I've been doing a HEAP of reading on the pros and cons of buying property in the US, and sadly most of what I've come across have been arguments centred (or centered, for the sake of our US readers) on which (if one so chooses to engage such) buyer's agent/companies best to avoid. All of it very interesting but hardly light bedtime reading!! 
So to help simplify things....
And similar in purpose to another thread where I wanted to get people (including myself, as a good reminder) to think about and identify some of the key issues before signing away their hard earned dollars, and in this case, greenback dollars!!
Perp for instance is buying multiple property (some 80 units) and that's awesome going but what about for those who are considering (as she said) "dipping their toe in" and looking to buy single family homes before taking on bigger (than Texas) sized ventures??
Okay size is important, but hang on, whether you're looking at a single family home or a condo, or a whole complex, STOP a minute.
There is a headache waiting to happen when you stumble across the literally hundred of acronyms, "rules" and of course discover the many hoops (let alone hurdles) to be mindful of even while humming the tune of "I'm a Yankee-doodle-dandy"!!
Here are a few questions that I believe people should be asking themselves or "those in the know":
What areas are best avoided (besides fault lines, cold belts, cyclone proned?)
What are the (region, state, national) vacancy rates?
Are "cash only" (non financed) purchases easier?
What separates a "bargain" price from a "rip off" deal?
What are the pitfalls of being a non-resident (foreign) investor?
What are some of the acronyms (LLC, PITI etc)?
What do these mean to the average "mum and dad" investor?
Why use a "buyer's agent" for overseas purchases?
Should people visit the area before buying into it?
Who to turn to first, and why?
There are just so many questions, and although the US threads in this forum have and do provide a huge array of information, so many questions still remain unanswered.
So to help simplify things....
And similar in purpose to another thread where I wanted to get people (including myself, as a good reminder) to think about and identify some of the key issues before signing away their hard earned dollars, and in this case, greenback dollars!!
Perp for instance is buying multiple property (some 80 units) and that's awesome going
but what about for those who are considering (as she said) "dipping their toe in" and looking to buy single family homes before taking on bigger (than Texas) sized ventures?? Okay size is important, but hang on, whether you're looking at a single family home or a condo, or a whole complex, STOP a minute.
There is a headache waiting to happen when you stumble across the literally hundred of acronyms, "rules" and of course discover the many hoops (let alone hurdles) to be mindful of even while humming the tune of "I'm a Yankee-doodle-dandy"!!
Here are a few questions that I believe people should be asking themselves or "those in the know":
What areas are best avoided (besides fault lines, cold belts, cyclone proned?)
What are the (region, state, national) vacancy rates?
Are "cash only" (non financed) purchases easier?
What separates a "bargain" price from a "rip off" deal?
What are the pitfalls of being a non-resident (foreign) investor?
What are some of the acronyms (LLC, PITI etc)?
What do these mean to the average "mum and dad" investor?
Why use a "buyer's agent" for overseas purchases?
Should people visit the area before buying into it?
Who to turn to first, and why?
There are just so many questions, and although the US threads in this forum have and do provide a huge array of information, so many questions still remain unanswered.
