Foreigners Investing in the USA & Abroad

[Daniel Hyman]

We are truly blessed in the USA to have so many advantages to real estate investing. Cash flow, appreciation, loan pay down, tax benefits, etc. With relatively low barriers to entry, it seems like anyone and everyone has a shot at success. I'm curious to know what its like for citizens of other countries, both in terms of investing in real estate abroad and here in the USA. What unique opportunities and challenges do you face?

[Nish Gupta]

If you dont have USA resident status, mortgage companies will require higher downpayment (40%) and mortgage rate which is likely 1%-2% higher. It is difficult to get good homeowner insurance because many insurance companies want to bundle with your primary home/auto etc... Also my understanding is that attorney will withhold taxes when you sell , so I am not sure if you can do 1031 exchange (something that needs to be figured out)... but overall those hurdles are not too big...biggest hurdle is that you dont have boots on the ground so due diligence is difficult which means you will be doing far fewer deals than you would do otherwise.