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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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