Buy property in UK or USA?

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mavali

New Member
Hi All,
I am a newbie property investor. I do not own any property in UK or USA at the moment.
My current financial situation permits me to look for a property investment of up to 150k GBP which is approx. 250k USD. That is by putting 30% of that amount as downpayment and rest on finance. I am looking for some monthly income out of the property after ALL costs and taxes and decent capital appreciation in the next 5 years.
I am faced with the dilemma of which place is better for investment between USA and UK.
Only prospective area in my mind in UK is London or surrounding it but these are all very expensive and you have to settle for less desirable areas for this price.
In USA, property looks relatively cheap at this point but there are so many places to look at for investment. I am currently looking at VillageWalk in Orlando and that seems interesting. Not sure what other good cities or properties are out there for investment.
Any advise that could help make me my decision is much appreciated.
Thanks
 
M

mrmistery

New Member
Hi

If you invest in real estate to generate monthly cash flow then do it. But you should not expect an appreciation of real estate in the coming years.

The purchaser of a property right now should be aware that there is a good chance that it does not appreciate.

Nico
 
B

Bobbyletap

New Member
Hi Mavali

My name is Bobby - I just wanted to take the time to give your some advice/ my opinion.
I am originally from London England but have lived in the US (GA) for almost 15 years.

In all honesty for what you are looking to do the US is a much better option! I have a small investment portfolio in Atlanta GA and also a small city in South GA called Valdosta.

I am heavily involved in Real Estate from working with investors and also managing properties. With that being said "of course I am going to be biased" LOL But its a no brainer, the returns you can yield from investing in the US is just a better gig.

Please reach out if you have any questions and hopefully this helps your cause.

Regards

Bobby
 
O

owendale

New Member
USA or UK Back in 2003 I had the same decision to make ..for me it was and still is a no brainer. Especially if you like road tripping around the USA like I do.
1 key point that make its easy positive cash flow is easier to achieve if the rent to value is greater than 1% say average rent in UK is £500 a month then the value of the property ideally should be under £50000 Lol. Haha. If you can find an half decent property in the UK for that then please email me . I would love a deal like that.
During 2005 I became a USA realtor and that meant even more info at my fingertips . You can never have enough info.
The negative side of USA. Poor property management that charge if the wind changes direction!! Every month etc etc and being so far away you can easily get ripped off..
TRUST is a key word for any investment . On one UK deal I had to explain one very important contract clause to a lawyer and it was a complete shock , I was paying them to represent my best interests and yet with my realtor studies and my USA property experiences I was advising them ,and yes they still billed me over £ 380 for my trouble !.
a lot of sharks and greedy Liers are out there.
 
Ryan M

Ryan M

New Member
Hi

If you invest in real estate to generate monthly cash flow then do it. But you should not expect an appreciation of real estate in the coming years.

The purchaser of a property right now should be aware that there is a good chance that it does not appreciate.

Nico
I think Mavali is ready to wait for 5 years for the property to appreciate and that is okay as he is investing for the long term.
 
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owendale

New Member
Laughing all the way to the bank ... Property for sale in Detroit excellent investment tenent in blah blah blah. Only $32000 ,.

What makes me laugh is it actually sold for 8000 a few short weeks ago? Beggars belief it really does..
See some Australian wonderful companies have been jumping on the greedy grabbing gravy train.. I hope they all sell loads I really do..
 
M

mrmistery

New Member
Laughing all the way to the bank ... Property for sale in Detroit excellent investment tenent in blah blah blah. Only $32000 ,.

What makes me laugh is it actually sold for 8000 a few short weeks ago? Beggars belief it really does..
See some Australian wonderful companies have been jumping on the greedy grabbing gravy train.. I hope they all sell loads I really do..

The 8000 for a house in Detroit is expensive, really a home in Detroit is sold for 1k or 2k
 
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owendale

New Member
mrmistery said:
The 8000 for a house in Detroit is expensive, really a home in Detroit is sold for 1k or 2k
Really?? well as someone who has actually walked around the streets in Detroit , I must say the neighbourhoods you talk about must be pretty bad.
The 8000 house was not bad and the average selling property was higher than that....please if you live in Detroit can you manage a portfolio of those properties?
DETROIT IS A BIG AREA AND NOT ALL AREAS ARE full of houses under that amount .please if you really do have sensible knowledge why not give us zip codes or street addresses.. Your short comment just looks like its sarcastically taking the pee. Well done..
 
M

mrmistery

New Member
Really?? well as someone who has actually walked around the streets in Detroit , I must say the neighbourhoods you talk about must be pretty bad.
The 8000 house was not bad and the average selling property was higher than that....please if you live in Detroit can you manage a portfolio of those properties?
DETROIT IS A BIG AREA AND NOT ALL AREAS ARE full of houses under that amount .please if you really do have sensible knowledge why not give us zip codes or street addresses.. Your short comment just looks like its sarcastically taking the pee. Well done..
Detroit is the worst place to invest, is better if you get out of Detroit, is a depressed city, crime, lots of empty homes, houses sold for 1k or 2k.
The best place to live in Detroit are out of Detroit, sorry but it is the true. There are more interesting places to invest in US, but Detroit is the worst maybe in the world.
 
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owendale

New Member
mrmistery said:
Detroit is the worst place to invest, is better if you get out of Detroit, is a depressed city, crime, lots of empty homes, houses sold for 1k or 2k.
The best place to live in Detroit are out of Detroit, sorry but it is the true. There are more interesting places to invest in US, but Detroit is the worst maybe in the world.
Well I never said it was the best , and its only one of the cheapest for a very good reason. I myself like Georgia and of course Florida. Just follow H75 and h95 and look at communities close by.
 
M

mrmistery

New Member
Well I never said it was the best , and its only one of the cheapest for a very good reason. I myself like Georgia and of course Florida. Just follow H75 and h95 and look at communities close by.
yes and the reason for cheap properties in Detroit is high crime, no jobs, depressed city, shoots, drugs, and high property taxes ;)
 
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clarkd384

New Member
If you wish to invest in US real estate but you’re not sure how to go about real estate investing, you should seek help from an experienced Realtor, who can assist you in evaluating the value of properties based on the house structure, location, market trends, and so on.
 
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owendale

New Member
clarkd384 said:
If you wish to invest in US real estate but you’re not sure how to go about real estate investing, you should seek help from an experienced Realtor, who can assist you in evaluating the value of properties based on the house structure, location, market trends, and so on.
YES I TOTALLY AGREE.. But as the only fully licensed and regulated realtor member of ORLANDO REGIONAL REALTOR ASSOCIATION here in the UK..you would think I would be assisting and selling loads ,, WELL In the last 4 years I have sold NONE... And getting close to just throwing the license in the rubbish skip and joining in with the rest.. If you can not beat em join em..
 
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K

Kirt2012

New Member
It all depends what an investor is looking for in terms of the reason for the investment.
If you are looking for a place to retire and grow old, forget about it.
Most of the deals being offered out there are low input, very good yields (just about the best in the current U.S markets) and guarantees of returns over short periods.
Surely every investors dream.

Sure, people look at the usual factors when contemplating an overseas acquisition.
In the face if it, Detroit does not stand out as an outstanding potential for return.
But Detroit has seen some of the best property value rebounds since 2002 across the states.
But there is a kicker to the Detroit market.
Obama and local government have heavily endorsed a system of refurbishment and rehousing Detroit under the banner of the section 8 Housing act 1988. This is a government scheme dot assist struggling economies within the states.
This assures Detroit residents live in refurbished neighbourhoods and all tenants are vetted.
It is a condition of the section 8 act is that they must be in full time employment and fall within a certain income criteria to secure the government assistance.
This becomes a win win situation.
The city cleans up its town Block by block, housing working families in clean homes and the investor is guaranteed some generous yields and returns on initial input.
Detroit is a great option in my opinion. Go Tigers!
 
J-Nevil

J-Nevil

Member
Buy to let in the UK is going to be pretty profitable over the next few years as rent is estimated to go up by 18% and many more households are renting now. Plus you still can make a profit buy buying and selling if you look for micro markets in the commuter belt areas of London
 
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reddeerab

New Member
I know I'm being biased but I would not be afraid to name many different cities in western Canada. With the continued growth in the oil industry and a continued net migration of people, I believe the market will continue to strengthen and there are still properties that will cash flow quite nicely.
 
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Kirt2012

New Member
reddeerab said:
I know I'm being biased but I would not be afraid to name many different cities in western Canada. With the continued growth in the oil industry and a continued net migration of people, I believe the market will continue to strengthen and there are still properties that will cash flow quite nicely.
I agree with redeerab!! Canada looks good to continue its growth.
 
K

Kirt2012

New Member
mavali said:
Hi All,
I am a newbie property investor. I do not own any property in UK or USA at the moment.
My current financial situation permits me to look for a property investment of up to 150k GBP which is approx. 250k USD. That is by putting 30% of that amount as downpayment and rest on finance. I am looking for some monthly income out of the property after ALL costs and taxes and decent capital appreciation in the next 5 years.
I am faced with the dilemma of which place is better for investment between USA and UK.
Only prospective area in my mind in UK is London or surrounding it but these are all very expensive and you have to settle for less desirable areas for this price.
In USA, property looks relatively cheap at this point but there are so many places to look at for investment. I am currently looking at VillageWalk in Orlando and that seems interesting.

To be honest Mavali the U.S is the best for rental yields.
The initial cost of procurement is far greater in the uk. There are several good options throughout the states but Detroit remains a strong runner with rental yields of 20% onaverage I.and
 
Benn

Benn

New Member
As Kiyosaki mentions, real estate largely follows jobs. I suggest you look at the macro economic factors of any area and try and determine if the employment will grow in the future.
 
S

smparnel

New Member
I think you should buy property in USA instead of UK. Yes, prices of real estate in UK are higher than US. Moreover, in US real estate sector is grwoing with the annual rate of 1.6% and in 2013 more growth is acpected. So if you will invest in US, there are chances that you will get huge profits in a year or 2. You can rent out your property.
 
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plova25

New Member
Mavali,

I hold a number of properties here in the US both residential and commercial and I agree that you will most likely get a higher return in the US than in the UK.

The first decision you will need to make is whether you will want to invest in residential or commercial property. Each has their own advantages / disadvantages. There will not be too much difference between the down payment required for a commercial or non owner occupied residental loan. On average a commercial loan will need at least 35% down while a non owner occupied property will need about 30% down. For reference, a residential unit with 4 or less units will qualify for a residential mortgage (longer tems, fixed) while everything over 4 units will be a commercial loan (usually 5-10 years with a ballon payment if fixed.) A quick note, many larger retail corporations that have "brick and motar" locations are seeking to downsize in light of the economy and competition from online sales.

The second decision would be area of the US to target. Personally I would look to areas that are forcasted to have population growth and business growth in the future. Detroit has been mentioned in previous posts. While I have never been to Detroit there are reasons for their problems and I do not see any "fix" anytime soon. There may be a higher potential return but this comes with a high degree of risk. The city and area has been losing population and businesses for years. Apart from property costs and income there are other factors that vary considerably from state to state. Some states have a sales tax (VAT) but no income tax. Some states have no sales tax but a state income tax. Most state have a combination of both all at different rates. Property taxes also vary considerably between states which will effect the bottom line.

If you choose the US and after you narrow down the region that you would like to invest in the most important thing to do is to visit the property. I have seen many people buy properties without visiting the property itself and this is something I would never do. Select a realtor and asking many questions to see how knowledgable and committed they are.

Overall I do not expect large appreciation in property values. There are isolated cases of people making good returns over the past 2-3 years when the prices were really low. The economy just doesn't support it at the moment. There is talk from the Democrats of easing mortgage requirements so that some of the more "disadvantaged" citizens can quailfy to buy homes but I don't think that this will materialise. This is what got the US into the financial mess in the first place.
 
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