How to select a Realtor in the US - Questions to ask.

In order to find a good Realtor to help you with the property acquisition you must first find out if the Realtor is a buyers Agent then: 1) To have them set you up on automatic MLS listings 2) Ask them: - if they have an in-house property management system and at what percentage of gross rents - what do they charge to lease a property in the first place? - Do they charge a renewal fee (ie if your tenant renews their lease and extends for an extra year) - Are they familiar with the nuances to dealing with foreigners - Do they charge to wire the funds back to you in another country? (It might be better to leave the funds in the Property Management company and have them wire even if it costs you $25 a quarter, This can be cheaper than US bank fees. - do they have contractors that they can recommend for repairs and what is their rate sheet if they have one. 3) Make sure you have built into your property management agreement that you have 6 monthly inspections conducted, that you MUST be consulted for any repairs over $200 (always ask for receipts!) 4) Are they familiar with dealing with foreign investors - there are a MILLION nuances to this. 5) They need to know your proof of funds MUST match the name you are holding title - if this is a Pty Ltd, you will be needing certified copies of the constitution most likely 6) You operate on a different time zone - can they ensure that even in rushed closings they will give you at least 5 days for money transfers if you are using Oz Forex etc 7) Are they patient enough to explain what HUD means and other terminology means? 8) Is the attorney that they use to close with, familiar with us problem foreignerss. You need to be receiving your Power of Attorney to have the real estate agent or someone physically in the US to be at closing for you. That needs to be mailed a minimum of 10 days before the closing date. 9) How many REO (essentially foreclosures) have they dealt with and at what price level. 10) For every property that you see that you like - ASK FOR THE GEOJET REPORT of neighborhood sales (who owns the houses next door, how much did they pay for it etc) - obviously rental comps, sold comps - historical data, neighborhood demographics etc.

The begining of a long journey...

After researching about properties in the US for over a year, I had made up my mind to buy a property in Atlanta. This was changed by an investor I talked to a couple of months ago who put the idea of buying in Atlanta really down. His arguments where that there is very high vacancy rate, low class of tenant for the type of property I could afford. Instead he suggested to buy in Florida. I have been doing some research and I am looking at buying either in Miami or in Ft Myers/Coral Coast. But time its slowly running out as we are planning to fly to the US late next month...

Inspection Period

During that one month period you are supposed to have the property checked out physically and legally (by doing a title search to check there are no outstanding liens against the property). Liens can include the following: 1.IF money is owed by the property since the old owner didn't pay his property tax or his HOA fees. 2. If lawsuits against the property since the old owner had renovations done, but didn't pay the renovation company 3. fines against the property because the person did illegal alterations that violated the building code

How to find out how much taxes you will pay on your property:

If you want to find the most recent assessed price for any property in Miami (ie. the amount of property tax you'll pay) go to this government website: http://gisims2.miamidade.gov/MyHome/propmap.asp

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Location location Location

One of the main important consideration when buying property its location.
When assessing the area where to buy you have to consider the following factors:

- Is it close to places of work? how long does the commuting will take?
- Is there adequate parking?
- Is it close to public transport?
- Is it in a growth suburb or has it already boomed?
- Is there noise from traffic, trains, planes and factories?
- Is it close to amenities?

Look at google maps or a street directory to find out more about the suburbs amenities  and transport.  Also make sure if there is a project under way in the area, this can potentially affect the value of the property in a good or bad way. Loss of view, for instance, can have a serious impact in the market value.