Investing In America for Foreign Investors
Investing In America For Foreign Investors: A Talk with Syd Chase
Should a European invest in American real estate? Author and real estate entrepreneur Syd Chase says yes. Chase spoke with a writer of European extraction in Webster, New York, on January 8, 2009 about investing in American real estate for foreign investors. Below is a transcript for the forthcoming article.
Q: Say I’m Scandanavian. Why should I invest in American real estate?
It doesn’t matter if you’re Scandanavian, Australian, Canadian, or wherever you’re from. Whatever country you live in, you’re facing one of the greatest investment opportunities of a lifetime. Right now American real estate is selling at bargain prices. The cost of homes in the United States are at record lows. And if you don’t think those prices are going to rise again, you’re just not looking at the facts. America is the biggest, richest, most powerful, most dynamic economic nation in history. An economy like that isn’t going lie down forever.
This is the biggest real estate sale in history. And right now is the time to get over here and start buying. The man or woman who invests in American real estate now could see that investment double and triple. And soon.
Q: Isn’t that a little overly optimistic?
Let me give you an example. The other day I saw a house for sale for only $5000. The place was in poor shape and the bank was desperate to get rid of it. It did need work — I estimated that between $7000 and $10,000 was needed to fix it up.
What was the County assessment on that property? $55,000. And that’s not even the appraised value, which is generally higher.
But leave it at $55,000. You could have bought the entire house and had it ready to sell for only $15,000. And you could have made a $40,000 profit on it, just like that. Of course you had to be there to inspect and assess and buy the place. I was. I did. I made a profit — and you can too.
Sure, there are small extra costs and legal fees. And it takes a little time to fix the place up. But the question you should be asking yourself is, am I willing to put $15,000 and a little time into an investment, so that I can get all my money back and $30,000 to $40,000 more? Well, of course. Who wouldn’t? Where else are you going to get a deal like that?
The housing market may be down today, but it’ll be up tomorrow. That’s always been the case, and it always well be. Investing in real estate, investing in American real estate, is the best way to make the most money with the least risk.
Q: But I’m not American. I don’t live there and I don’t know how to invest in properties abroad.
You don’t need to be an American to buy American property. You don’t even need to set foot in America to buy property here. All you need is to know qualified people who do live here, and who can help. Like us.
A foreign investor can buy American property in as quick as roughly one week. At the Syd Chase Group, we have the foreign investor become a limited liability partner on one of my LLC’s here in the United States. When that’s done, within five to ten days, with all the paperwork done, you can be buying properties.
And within a few months, we can even get you a registration number that allows you to make purchases as an independent business person. At that point, if you want. you can leave the LLC and even form a business entity of your own.
Q: What about regulation and taxes?
Well, you do have to pay taxes on your property here. But again, that’s the reason why you need to work with a investment team like the Syd Chase Group. We have lawyers, accountants, and real estate tax professionals on our team who can guide you through the whole process and all the paperwork and make sure you don’t pay any unnecessary fees or taxes.
When you bring the money that you’ve made back to your country, you may have to pay some additional taxes there as well. But again, we have accountants and other financial and legal professionals that work with you to make sure those costs are minimal.
But taxes on your profits aren’t really the point. The point is that when you invest in smaller, less dynamic, more regulated economies, you pay big taxes on small profits. Or on no profits. Your investment doesn’t grow and neither do you.
But when you invest smart in American real estate, you can end up paying a small tax on a tremendous profit. You come out wealthier overall. Sometimes a lot wealthier.
Q: Do your people handle every aspect of the investment process?
We handle as much as you want. We can do all the work, provide all the intermediary services, keep you informed and updated all along the way, and just present you with a finished package for your approval.
Or we can work with you one-on-one, educate you and advise you, and work with you to help develop a complete personal financial growth program.
Or we can handle only those parts of the process you feel needs professional attention.
It depends on what you want. Some investors want to be very involved. Others want to be free to focus on other interests. We want you to be comfortable, and so we have a variety of programs, and we can custom-tailor one just one for you. We provide as much service as you feel you need.
Q: Have you worked with people from my area before? Is there a language barrier?
We certainly have worked with foreign investors before, and have traveled across the United States and globe on behalf of our clients. Several people on our team are multilingual, and we can add people as needed if language is a critical factor.
At the moment we’re working with an Australian investor who was referred to us after his existing financial advisors failed him miserably. He now has positive cash flow, and his tax situation is squared away. He’s making money, and he’s now planning to purchase his second U.S. property with our group.
We’re also currently working with a Swedish investor who wants to buy properties here and then establish an independent business entity using the Syd Chase Group as a mediator to help buy further properties, in which the ownership of the business and the properties will be exclusively his.
So yes, we have experience in many areas, and possibly with your situation specifically. If not, we have an extended network of contacts and associates. We can certainly find someone to make things work.
Q: Are you an large impersonal corporation of some sort? Will I receive personal attention and treatment?
You will get personal attention. Definitely. We work with clients individually and one-on-one. We don’t just apply standardized approaches. Call the Syd Chase Group and you’ll talk to Syd Chase in person and work with Syd directly. Our core group of professionals numbers roughly a dozen people, and while we can and add extra specialist help when needed, delivering thoughtful individual service person-to-person is our hallmark.
Q: I use a investment service already in my country, and I know a real estate person here with whom I want to continue to work. Can you work with them to help me find good American properties?
Certainly. We’d very happy to work with existing foreign investment or real estate firms. The simple fact is, we’re here, and we’ve been dealing with real estate here for a long time. That means we can find properties, make arrangements, and negotiate deals far more easily than someone who’s isn’t here. That helps them, you, and everyone.
As a firm based in and native to the United States, there are any number of ways we can assist foreign agencies or agents interested in purchasing American properties. Just have them call us.
Q: Can you help me find properties in areas other than America? And do you work with commercial properties or developers?
We can do both. Of course, American real estate is our main focus. We also have a particular expertise in arranging investments in properties in rural and country locations in the United States, because we consider that to be the most profitable area of real estate investing in the nation. But yes, we can help you invest in commercial properties outside the United States too.
Q: What if I’m mainly interested not in investing but in owning a second home?
If you’re looking for a second home, America is the spot. If you want a place to come to during the vacations and holidays, if you want a place to go for a refreshing change of climate, from Sunny California to the shores of Hawaii, it’s here and we can help you find it. Absolutely.
The Syd Chase Group has connections all over the United States and direct connections in over 25% of the states. You tell us what kind of house you’re looking for, and where you want to live, and we’ll not only find it, we’ll get you a better deal on it than you could ever get yourself. Guaranteed.
Q: Are your services expensive?
Our business is making you money, not costing you money. It’s not just that your investment eventually brings in more money. At the Syd Chase Group we do not ever pay retail prices for a property. And neither do our clients. Even if you call us and tell us, “I just found this terrific million-dollar home in Florida,” we can negotiate that deal down another ten or fifteen percent. And how much money does saving ten or fifteen percent of a million dollars save? You can do the arithmetic yourself.
Yes, we do charge a fee for our services, but there’s no charge for getting in touch and having a chat about how we can help you. And we can. If investing a dollar makes you two, or three, or more, doesn’t it make sense to do it? Or at least to learn more? Learn more. Call us. It could be the start of the best investment you ever make!
Call us at 1-315-398-3322 and learn about all that we can do.
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