# Who have bought a property in the US?



## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

A fellow investor went down to the states to hunt for real Estate. I got my HELOC finally and am tempted too, but it was originally created for a CDN collapse. 

So just wondering who have bought a property down south and what are your expenses/experience like so far? I saw a few ppl mentioning they own one.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

We have been looking too, but I am very interested in the responses.


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## BRS9 (Feb 22, 2011)

Bought an acre of land right on the ocean in SW Washington state last summer for the price of a used car. I intended on buying a property there in 2008, 2009, 2010... And my patience greatly paid off when I did it in 2011. I also own a small cottage in NW Washington. 

Couple things to know;

You get fee'd to death. Know the total annual costs and be okay with it. 

Realtor... Get a good one (there aren't many). One that knows the listers, the area and the realities of this market. I submitted a super low offer to a seller in a desperate position, denied his counters, and ended up with the property at my price 2 days later. It was about half his asking, which was already less than half of the 2009 listed price. This was partly thanks to the realtor knowing who the seller was. 

Liquidity - your wont have any. If buying US land or housing, I wouldn't expect your investment back in the next 5+ years. At least. So go in knowing that. 

I would recommend buying only because you WANT the place. Don't try to spec on real estate in a dying economy...

I'd personally stay away from CA, NV and AZ homes at the moment, since they have a long way to go down still. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

We just bought a great house in Paradise Valley (Phoenix). Paid a little more than the last guy who bought in 1996 and paid cash. Probably down50-60% from the peak. Only personal use, will not rent. The weather really is superb there, 3 out of 4 seasons. One needs to be aware of the estate tax issues surounding owning US real estate. We used a cross border trust to help with this issue. We don't view this as an investment and don't care much what it might eventually sell for.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

Can we also get a compilation of the fees + taxes involved? Because that's what is stopping me right now.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

Causalien said:


> Can we also get a compilation of the fees + taxes involved? Because that's what is stopping me right now.


Taxes are state specific. Florida is much more expensive than Arizona in this regard. In our case we expect our maintenance to run around 3-4% of the purchase price including taxes which are about $10k per year but were higher. You should be able to get the specific data you need from a good local RE agent. In Arizona there are no land transfer fees. Estate taxes are a key consideration if you think your total net worth at death would be more than $1million.


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