Newbie from Switzerland

[Thomas Tardy]

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie from Switzerland who discovered BB by reading blogs and listening to different podcasts.

I'm very new to REI because I thought it is not accessible to me. This notion came from looking at the numbers we are used to here in Switzerland. Because of the high prices of RE I think it's harder to get started.

That's the reason why I started looking at REI in the US and think that BB can help me.

A few quick points about me:

• I'm a father of three boys.
• I earn my as a software engineer.
• My goal for REI is to get my feet wet.

If you have any advice for foreign citizens especially from Switzerland on how to get started in REI in the US, you're very welcome!

Thank you very much and see you in the forums.

[Jacob Pereira]

Hi Thomas,

I actually lived in Nyon for a few years as a kid, and I still consider Switzerland the most beautiful country I've ever been to. That said, my parents did lose a lot of money in the Swiss RE market (although they attribute most of it to Swiss laws being unfavorable to foreign owners).

As you are already aware, there's a glut of information on BP for how to invest in the US market. Keep reading up and educating yourself. The high salaries in Switzerland, paired with your marketable skills should allow you to have quite a bit of purchasing power in most US markets. 

In my opinion, you should try to find a local partner to help you navigate RE here. There's no substitution for boots on the ground, although I imagine the tax situation could get very complicated, depending on how you structure a partnership. I'm not looking for a partner or anything, but I'd be happy to give my thoughts on any properties you're looking at in my local market (Austin TX), if that's one of the places in which you have an interest.

Looking forward to reading more from you in the future.