Hello everybody. I am Italian and I have discovered this site thanks to my wonderful relatives in the US. I am curious to know if is it possible for a person who lives outside the US to invest in the real estate business of the US and in which ways (directly buying, mutual funds, exc..). Thanks for your time.

@Marco Magoni

It is possible. You will have to find a real estate agent in the area you are interested in purchasing. You won’t be able to qualify for conventional financing, since you are not a citizen. You would be able to qualify with a portfolio loan for foreign investors, but there are minimum loan amounts of $75k - $100k with these type of products.

@Jerry Padilla thank you very much. Where I can find more infos about this?

Ciao @Marco Magoni !  Welcome to BiggerPockets.

The short answer is Yes.  Foreign investors invest in U.S. real estate all the time.  We have clients from Japan to the UK investing in markets all around the U.S.  You can do it too -- the key is to have the right team to help you.

If you have a specific market in mind then you can work to research and assemble a team in that market to help you find, improve, and manage your properties.

If you're not sure what market to focus on then you'll need to start with doing some research on selecting the best markets for you and your goals.  Once you have a market picked out, you can assemble your team, and/or work with a local broker or builder.

Another option, in addition to or in place of the above, is to work with a national provider of turnkey properties such as ours.  Either way, you will need to have the right people in the right seats "on the bus".  :)

Continued success!

P.S. Marco -- @Jerry Padilla is correct.  There are many portfolio loan options available to you, each with varying terms, but the "cheaper" conventional financing is reserved for U.S. residents/citizens.

So don't worry too much about financing as you'll likely find something that works for you.

@Marco Santarelli thank you very much for your supportive answer. I am looking for an already experienced organization rather than building up my own team, since I am so far away

@Marco Magoni Foreigners buy houses in the US all the time. I bought a house here years ago as a non-us person and rented it out before deciding to move to the US permanently. Many realtors and lenders know exactly what to do. You will need a US bank account, and a large down payment but it is all very doable. I'm sure your relatives can get you going. All the best!

Originally posted by @Marco Magoni :

Hello everybody. I am Italian and I have discovered this site thanks to my wonderful relatives in the US. I am curious to know if is it possible for a person who lives outside the US to invest in the real estate business of the US and in which ways (directly buying, mutual funds, exc..). Thanks for your time.

 Yea folks from out of the USA buy turnkey properties all the time. Biggest markets of foreign interest seem to be Cleveland, Toledo, Birmingham, Indy and Memphis.

@Marco Magoni Foreigners buying from overseas is very cumbersome to say the least. We work with foreigners abroad, mostly in Asia at the moment, and what we've found is that the best way is to partner with a US company. An entity is created (such as an LLC) and 100% owned by the foreign national, and this is used to purchase real real esate while the US company manages the day to day items (permits, property management, evictions, setting up bank accounts, etc).

Hope this helps.

@Brian S. I think it is the best way. Direct management is not possible at the moment. Thank you for your suggestion.

How can I get more info about companies like this?

@Marco Magoni Happy to help - send me a direct message and we can chat there.

Brian

@Marco Magoni I’m trying to get a partner to purchase houses from auctions. Message me, if you are interested. Thanks

Hi marco, I'm Giuseppe Cicorella. I've been investing professionally in the US for the past 14 years, at first from Italy and 5 years ago I moved to Florida. In my experience the easiest way to invest in the US market for a foreigner is to partner up with someone on site. We work mostly with Italians, but we have clients from Australia, Germany, the UK and obviously Americans. Basically, we become business partners, we set up a company, we open a bank account for the company and then we start looking for opportunities. The idea is to streamline the whole process. So, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Originally posted by @Marco Magoni :

Hello everybody. I am Italian and I have discovered this site thanks to my wonderful relatives in the US. I am curious to know if is it possible for a person who lives outside the US to invest in the real estate business of the US and in which ways (directly buying, mutual funds, exc..). Thanks for your time.

 Yes! I know many foreign investors who purchase investment properties in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, Ohio.

@Marco Magoni

We work with a number of foreign investors who invest in the US. DM ME if you need a list of professionals that work with foreign investors (CPAs, attorneys, lenders etc.)