My property journey – USA Update

Memphis

I am now getting through my first statements and sure one property is firing on all cylinders and the other has had a clunky start.  The standard of statements in the US are not quite the same as here, a few language difference and a rough looking spreadsheet in an e-mail rather than a professional looking pdf

The first property was rented on purchase and that is generating $300+ net per month into my savings.  Remember this is after paying off the P&I loan and all expenses.

The second property was not rented, although I had a rent guarantee on this.  It is now rented but there seems to have been a loophole in the rent guarantee, so currently I have a month of rent missing.  I am trying to get to the bottom of it, so I can let you know about these type of things.  No big deal in the grand scheme of things and I haven’t had to pay out any additional money due to the positive cash flow situation.

One of my club members went to Memphis  and I asked her to check out the properties.  Here is what she said:

“I went past your properties yesterday and took a few photos and a short video that I’ll send you when I get home. They look good and the area seems to be a sound choice.”

I will post the video when I receive it!

Florida

We have had a few shenanigans regarding valuations on the Florida property.  Similar to here, the bank approved valuers have gone ultra conservative and as a result the valuation came in lower than expected.

A few phone calls to the seller and my partners etc and we eventually agreed a new price and the deal is going through with an overall discount of $9k.

I have finally got the finance approved and in the final stages, banking, insurance, building inspections etc.  The finance has been very drawn out here, and one caveat to be aware of is that some banks demand a sum of cash to be left in a savings account over there as additional protection.  In my case it is approximately $3k to cover 6 months of costs.  So, remember to add this to your figures!

Atlanta

I am eyeing up Atlanta next, Stephen has just been on a reccie over there and we are now able to get finance and there are some interesting options in this city.

Cheers for now

Mark

About Mark Taylor….

My property journey – USA Property

My property journey – Florida Property

Here are some photos of the Florida property I am adding to my portfolio!

About Mark Taylor….

My property journey – Florida Property

My property journey – USA and Mackay Strata Titling

So the two properties in Memphis are now settled.  So far it seems all in order. I received the titles in the post and can also check an online database.  Tenants are in place. The only delay is finalising the Memphis bank account which has run into a few snags but nearly there.

In the final stages of getting the loan approval for the Florida.  They have really been putting me through the ringer on this one.  Lots and lots of documents.  It is going to get last minute as settlement date is the end of April and they are really struggling with the negative gearing concept over there!!

Meanwhile back in Oz, i have finally got the firewall done, so I can sub divide the two properties in Mackay.  Long, long process but on the home run now that the council have done their thing!  I will get a valuation when I am done for interest!!

About Mark Taylor….

My property journey – USA and Mackay Strata Titling

First Investment Property

This is the first post in a series that will share my own property journey.

The first investment property is always the most difficult and daunting as there is so much to learn and it seems like such a big step. 

I went through a lot of blind allies.  Tried doing it myself using residex reports and remember ending up in some dodgy suburb looking ar property without any real idea of what I was doing.

Time to tap into some better expertise, so I hooked up with a small a buyer’ agent who helped me tremendously, although it still took months and months and we had quite a few that we looked at that fell through, one particularly good one was a 3 bedroom townhouse in Adelaide whcih would have been a cracker.

Ended up in Mackay, where we found a duplex with strata title opportunity; market timing was probably not the best, but the property had pretty good yield which helped a nervous first time investor.

So, my first investment property deal went through smoothly and I was the proud owner of a sight unseen, duplex in Mackay.  Total cost was $450,000 for both units with a rental  of $510 per week.