All Forum Posts by: Anthony Kaleta

@Travis Crane + @Terrance Harrington - Don't be cheap with handing out a vote for a well thought out and value added response!! Awesome work @Mike Sedlacek

@Zeng Fan - Check out the following link to the Philadelphia Streets website: http://www.philadelphiastreets.com The Streets department are responsible for "the City's streets and roadways. Included among our many duties are the ongoing collection and disposal of residential trash and recyclables, as well as the construction, cleanliness and maintenance of our entire street system". They have a Customer Service page on their website and have a listed phone number, you can call too. 

Best of luck.

@ Pete Perez - Not a silly question, at all - in fact its pretty important!!

Regarding your question: My question is how to determine a competitive rent to charge for a unit in a multi family home?

There are many ways to do your research online but I've got to admit that coupling your online research with getting out and talking to solid real estate agents is a good way to better quantify rents in the area. I always take a glass-half-empty approach when looking at online ad's and real estate agent quotes for rents - when they're done independently. However I've found that when i combine both, I tend to get much closer to a realistic rent. 

Best of luck.

@Joshua Dorkin - Congrats to you and your team - And thanks from all of us, here at BP nation!!

You guys have got something really special going on here...It's only a matter of when - not if, you'll get to 1 million members. Onwards and upwards.

@Benjamin Blackburn - I also came across this useful dashboard on Trulia: http://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Houston-Texas/ Pleasing on the eye and has the ability to drill-down on key stats. A good starting point.

Paul - I'd visit a HSBC branch in Brisbane and enquire about their requirements to open an US account. You will need specific documents for a LLC account - but at least you can get their advice before you jump on a flight over here. HSBC have a network of Relationship Managers based in the US, Australia, the U.K. Etc and they can give you specific info on account opening docs. They helped me open a UK account from the US and also transfer my credit history to the US. Very helpful.

@Jean Bolger - I agree with you too. Tony Robbins is a phenomenal motivational speaker but I'm not too sure about his track record/ competency on financial matters. Remember that Tony made his millions selling motivational books, tapes, courses etc - NOT in the stock or property markets. 

The allocations mentioned above relate to an 'all weather' portfolio Robbins has worked with famed investor Ray Dalio (Bridgewater) to develop. The portfolio is designed to cope with: inflation, deflation, rising economic growth, slowing economic growth. 

Different investors have different risk profiles. From that point of view, I can see how an allocation to an 'all weather' strategy could benefit a more risk averse investor, but am sceptical that an investment in an 'all weather' portfolio alone, would lead to significant wealth creation.

PS - Check out the reviews of Robbins book on Amazon. There are some concerns about the 'independence' of some of the recommendations made.

Thanks for the prompt responses:

@Ethan Giller - Great point on thinking about selling the property and its something we have thought about several times. We bought the property as a long term buy hold and we currently sit on a cap rate of +5%. We love the location, the market appreciation (to date), sterling currency exposure it gives us and the tax deduction here in the US...I'm keen to hear more about the multi-family opportunities you've mentioned here in Philly - as we are currently looking for opportunities.

@CK Hwang - All points raised by you make complete sense but can you go into more detail on how your Asian investors are establishing the HELOC on their properties in Asia? Is this through an Asian banking institution eg - HSBC?

@Nick K. - I am more concerned about the release of equity from my London property as oppossed to the transfer of funds from the UK to the US. 

I worked in London, UK for +8 years and during this time I purchased a residential property, there. 18 months ago, I relocated to Philadelphia, USA and I now rent the London property to tenants. 

I have some solid equity built up in the London property and I am keen to release some of this equity and invest it here in the US (specifically, in residential property here in Philadelphia). Does anyone have any experience in doing this? 

I have been researching a solution for some time now and haven't found anything that can help me. Any assistance from BP nation would be hugely appreciated!! 

Huge fan of the improvements you guys have made to date. Being a newbie to BP, I'm keen to echo the feedback already given by @Steve Babiak regarding the vote button and also request a 'connect' button so I can continue to build my network when I'm reading forums on the go.