All Forum Posts by: Marielle Walter

I am looking into buying a rental property in the Boston area (it does not need to actually be in Boston) but I want to be able to rent to students and young professionals, as I plan to do a micro-unit, coliving type arrangement, and they will be my target market. I would love to get suggestions on what the best areas could be to look for a house with 3+ bedrooms (ideally much more), in the 500,000 range, that would be a high demand rental market, and of course walking distance to the train. 

I own a home in DC that I live in and I have a roommate at times. I have never had this issue - but I just had a roommate move in and request I have a lock installed on their bedroom door. My home is older, and has metal doors which are difficult to install in. I have never had this request from anyone before. Am I required to install a bedroom door lock by DC law? 

Thanks, @David Epstein I'll keep my eye on the tourist areas and capital cities! @Rachel N. that is suuuuuuuper helpful to know they banned airbnb - i think i may hesitate on Barcelona in that case! Perhaps better to look at cheaper coastal areas in southern spain. @Lukas Vanagaitis interesting the standards are higher and the payout lower in the EU. Which areas of the US did you end up investing? I am also looking into dropping my money in Ohio where it seems it could cover a fixer upper in Cincinnati/Cleveland. @Alexander Svanevik @Erwin Groenendijk thanks for the heads up on high prices and the rec on the bank -  I'll give them a ring if i decide to move forward. 

Thanks, @Erwin Groenendijk! I did notice id need to look around 100k mark in barcelona. Do you know of investor groups that work with americans? Or if any of the banks are likely to give me a mortgage? 

@Josh July I only have $30,000 cash, not 100,000 unfortunately. I tried to get a loan in the US even by using my home equity (as i have a home in DC ive owned for three years), but since i am working part time (just has a baby) I was rejected even for a small home equity line. So my prospects in the US are not bright. Whereas in Spain I could buy a 1 bedroom condo in prime rental areas for 40 or 50 K - much easier to come up with an extra ten grand and find a decent property manager in spain. On the plus side, I'd also have a vacation home :) But if you have other ideas for having better prospects in the US feel free to share - I am still new at this!

@Fady Soliman I had read otherwise in the NYT: "To buy property in Spain, a noncitizen must first obtain a tax identification number, known as an NIE for its Spanish acronym. The identification number is necessary to open a bank account and complete any property purchase agreement. When a deal is reached, the buyer puts down a deposit and signs a reservation contract." https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/realestate/home-for-sale-near-barcelona-spain.html

I have some cash on hand which is not enough to buy a nice city condo in the US, but may be enough to buy a nice one or two bedroom condo internationally - somewhere like Spain (barcelona or southern beach area), downtown Budapest, or parts of Portugal. I would plan to have a property manager to keep an eye on the place and let in renters, while I was based in the US. I am curious if anyone else has taken this route to stretch your cash for a nicer investment, and if you have any tips or suggestions on prime locations. I want to be able to airbnb and have other longer term renters as number 1 priority, but appreciation over time would of course be nice too. Thanks for your thoughts!

@Ryan Fortier I have actually been living in my home in DC, so i thought I would avoid capital gains taxes for that reason? But yes will have to pay the agent cut, thats true. 

@Luis Capriles wow that is great, kudos to you and very encouraging to me!

@Ryan Risley