8% with $15,000 down payment. On the other, the seller has an appalling record of code violations and poor/no maintenance with the properties.

I imagine any property bought from this seller would have a massive backlog of capex and rehab, even by Syracuse standards. 

@Frank Procopio - do you have any thoughts on these properties? There are a couple that look promising, but given the above I have a lot of hesitations.