Wyckoff, NJ · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 0 votes
Hello,
I'm a US citizen currently living abroad, preparing now to purchase my first apartment to rent out. Does anyone here have experience with this, and would be able to give me advice regarding anything particular I need to do as an expat? I've been seeing a lot of contradictory stuff online. thanks all!
I have helped a few out of country investors buy property in my area. Your big challenge will be finding a local person to go look at the property to confirm the condition of the property. The rest can be done by remote control. Inspections, finance, and property management are all things you can write a check for.
Not a lot of details here and certainly don't want to discourage you because you are doing one thing many folks don't do and that is live there, understand the area before investing when thinking international. I've done 3 international deals and have briefly written about them in the post below. Depending on where you are there are ex-pats and local experts in legal, real estate, etc that should be consulted for the specific area you are looking at. Would not recommend trying to do all your learning online. Measure twice, cut once or decide not to cut.
Thanks David, I actually meant that I am a US citizen living abroad, looking to invest in New Jersey (my home state). Do you have any insights on this kind of situation?
I would not advice you to be a land lord living oversea's.
its difficult to get good properties in good areas and if you still invest then the overhead of Taxes and property management fees will drive your investment into negative cashflow.
if your ok with that, then you can connect with a number of REA's on BP and look at some properties.
Also, not sure in which country you are but most developing countries would pay you about 8 - 10% in interest if you keep the money in Fix deposits ( CD).
Are the property taxes different if I'm living abroad? I guess my question is how is investing while I'm living abroad different than investing as an out-of-stater. I currently live in Israel, where you cannot make any money on traditional investing, and the housing market there is really out of control. Any resources that you know of would definitely be appreciated. thanks!
I have helped a few out of country investors buy property in my area. Your big challenge will be finding a local person to go look at the property to confirm the condition of the property. The rest can be done by remote control. Inspections, finance, and property management are all things you can write a check for.
what part of NJ are you looking to invest? I am a full time investor in Mercer County NJ and would be happy to help you any way I could if this is an area of focus for you.
Thanks Stephen! I'm looking at Hudson county, Jersey City specifically. Do you have any experience there, or know anyone who does?
Hi Shira -- my boyfriend and i have been living and investing in jersey city for over three years. a lot of investors from New York came to invest here. the only disadvantage of investing aboard i can think of is that you might lose some of the tax benefits.
My boyfriend is also a local realtor and he does property management as well. I can give you his contact.