USA investment properties for an Aussie

las vegas market.

Hi guys and girls,

I am new to this forum, and i am wondering if anyone can help me source some cheap properties in Las vegas Nevada, if there is a special way to go about things and what to look for !!

Regards,

Nick.k
 
there are 3 USA property threads here, id suggest you spend a day or 2 reading them. one former poster (who posted heaps in those threads) sources properties in Vegas for people although i dont have any personal experience with her.

i believe karina is active in the Atlanta market and a few SS posters have used her services as well
 
Nick.koutouzis said:
Hi guys and girls,

I am new to this forum, and i am wondering if anyone can help me source some cheap properties in Las vegas Nevada, if there is a special way to go about things and what to look for !!

Regards,

Nick.k
Click to expand...

Hi Nick
Unfortunately the boat has sailed and the yields are no longer attractive as prices have risen by as much as 40-50%.
From my experience unless you can make 15-17% yields I would not touch USA.

Cheers, MTR
 
Yields after county taxes, insurance, property management and HOA are around 10% in Atlanta currently.

2011 saw the best bargains with ridiculously low prices and yields of up to 15% available on some very well selected properties.

Prices however are still very low compared to Pre GFC. Its still possible to buy at $25 - $40 sq foot with insurance companies calculating replacement value at between $70 - $90 sq foot.

The market is very competitive with multiple offers on good properties. Missed out on a triplex the other day, was listed at 70,500 needed no rehab. Multiple offers, sold for 100,500. (we didn't win the bid, not even close), needed next to no rehab, 3 units newer constructed would have rented for around 700 month each.

With single family homes there are still some good deals out there. We picked this one up in the 70's, rent around 1100 month in Henry County which has good schools.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkcCDNEmqRg&list=UUtQZwox-2O4ZBo5XwrUGL3g&index=11
 
Any Atlanta investors had any success with multi door properties? 3, 4 or 5 units in a block for example. Would be interested if there is still opportunity in these type of homes for cashed up investors.

Karina - I see from your mails that the prices for single homes are definitely on the up. A good thing for those of us that took the risk earlier on, but I would like some more!
 
I have been involved in the US market since 2005. The thing you have to realize is to be very careful who you deal with.
Many of the companies that operate are wholesalers and in many cases are not even based where they source property.

There are also a lot of services in Australia where they have not been to America and have never met the suppliers they are buying from.

Thats not to say that there are good people out there. However make sure that you question carefully before using these services.

Also stay away from really cheap property because they are often in slum areas and finally if they cannot guaranteeing Property Management then stay away you are just buying trouble.
 
Oscar,

I bought a block of 4 townhouses in a row last year. It was a higher risk purchase and not one I could offer to my investors as the bank did not allow for any inspections or contingencies however it was a risk I was prepared to take myself. It was also occupied. We did not know anything about the occupants whether they were on a lease and under the terms of the contract were not allowed to approach the occupants It was also an older property than what we usually buy having been built in 1980 very solid though being an all brick dwelling. All we could do in terms of inspection was send out our contractor to view the property from the outside. It appeared to be structurally sound from the outside.

I bid way over the asking price on it as it went "highest and best" offers and I knew I had to be in with a winning bid to stand a chance. In my opinion it was listed way below market value but of course in part that was due to the risk of the unknown in regards to its condition or occupants. Sometimes you need to just ignore the asking price when determining your offer. With all the chaos of thousands of foreclosures the banks don't always get it right with their pricing and opportunities exist below market value IF you can get your hands on those deals. The challenge becomes competing with everyone else that knows the price is ridiculous also. This was also a deal that was not listed on the MLS (georgia multi list service) and I found it by chance browsing various websites as I do on a daily basis. This meant very few agents would have been alerted to its availabilty.

These deals are very rare in the Atlanta market, there is not a lot of multi family stock available for sale under the 100k price range.

The numbers ended up being $100k all in with rehab, rents are $2600 month. Last sold for $320,000. To sweeten the deal even more county taxes were over $3000 a year and based on the new sales price they have been reduced to $1000 year.

We have recently done 1 similar deal for a client (property was vacant and able to inspect) and the figures will be similar although all in price was 130k. They did have the benefit of being able to inspect it.

I search for multi-family deals on a daily basis but they really are few and far between in Atlanta.

Both deals were in what I consider to be a very good area. (and good schooling district which is a bonus)

I absolutly love muti-family deals. Wish there were more available.

I am attempting my first flip also. About to list on the market for sale this week. Will see how we go. Very confident we will make a nice profit on it.
 
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I love multi family as well. I find the best thing at the moment is that when you buy commercial property, keep in mind a apartment building with more than 4 is considered a commercial investment attract a 60% lend from commercial lenders.
In some states multi family is still great value and in my view far less risky than single homes.
 
Thought I might add although I like multi family not all multi family is good. Anything can look good on paper however the property needs to be in a reasonable area.

I was dealing with an investor who called me as he had just got a property under contract (not through us), a triplex for 70k. Had it checked out by one of my team. They were too scared to get out of the car, surrounding houses were selling for 10 - 20k and boarded. Fortunatly he did not buy it. Not all "cheap" is good.

Nigel although I like multi-family I don't quite agree that they are less risk. Well selected single family homes that can be on sold to an owner occupant down the track represent good buying in my opinion.
 
buster said:
I think it is an excellent way to invest in the USA. Instead of investing directly I invested in the Dow Jones property index getting returns of 12%. What makes this a good investment is you can gear this with a 100%, intrest only,non recourse, tax deductable loan at 4% . 20 k ( 0nly perhaps 14k after tax deduction) loan can get you 100k of property, you could get this 20k returned in 2 years with a coupon payment of 8% and a CG of 4%. And you dont have hassles with RE agent, PM , tennants. vacancy , receiving payments, taxes, rates, insurance, maintenance, leasing, finance etc. A
Click to expand...

The iShares US REIT seems to have done very well, recovering since its fall from grace since Feb 2009
 
Hi Karina,
are there still chances to get some good deal?
Im interested in buying 1 or 2 properties, I sent you an email with some questions.
Waiting for good news.
 
Colddinner,

The Atlanta market has certainly become more competitive. We have hedge funds, investors (both local and international) and home owners competing for properties.

Home owners get first pick of many of the good deals as some of the banks have a first look bidding period that is open to owner occupier's only.

We are still picking up good deals though. Fortunatly we have a great team on the ground that acts quickly when a good opportunity becomes available.

Here is an example of a property we picked up for one of our clients this week for $55k (originally listed at 81k)

Video footage of the property is available at the link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp2zmI6YC4c&feature=youtu.be
 
Interesting article on flipping in Kansas.

There are many ways to make money in the US market. It truly is a great market for those that seek out opportunities.

I think flipping is probably the way to go with these C class type properties (lower end, can only assume rougher neighbourhoods when we are talking about 5.5k houses) and surrounded by similar low value homes.

I think its ok to play hot potato with these type of investments and flip them (if you can find someone to sell them too) and you have a trusted team that can rehab them and turn them over quickly.

I wouldn't want to hold these type of investments in my portfolio. Too high risk for me.

There are these lower end type properties in Atlanta also but I won't buy them. Rough areas in the US can be really scary. I recall being in the car with my husband, the GPS took us through a dangerous part of town. It was broad daylight and we were stopped at the traffic lights. I kid you not 3 of the scariest looking guys I have ever seen were walking towards us. I was praying for the lights to turn green, hope to never go through that part of town again. Scary stuff.
 
karina said:
Interesting article on flipping in Kansas.

There are many ways to make money in the US market. It truly is a great market for those that seek out opportunities.

I think flipping is probably the way to go with these C class type properties (lower end, can only assume rougher neighbourhoods when we are talking about 5.5k houses) and surrounded by similar low value homes.

I think its ok to play hot potato with these type of investments and flip them (if you can find someone to sell them too) and you have a trusted team that can rehab them and turn them over quickly.

I wouldn't want to hold these type of investments in my portfolio. Too high risk for me.

There are these lower end type properties in Atlanta also but I won't buy them. Rough areas in the US can be really scary. I recall being in the car with my husband, the GPS took us through a dangerous part of town. It was broad daylight and we were stopped at the traffic lights. I kid you not 3 of the scariest looking guys I have ever seen were walking towards us. I was praying for the lights to turn green, hope to never go through that part of town again. Scary stuff.
Click to expand...


My initial thoughts .... hope Aussies are not buying these flips in Kansas.

We were in Atlanta last year and in not so great area but had to stop for fuel, while husband paying I was approached by one scary dude, wanting to help me with a selection of drugs, or anything I may need....:eek:
 
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Frankly flipping properties can often be high risk

The benefit with buying small multi family is that they are deemed safe by the banks thats why we can get 60% finance on a non recourse basis. If you think about it logically if you have even 10 apartments if one becomes vacant it is not such a problem, if you own a single house you have a big problem.

If you are going to invest in America then get smart, buying homes for cash do they really give you a great return. In many cases you are quoted gross rather than net returns.

As with all things do you research carefully. Whether you succeed or not will depend on the quality of people you are dealing on the ground.

I suggest that before you buy through a supplier go over and have a look at the market and make sure you meet the suppliers and satisfy yourself that the people you are dealing with are genuine.
 
Nigel Kibel said:
Frankly flipping properties can often be high risk

The benefit with buying small multi family is that they are deemed safe by the banks thats why we can get 60% finance on a non recourse basis. If you think about it logically if you have even 10 apartments if one becomes vacant it is not such a problem, if you own a single house you have a big problem.

If you are going to invest in America then get smart, buying homes for cash do they really give you a great return. In many cases you are quoted gross rather than net returns.

As with all things do you research carefully. Whether you succeed or not will depend on the quality of people you are dealing on the ground.

I suggest that before you buy through a supplier go over and have a look at the market and make sure you meet the suppliers and satisfy yourself that the people you are dealing with are genuine.
Click to expand...

Flipping properties can be very profitable. There is more than one way to make money in the US market.

Here is a property I am in the process of flipping in Atlanta.

2540 Willow Grove Acworth

Zillow Link
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2540-Willow-Grove-Rd-NW-15-Acworth-GA-30101/80433480_zpid/

Video footage can be viewed at this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRXCEpZpIJs&list=UUtQZwox-2O4ZBo5XwrUGL3g&index=22

Paid $38,000
Spent $800.00 on rehab, it needed next to nothing done to it. Just a touch up and clean up.

Listed it for sale at $69,900, had an offer from an owner occupant of 70k within 24 hours. Currently have it under contract.

The US market is so full off opportunity.
 
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