All Forum Posts by: Dean Letfus

 Depends how you look at it @Hadar Orkibi.  NZ is hands down easier and safer to make a fortune in real estate over time pretty passively. The US is easier to flip and create cashflow but it takes 20 times the work to get a similar result.  As soon as you have enough wealth to retire I would sell it all in the US and put it into NZ. WAAAAAAAAY easier!!!!

New Zealand is a particularly safe bet.  We have very predictable capital growth, (values double every ten years) and rental growth. Virtually zero vacancies and landlord friendly laws.  It's "as safe as houses".  Some investors are a bit worried as our values have declined nationally by 1.(% in the last 12 months. That is enough outside of normal to have people talking about it!

I think diversification is critical. If I have 3 dollars I have always favoured: 
a dollar in real estate, 
a dollar in real estate, 
and a dollar in real estate.

In Memphis you get Section 8 in good areas so it can be a good thing. Thousands and thousands of people lose money trying to make war zones perform. In Memphis it is local investors who are completely hands on who seem to make it work.  Otherwise go for B grade homes in nice areas. Cashflow on paper may be not as attractive but you'll actually get a better result. Our average yield achieved against spreadsheet is 78% in reasonable areas. It can be as low as 25% in bad areas. Just not worth doing.

Jealousy pure and simple, that's it!

@Travis Henry, you will get differing opinions on BP but I believe you should NEVER own in your own name. NEVER. Set up an LLC in a state that makes piercing the veil difficult and then behave well! Of course in some cities facing frivolous litigation is more likely. We have hundreds of clients and have never heard of anybody being sued in Memphis yet.

The short answer is yes. I do it all the time. I send them to my realtor quarterly to hold on file in fact!

If it has to be sold a FMV then it is highly unlikely to be a good first deal for your investing journey. So you have to find out if you can "steal" it as you hope. If you can't then don't buy it, look for a better deal. It is ALWAYS ONLY ABOUT NUMBERS. In fact often owning a former primary residence as a rental is (often) a bad idea emotionally as you have to watch strangers destroy something you love.

Use an LLC in another state is what we do ourselves and for our clients. Although my Memphis attorney states that we wouldn't be liable for either tax anyway.

I always think, that unless you want to have a full time job as a property manager, the biggest pain about being a landlord is being a landlord.  I'd rather find good property managers and never have to worry about land lording. Then I can focus on what I'm good at, finding deals.  Managing tenants in many markets is just hard work for little reward. I consider avoiding fees by doing it yourself to be a false economy unless you have nothing better to do.

If I can't make more money finding deals than I could by paying myself management fees then I am in the wrong game.