When buying a home in Atlanta, Georgia

The real Estate laws can vary from state to state. So here are some important considerations when buying a property in Georgia:

Time-  It can take between 3 to 6 weeks from when the contract gets accepted until closing the sale.

Representation - By Georgia law the seller is who should pay the selling commission, therefore must be represented by all agents.  The buyer can be represented if they had sign a Buyer's Agency Agreement.  It doesn't cost anything for the buyer to be represented.


Inspections - The inspections are done only after the contract has been accepted. The inspection can take between 7 to 15 days of the acceptance of the contract and both parties have approx 5 days thereafter to work out an agreement on what each party is going to pay per inspection report.

Inspectors don't have to be accredited or qualify by law, therefore its very important to check that they are a member of ASHI or GAHI

Binding contract - A contract becomes legally binding when all parties have sign it. Make sure all contingencies are detailed out in the contract itself.

Closing - In Georgia this is done by an attorney who represents the lender although both parties can have they own attorney present at closing to make sure the contract is fully followed.

Possession - This can be at any time from closing until agreed.

Closing cost - . Cost can be between 2 or 3 percent of the price of the home. Althought the higher priced the home the lower the closing cost run as a percentage.  Some closing cost are paid by the buyer and normally the seller can contribute to the buyers closing cost up to a 3 percent of the purchase price.
A HUD1 statement is prepared by the closing attorney outlining all cost and exact amount of money required to close and given to buyer prior to closing.

Lenders - in the case of buying with a lender, all lenders in this state must be licensed in Georgia in order to do business.

The top 10 cities in the USA with highest Vacant rate

According to the US Census Bureau the increase in vacant homes since the year 2000 has increance by 43.8 percent. This can be for a number of reasons, such as up for sale or for rent.
The census of 2010 shows that there were aprox. 15 millon vacant housing units in the US with a 11.4 per cent gross vacancy rate in the whole States.

Below you will find a list ranked by CNBC.com according to equal-weighted ranking in both rental and homeowner vacancies.

Here are the emptiest major US cities:
 

1. Tucson, Arizona

Rental vacancy rate: 15.9%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 6.8%

2. Indianapolis, Indiana

Rental vacancy rate: 13.5%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 5.2%

3. Toledo, Ohio

Rental vacancy rate: 19.3%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.6%

4. Memphis, Tennessee

Rental vacancy rate: 13.5%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 4.0%

5. Atlanta, Georgia

Rental vacancy rate: 11.8%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 5.4%

6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Rental vacancy rate: 13%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.9%

7. Dayton, Ohio

Rental vacancy rate: 10.7%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 4.7%

8. Detroit, Michigan

Rental vacancy rate: 17.2%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 2.4%

9. Houston, Texas

Rental vacancy rate: 17.4%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 2.3%

10. Kansas City, Missouri

Rental vacancy rate: 11%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.7%

Mantainance fees to consider when buying a property

It is very important to consider how much money to put aside for usual expenses once you bought the property. Considering you have purchase the property finance free here are some of the points we should look at:

• Management and mantainance (note that everytime a tenant moves out there will be an expense attached to it, like new paint, new carpet, etc)
• Letting fee  
• Tax and insurance (county and state taxes, LLC, etc)
• Vacancy factor  (see next post about vacancy rates in the USA)

However you should also consider that:

• Eventually be able to charge more and more for rent.
• Keep mind that any repairs you make to the property can be written off as well!

Some positive signs in the USA real estate

Residential property in the USA have increased in the month of August despite the ongoing tight credit and the disruptions by natural disaster was reveled by the National Association of Realtors.
Sales are higher by 18.6% more compared to the 4.24 million unit level in August 2010.
  
‘Some of the improvement in August may result from sales that were delayed in preceding months, but favorable affordability conditions and rising rents are underlying motivations. Investors were more active in absorbing foreclosed properties. In additional to bargain hunting, some investors are in the market to hedge against higher inflation,’ explained NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

 The main and biggest factor that is stopping home sales from a better recovery are mortgages being denied to creditworthy buyers.

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Options for borrowing to buy a property in the USA

There are 4 different ways to borrow money to buy a property in the US:
-Borrow from an Australian lender and then send the money to the US
-Borrow from a lender from the US. This can be particularly difficult as they will require proof that you can afford the repayments and generally Australians don't have a credit rating in the US.
-Borrow from a hard money lender. This has the major disadvantage of high interest rates together with a lower loan to value rate and more cash needed.
-Get a Vendor finance.

Useful links when doing due diligence and analyzing the US market and spotting the safe areas.

http://www.realtor.com/home-values/
Where you can find with a free report how much prices are around the area you are looking, how much did houses have sold in a specific area you select, trends, how long is taking to sell, etc.

http://zipatlas.com/
This web page will give you a report showing you right in the map a detail explanation of demography.
social and economic profiles, as well as statistics, employment rates, households and personal income and much more!!

http://www.zillow.com and  www.trulia.com
They share vital information about homes, real estate and mortgages. It gives information about  how much was a property last sold for, properties for sale in a specific area, foreclosure, etc

http://www.finestexpert.com/
They provide detailed investment property report, cash flow potential, etc.
A good way to find the most recent assessed price for a property in Miami, that is the amount of property tax you'll pay go to this government website:
http://gisims2.miamidade.gov/MyHome/propmap.asp Great web pages when doing your due diligence!

www.redfin.com
www,gosection8.com   - to see what is available in your area for tenants.
www.listingbook.com
www.spotcrime.com
www.rentometer.com
Great web pages when doing your TAX return http://www.trexglobal.com/property-management/landlord-resources/rental-property-tax-deductions

Frequent asked question about ITIN

To find out the answer to this questions 

• What is an ITIN?
• What is an ITIN used for?
• Who needs an ITIN?
• How do I know if I need an ITIN?
• How do I apply for an ITIN?
• When should I apply for an ITIN?
• Where can I get help with my ITIN application?
• How and when can I expect to receive my ITIN?
  
  
  
  
  go to the following webpage 
  
  
  http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=222209,00.html
  
  
  
  

Note that:

You can create an LLC without a ITIN but you  can not get an EIN without first getting your  ITIN. At least one member of the proposed LLC must have an ITIN.

As a non US citizen you can not receive a SSN or social security number.