Roberto Mazzoni

During the current real estate market situation, there is a definite benefit in selling US properties overseas. You can count on potentially higher prices, shorter closing terms and additional business in the form of support or management. This requires in the other end to create connections with people who can promote your products credibly in the foreign market: languages and cultural issues here are very relevant.

Extending your reach to international real estate markets

1.It is an informal platform where you can meet other real estate professionals from other countries without having to talk about business from the get go

2.You can interact more easily using the integrated chat, videos, photos, comments and blog posts (linked on Facebook) so to create a story around yourself and allow the foreign real estate professionals to become familiar with you

3.Approximately two thirds of Facebook users are outside of the US, therefore you have a very big audience

4.You can collect some initial information about other people from their profile so that you have something to talk with them already in the initial contacts.

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One of the key concepts that you’ll get from some real estate experts I that you should start from your own back yard, meaning first get familiar with the market you have close at hand and then spread your reach gradually as you go, moving further and further.

International real estate businesses are built through partnerships

It is definitely a best business practice if you are considering doing some major rehab work. It is such a labor intensive activity that you need to get a solid understanding and control of the activities by either being involved directly in the work or monitoring very closely those who are performing it for you. Therefore you don’t want to add long travels in the initial burden of learning the trade, learning your market and building your team.

But when you bring it to an international real estate perspective, you rapidly see that you can’t really use the “back yard” concept because your investor or buyer will not be familiar with your specific market and therefore will have no specific interest in it but she will rather look from the best market that can provide her the best return with the minimum effort.
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Last week end I have been to a real estate event in Tampa where different real estate “gurus” were promoting their own investment strategy. I was struck by the energy of Nick Sidoti, who runs around shouting at the audience and throwing real money at you to make sure he gets your undivided attention (I did manage to cash 3 bucks in the process). Aside from the unusual but effective presentation style and aside from the fact that Nick self proclaims himself as “crazy”, his strategy seems to make sense also for an international real estate investor.

Nick Sidoti has some unique landlord investment strategies

He has found out a way to secure high rental values by providing special need housing to some types of handicapped people as well as to high end students and retired veterans. The basic concept is to provide fully furnished apartments with full utilities and basic housekeeping provided as part of the rent. You provide a quality of life that is similar to that of an hotel, and at the same time the convenience of an apartment or house. The higher rent comes from the ability to accommodate more than one tenant per unit and get each one paying separately.
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When dealing with special need tenant, like veterans or handicapped people, you get paid directly by the government and the tenant stays in the property for a long time since there are not so many alternatives available on any given market. There are no delays in the payments, most of the maintenance is performed by the government workers taking care of these special people and you can get much more return for your investment with less involvement.

Since it is a very special type of market, you must be thoroughly familiar with the requirements of the government agencies you would be working with and you also need to conduct a very different type of marketing as compared to what is required for regular landlording. I have personally checked with him about the feasibility of this strategy for foreign investors, and he has assured me that these special programs can be performed also by property owners that are not US citizens. You would require naturally a local structure to provide management, but this would be the case also with a local investor.

Nick Sidoti has been involved in real estate investing since 1979 and he has been lecturing for more than 20 years, therefore this is not a new strategy by any means and its longevity adds credibility to it. His conclusions after over two decades of observing other investors is that some people get it and some just don’t (how to make money) So his motto is: “Are you really getting it?” I think I do now.

Roberto Mazzoni

Dealing with foreigners that want to invest their money in the United States, I have come to recognize six basic questions that need to be answered before the relationship can really progress. Each of this question requires some research that has to be specific to the country the investor is coming from and you need to be able make comparisons between how things usually work in real estate in the US as compared to how they work in her own country.

US real estate can be attractive to international buyers if properly presented.

You are likely to be asked any of these six questions, maybe all, so you’d better prepare an answer ahead of time.

1. How do I invest in the USA? It includes describing the type of properties and markets you suggest and the reason why they should chose the USA instead of some other international real estate market.
2. How to you purchase a property in the US? The methods and contracts used to buy and sell properties in North America are fairly different from those used overseas. For example, in Italy, the market where a come from, there is no listing agent, no broker, no MLS. There is just an agent that both lists and sells the property, occasionally in cooperation with other agents.
3. Which protection systems should I look for? The answer can be extensive as there are many wealth protection systems in the US which simply don’t exist elsewhere. I would suggest you to provide information about the basic elements, like the various types of deeds, mortgages and promissory notes, insurance policies and company paperwork. Always suggest to your investor to purchase a property from within a US company created as a container for this purpose. It will simplify greatly the closing and the subsequent management.
4. How to read the key documents? This expands on question 3 and it is intended to explain the various components of the paperwork being used. Try to provide some form of translation of the key elements and spend some time to explain them.
5. How to save on taxes? This is a very big one. You don’t realize how much a foreigner can save on taxes by properly investing in the US. This takes some knowledge of the tax systems both in the US and the investor’s original country, but it is an hot subject.
6. How to multiply my return on investment? Any investor who plays in the international real estate field is looking for returns that are substantially higher than those he could get in his own country and that are more protected, considering the distance factor. This is the most challenging of the questions and it requires a deep knowledge of all the five points above and close understanding of your market.

If you can provide quality answers to all of the 6 points above you will gain respect and attention from international buyers and you will be able to expand your potential market.
Roberto Mazzoni

Yesterday night I have been to the monthly meeting of my mastermind organization, The Wealth Building Annex in Tampa. Chris Krimitsos, the founder of TWBA always manages to bring in some very interesting speaker, and this time the stage was taken by Aaron Fodiman the successful publisher of Tampa Bay Magazine and a very interesting person overall. His extensive background has seen him working at the White House in the staff of several presidents of the United States, then he has been the president of a major restaurant franchise, he owned and managed a chain of restaurants himself and eventually devoted himself to publishing.

Roberto Mazzoni with Aaron Fodiman and his wife Margaret Word Burnside, both directly involved in running Tampa Bay Magazine

The personal story of this gentleman is amazing since he has been extremely successful at three totally different activities, none of which he has chosen before hand. But he was able to excel by focusing on each one of them when the time came by also applying the first of his 12 success rules which is: “if you chase two rabbits, both will escape”.
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The video that I am presenting here shows a short piece of the interview done by Chris with Aaron Fodiman. You will see how the true path to success sometimes presents itself after some trial.

During the one hour speech by Mr. Fodiman I learned many things about the publishing business, to which I belonged for three decades, and my current international real estate business. And the lesson is this: the more you know about the area where you live and operate, the more you can describe its culture, art and way of life, the more chances you have to succeed. I have also learned that Tampa Bay is the 12^th metropolitan area in the United States and that it is even bigger than Miami in terms of economical power. The best way for me to attract international buyers in this area will be to team up with people like Mr. Fodiman so to fully represent the emotion and lifestyle that can be experienced here, which will make investing in this area even more attractive.

Roberto Mazzoni