US foreclosures - Boholt Seminars - NO

[DEC]

Look after our own please.

Our own? Never heard of her

Let's not steal from her.

Theft, thats a harsh word and it certainly wasn't intentional.
Yes, I clicked on a button that gave me a free copy. It's not like I kicked a door in or hacked a website to get it

Before you get to uppity there would be no chance you have ever downloaded music or a movie via torrents would there?

 

[reeco]

Back on track....

It looks like a few people here have bit the bullet and began to email Yolanda. Keep us posted would you please

Even though I'm keen, I think I'll exercise a little restraint and hit the books before wadding into those waters.

Emma do you know of any required reading for the US? Maybe state laws or council(county??) requirement papers?

 

[Chui]

Theft, thats a harsh word and it certainly wasn't intentional.

Sorry DEC, wasn't meant to snipe at you, and if it inferred you were stealing, I'm sorry too. I've edited my comments, and PMed you an apology.

Look, if anyone here is going to spend $50k on a building somewhere so far away, do yourself a favour and get her book. (It gets you her email as well if you need another person to write to. She still holds some property in the US.) If anyone doesn't want to pay for it, there's plenty of free advice on the forums.

I'm just grateful that she was willing to stick her head out and talk about her personal losses which - turned out to be quite a lot of money - and I symphatized with her. There are plenty of spruikers and naysayers around, but it's helpful to read from someone who had been through the wringers, if nothing else as a cautionary tale.

 

[bnm]

Hi Emma etal.

Hope I dont end up double posting , but initial comments disappeared into cyberspace;o

Firstly thanks all for a riveting and fantastic discussion.........

A few thoughts

How bad is the tenant litigation in the USA? Is there such a thing as landlord insurance and does it work? Will they sue you for international assets as well?

Emma, would you care to elaborate (and thanks so much on all the stuff youve shared already on the local taxes/fees you have to pay? Is taxtime a major headache?

There seems to be quite a bit of interest investing in the USA and it seems to me one of the major hurdles is ongoing property management....would anyone be interested in getting together as a group/collective so that we can keep an eye on a cache of properties for each other.....interested parties popping up every few months would help to keep the PM and tennants honest , wouldnt it?

Again, thanks for sharing

 

[Chui]

Hi Emma etal.
There seems to be quite a bit of interest investing in the USA and it seems to me one of the major hurdles is ongoing property management....would anyone be interested in getting together as a group/collective

Yes, I'm interested. Even better is a semiformal union of Aussie landlords. We keep each other informed of our dealings with the property managers and if we are unhappy, we shop for another one together.

 

[myoung]

Emma I am curious as to whether you have seen this sort of thing happening a bit.

was listed @ $115K then has been relisted @ $25K

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...77_zpid/#image=imgId=X1-IA1dn46jgi7r5ap_bs7mj

Is this common? Would this be the result of the property being stripped or damaged normally? Or is this just a bank getting desperate to offload? This looks pretty good for $25K in what looks like a low crime area from what i tell on some crime maps i found.*

* as per 2007 map found here
http://www.city-data.com/forum/las-vegas/615046-areas-unfairly-labeled-crime-map.html

Not organised enough to buy something yet, so if anyone likes it, feel free.

 

[Chui]

Been caught out before. It is listing on www.Auction.com and that's the starting bid price.

 

[Macca]

Hi,

I don't wish to buy in USA so I haven't read this thread but I thought someone may be interested in this article.

It is long, but there are important points made, such as USA has inheritance taxes and they must be paid

http://www.wegelin.ch/download/medien/presse/kom_265en.pdf

FYI

 

[reeco]

Has anyone actually considered how there going to, or when there going to do there currency exchange? Sending/taking 50k to the US is a bit of a gamble in it's self. Anyone using a forex trader?

 

[Amadio]

Hi,

I don't wish to buy in USA so I haven't read this thread but I thought someone may be interested in this article.

It is long, but there are important points made, such as USA has inheritance taxes and they must be paid

http://www.wegelin.ch/download/medien/presse/kom_265en.pdf

FYI

Good caution.

Federal Estate Tax was repealed on Jan 1, 2010. It may be reinstated in 2011 - it's under review. If it's reinstated, I believe it is proposed that the limit may be on estates over $1 million (single) $2 million (married) and taxed at 55%.

If it is reinstated, then there are things that investors can do, but they need to see an American lawyer to develop a proper estate plan. It may cost several thousand $ because anything with an American lawyer starts high and goes higher.

There are ways around the estate tax which is almost certain to be re-introduced, but you need to be prepared. For instance, look into an A-B Trust and within that investors may need to investigate a QDT trust specifically for non-citizens.

Gives me the willies seeing all these enthusiastic young Aussies leaping into the property market in the USA without knowing the long term legal and tax ramifications.

 

[MelbMan]

Emma thanks for your posts... the Rental Management company in LV looks quite impressive. About 5 years we bought a couple of houses in NZ as IPs. America does look interesting. But there's a lot to absorb. Going to a Boholt seminar like I did last weekend in Melbourne is a taste. Finding Zillow, Real Property Management here thanks to Emma as well as considering access issues (Las Vegas is not too much of an onflight from LA)

I'd originally been drawn to Harper Woods Michigan after seeing a Property Virgins show while in the USA in May this year. It's a suburb of Detroit. The houses look great, the streets are treelined. A total contrast to inner Detroit which was the subject of a documentary on SBS a week or so ago. It was hard to watch and see some of the once proud old hotels now mere shells. The Packard factory once the biggest of its type in the world. With scavengers cutting out steel beams, taking copper off the roof. It makes you wonder how a society got like this. The documentary did say that the Big 3 carmakers made great money but freeways and development cut the heart out of Detroit.

Considering buying property in the USA? It's almost a history lesson, social history study as part of the process!

Here's a link to what looks to be the same Detroit documentary. For all your social history buffs!
http://captainhookup.com/3ac/DtownSplit.html

According to one commentator on the following YouTube clip what ruined Detroit were left wing mayors and the American Auto union who saddled American car makers with huge wage costs, pension funds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hhJ_49leBw

Almost the end of the Detroit lessons

Cheers John

 

[lawsjs]

Not a bad caution Amadio, but in my case do as I say and not as I do.

I would rather pay tax on income properties than negatively gear.

My attitude has always been 'work out how to afford the asset today - then pay tax'. So what if you have to pay tax in tomorrow's dollars? Naive - possibly, and always remember if paying tax upsets so much that you cant bear it - just give it ALL away - and you are no worse off than you were before!

I had a brief chat with Emma about this last night. I had a 'feeling' her Vegas thing may be more popular than she thought (she is often a pessimist) and it seems I may have been correct.

I think this has good legs well beyond sub-prime. So what if a 20-30% return collapses to net 10%? If nothing else you have had fun, made money from day one AND your investment has increased in capital growth. AND you have made that near impossible in Australia (whisper in case someone hears you ...profit...

Redfern in Sydney is a red hot property market. A next door neighbour at a property I own there just paid $1,050,000 for an unrenovated terrace. Rental on this 'investment' is $550pw. Net return wont be more than (say) $23,000. At 7.5% thats an interest bill of $82,500pa. In other words a whopping loss (pre tax) of $1100 per WEEK.

I seriously scratch my head sometimes. This guy was an 'investor'.

For those that jump into the US now, there will be an instant 'sugar high' of CG. I cannot see any real downside. Yes you will have management issues and little drama's but thats with any property. Principally IMHO the simple act of talking to Americans is my biggest issue. Few of whom understand anything other than some dialect they picked up in preschool. However, with careful use of sign language and pictures it is possible to get some of them to understand you (of course there are some VERY bright ones who still speak 'English' and got man to the moon and developed the internet which allows all this - but I digress.) Yes you will have little drama's.

But the money really speaks for itself. And if it makes money it is always less of a job than anything that doesn't. And as I said previously if return collapses it is STILL 100 times better than anything local. I will spell it out for the dummies. P O S I T I V E

After originally thinking of the foreclosure thing as short term only, I seriously think this has long term legs. It is certainly worth considering as a very solid arm to anyone's investment portfolio.

We are, after all, investing to make money, not to simply support our tenants lifestyle as our govt and the Fairfax press would have us believe.

BTW Emma is doing a lot of work for you guys making sure you all get looked after. In Boholt's world I believe she has just handed out probably at LEAST 250k worth of information - (an expensive person to throw out Dymphna??)

I have one major request of you all. Out of courtesy to one of the most informative and inspiring blogs I have read about this topic (not hard BTW, but I still think this was very good, even if the competition was high) I would ask that you treat Emma's contacts with great respect. The last thing anyone wants is for 'Australians' to get a bad name over there - that could easily ruin it for everyone. A bad reputation is easily earned and VERY hard to overcome. Do what you say you will do and be honest - even if you might _think_ someone is having a go at you.

A good reputation in business is something all Australians should strive for. It may even help us all get proper finance...

 

[Philmark]

Hello everyone,

I've just joined this forum purely because of the excellent, informative and unbelievably generous posts from Emma! Many thanks to you lawsjs as well for starting this thread and getting Emma to join.

My wife and I have been considering US property for a while - we visited rellies in Chicago in June and saw some apparent bargains then, but Las Vegas certainly seems to be the best place to invest ATM.

I've done a bit of research which suggests that as a "Non - Resident Alien" you have to pay income tax to the US on any income you earn from investment property, and being an Australian citizen means you also have to pay tax on any income earned anywhere in the world.

In other words you have to pay tax twice on any US property investments.

Could anyone clarify whether this is indeed the case or are there (legal) ways to minimise/avoid double tax?

Thanks for any advice and I'm very happy to be a Newbie forum member!

 

[reeco]

Great post law sys.

When it's time for me to cross that bridge I hope it's not burnt by all the young wannabes. I thought it was a bit brave of Emma to put details like that on such a popular thread.

I've also stopped with the questions. We have been treated with a mountain of quality info. Info none of us would have had had lawsys and Emma not come along. Even the top posters here can't hold a candle in this department...

Would like to meet a face in the future if such a chance were to appear. I think it would be a first for a person to go to Vegas, on there first trip for the sole purposes of investing...tis a shame since I was lookin forward to putting a few chips on black.

 

[lawsjs]

Buy a good property and you could consider yourself having had a deductible holiday, put a chip on red AND black, and possibly even covered yourself if the ball got stuck on the silver bit in the middle

Philmark - double tax treaties. You effectively get the 'worst' of both worlds, but you do not pay tax twice. You get a credit for what you pay in the US against your AU tax - its recently changed so _if_ we make a loss as Aussies we can claim the loss. Its like the ATO saying 'go out and buy US property and we will give you a helping hand that US locals don't get.' US citizens cant claim losses on investment property. I am guessing it was the AU govt that gave this as a burnt offering to try to help put a floor under the US housing market. If that is the case, then it is our patriotic duty to go forth and buy....

I don't know how she would end up organising it, but as reeco said I don't think it would be a bad idea for Emma to do some type of group meeting. I know she has met a few people in the last week or so in private situations, but anything larger needs her serious thought. Both of us (we do agree on some things) have major issues with anyone charging a fortune for freely available information, but even by my generous standards Emma has given very generously. I know for a fact she spent a couple of hours on the phone haggling with one of her 'quality' LV Prop managers to get what she considered a 'reasonable' deal to offer - how long would it take you or I to even get one to talk seriously to us?? I did it 10 years ago and it took MONTHS, just to convince someone I was genuine, let alone get a deal... I think she sees it from the massive US side that a few Aussie's make 2/10 of bugger all difference to demand, but if you are an Aussie wanting to do something and you realise this information is just solid gold in platinum cases then it takes on a different light.

 

[reeco]

Surely there are trust or company structures that circumvent these lawsys? Is the whole "You dont need to own it, just control it" speech i was given a few year ago, not valid here?

Then again if you want to refinance, based on what emma said, you need it in your own name...

Im sure theres a way but for now...time to read read read

Someone here really needs to move to the US and start a australasian Property Management Company. Even if its short term...they would certainly be able to pad the wallet a bit me thinks.

I think emma could benefit quite well if she took a referal fee from her agents. It would seem only fair. Plus it beats having everyone jumping on the line to Yolanda or who-ever in LV and asking the same questions over and over again. Theres certainly merits in pursuing ones own path here but i think a group(of serious and capable investors) is more beneficial to all involved.

These JV's emma speaks of... they could be a window of opportunity for emma to profit, and for those interested, a chance to get the feet wet. Many details would need to be agreed upon(or not) but it seems like a viable option.

Personally i wouldnt do it if i were in her shoes because 1 too many people tend to have unreal expectations. Maybe do a quick poll or EOI of people who
- Have money 30k+
- Serious about US investment opportunities
- Have a crystal clear understanding of whats required
- Can move quickly

Then go from there...Again i wouldnt do it since i cant stand tyre kickers, and anyone who is mild-ly a pain in the a##. (ironic as i use to be good at both)

But if shes up for it then put me on the list

 

[lawsjs]

Emma looked into the PM thing. She would need to do a full Nv realtors course and THEN start a company. I already thought of that.

Emma looked into the PM thing. She would need to do a full Nv realtors course and THEN start a company. I already thought of that.

I did suggest she think about getting a number of Aussies to a particular management company and then getting them to 'deal' properly (ie as in how WE expect PM to be done) with Aussies.

I think that if that happened then she would be entitled to a small commission.

I did not expect this post to progress the way it did. It has moved faster in a direction I had no idea it would. It is very interesting for me to watch now - and I started it!

I knew Emma was doing Vegas things, and I know she is good at everything she does, but she does her thing, I do mine. Gotta say though - pretty impressive to read about

Reeco, Im with you. I get annoyed with tyre kickers. I used to speak at seminars and now just dont like the 'If I give you $10,000 will you tell me my problems are over' attitude. I have seen attendees RUNNING down the aisle at a McKnight lecture to throw money away...
I am very impressed with Emma's abilities (always have been) but I do not want to see anyone's time wasted - like her agents getting calls at 3am because a dozen nitwits in Aus couldnt check their watch - or realise they are a day behind
I spent 15 minutes on the phone last night trying tell Emma she didn't value her knowledge as much as other people (like everyone else!) did...
She's thinking seriously about where to go to from here thats best for everyone. Maybe its something simple like her contacts coming HERE (SYD/MEL etc) for a weekend to meet investors locally before every man and his dog leaps on the nearest jet to go to the US? ... Its not out of the question, they might get a feel for 'us' and we could get a feel for 'them' before anyone has spent any large amount of money...Just a thought..

 

[reeco]

I am very impressed with Emma's abilities (always have been) but I do not want to see anyone's time wasted - like her agents getting calls at 3am because a dozen nitwits in Aus couldnt check their watch - or realise they are a day behind
I spent 15 minutes on the phone last night trying tell Emma she didn't value her knowledge as much as other people (like everyone else!) did...
She's thinking seriously about where to go to from here thats best for everyone. Maybe its something simple like flying all her contacts out for a weekend to meet investors here before every man and his dog leaps on the nearest jet to go to the US? ... Its not out of the question, they might get a feel for 'us' and we could get a feel for 'them' before anyone has spent any large amount of money...Just a thought..

Great ideas. The flying them here to AU part sounds a bit spruikerish. To filter out all the tyre kickers i would suggest that said investors fly/meet up in LA and/or LV at a specified date. A sort of "you want it? you come get it" especially since a large portion of emmas help has been free.

Chill at a pre-determined bar/hotel/restaurant and chew the fat. Next morning go on a info tour. That night ponder the results of a day well spent and then the next day(if your sober of course..its is vegas after all move forward on deals found/presented

It could be spread out over mere days or a week depending on the logistics of it all but if i were in Emmas shoes and if time permitted, i would give it a crack...

...due to my lack of patients i would simply TELL people how the event was gonna go and if they dont like it, so be it(no love lost)...People have been given an opportunity...Dont be a smarta## and start throwing your weight around...Theres Due Dillegence and theres being a pain in the rectum. I learnt the difference about 2years ago. Great lesson i might add

As you can see im a bit impatient and a bit too forward

But seriously. In the sake of K.I.S.S. I suggest somebody simply lead with a proposal and if they like, have people follow . If not then they can trod there own path. Sounds fair?

For emmas services i would say that she be entitled to some form of commission. How that would be calculated im not sure. But as far as im concerned it would be a must. Would need a reciept of course so i can claim it

 

[lawsjs]

Good point... Wheat from chaff etc. Just hard for everyone to get the same time off work etc... But good thoughts. Whatever I think will be wrong anyway - i promise you that!

Reeco (below) have you ever tried explaining to Emma that my thoughts are 'spot on'? The last time I tried to was about 20 years ago - I haven't done it since...

 

[reeco]

Just hard for everyone to get the same time off work etc... But good thoughts. Whatever I think will be wrong anyway - i promise you that!

Your thoughts have been spot on so far. Keep em rolling would you kindly .. Time wise, As we all know from experience, those who are motivated enough will find a way to make it work.

Im on a island off the coast of western australia working a month at a time. 1 week off work is 6K im never gonna get back. Id rather lose that money then lose the chance to pull off something grand.. I can always go back to work. In my lifetime Ill probably never come across this tiny window of opportunity again.

The US way down. Australia way up. Bit of a joke how much the stars have aligned for this to happen. We shall see i suppose