Looking to develop my US Market engagement

Looking to develop my US Market engagement

Member since 2017 · 3 posts · 0 votes

Hi,

I am fairly new in this community and to the US market in general, not to real estate as such, and have read many previous discussions in the group with interest.
Being a non-US-resident, my main business is in Europe (UK, Spain, Sweden) and got into the US market “by accident”.

The situation is that I got a small rental in Detroit as collateral for money I lent a business contact (who defaulted on it). Now, this house is managed through a system where I do not have “direct control”. The reason is that my business contact (who is not in real estate) bought it as an investment through a company that helps you with sourcing and management.

Now, in the case of rentals, I normally do BRRRR, but even though this house is profitable, the value is around $35-40 000 and not worth trying to break out of the current set up.

However, I would like to explore the possibility of the US-market and have the following questions:
1. Would it be possible to take out a mortgage on the house described above, or is it too low of a value (In the UK or example it is normally not possible to get a good mortgage on such a “low value” house) and for me as a Non-US-resident – in a reasonable way?
2. Would it be possible for me as a Non-US-resident to do BRRRR in a profitable way? I guess I would need to find a partner of some sort for management etc.?
3. Do the collective experience and intelligence of this community have any creative suggestions or alternatives to suggest?

Looking forward to continued interesting discussions.

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  • Lance LvovskyPro Member
    Accountant · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 753 votes
    7y

    @Carl Johan Ihre

    Yes many possibilities and it is important to get down all the facts of your situation to properly advise. As a nonresident alien for US tax purposes you want to consider US estate tax exposure and if you will rent the properties then US and state income tax exposure. Having a conversation with a CPA is a good start.

  • Member since 2017 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Lance,

    I have an Ohio registered LLC (was created before the Detroit house came into the picture), and have done my first filing.

  • Rental Property Investor · Memphis · Member since 2018 · 128 posts · 97 votes
    7y

    Hi Carl Johan,

    I work with a lot of International investors who invest in Detroit so have a good idea about what your issue is.

    Firstly, you can NOT get a Lend on a property when the appraisal is below 50K. 

    Secondly, as a US non resident, lending options come down to Non-Banks only. As you wont have a Social Security number and a Credit score in the US. 

    So in such cases, Lending is limited, but is very much Possible, for non-US citizens investing in US property,

    The LTV would be 65-70% lend and the Interest rates would start at 6.35%

    What is the address of your property, and I can give you a quick desktop assessment, perhaps the value could be over 50K as the Detroit market has risen quite strongly in the last 7-8 quarters, (since 2017)

  • Member since 2017 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    @Bala A. - Thanks for your reply.

    Yes, I am very aware of the situation of the lack of security number and credit score. The latter can however be worked on long term, as some of the bigger banks, such as Citi and HSBC offer non-recidents banking services if you channel you money through them. 

    In the short term however, private lending and "hard money" are the only options.

    The sub-$50k lower bondary is also something I been looking into getting around. My current idea is to use a tactic that is applicable in other merkets were there is a lower value limit. This tactic is to invest in 3-6 houses that is packeted into a portfolio and then get a mortgage on that portfolio.

    I am currently primarily intersted in 1 - 4 unit properties in Detroit and Cleveland, but as I am remote, any property that is on a "non-commercial landlord" level in any market with god ROIs are of interest.

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