FB and virtual RE groups are a great resource for networking with other local real estate professionals.

Not new to real estate as I’ve been a licensed agent for the past 4 years with over 10 years of commercial and residential construction experience.

After 45 + years investing in, purchasing and selling notes and real property; structuring “deals”, running investment funds and syndications, I have observed that many (most) investors both hesitate too long gathering too much information before making an offer AND do not do enough investigation, analysis and due diligence before they finalize a purchase.Seems like opposites, right?  

You may want to research now how the country taxes different types of investments(Equity, bonds, real estate, etc)That can tell you potentially what investments to have.The issue with potentially becoming a US citizen is that they will tax you on worldwide income.Therefore, if you get the citizenship and move out of the US, you may want to see if you would be exposed to US taxes, whether you will want to move back to the US and if you want to renounce your US citizenship.I agree that if you are not sure of living in the US, you may want to avoid doing items such as having a large balance in a retirement account that may be considered taxable by another country when you retire.Best of luck

Real estate makes us money several ways; cashflow is only one. 

What are the most important key factors you guys use before investing in a property?

This creates two loan payments ($100,000 of equity and $300,000 on the new mortgage).Key NumbersHome Equity Loan Interest Rate: 6%Mortgage Interest Rate: 7%Rental Income: $3,000 per monthExpenses (management, taxes, insurance, maintenance): $800 per monthIncome and ExpensesMonthly Rental Income: $3,000Monthly Expenses: $800Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,000ExplanationThe investor earns $3,000 in rent each month.They pay $2,000 on the investment property mortgage and $800 on other expenses.This leaves $200 profit each month or $2,400 per year.However, you have to pay $6,000 interest on the equity borrowed.This leaves you with an annual loss of $3,600.This example shows that while the rental property generates positive monthly income, the interest cost of borrowing the initial $100,000 results in an overall annual loss.

Interesting, I was reading the Key Data report on Next Season's US Rental Trends and noticed they include owner nights and hold nights in their calculation.  

Macy's, a cornerstone of American retail, is seeing significant interest in the real estate it has put up for sale, a promising sign in a challenging market.

I take a few real estate classes and pay memberships to a few real estate groups, can I write them off only if I have an LLC, or can I do it personally?