Buying property in the US

paulmay

Hello - I'd like to buy an apartment in the US this year. Could anybody recommend any sites, books companies where I could get some advice? I'd just like to find out about the applicable laws, taxes, finance.

Thanks

EKRIUQ

Pretty much all all the advice you could need on that site I use it regularly

http://www.agentsonline.net/

Victor

Realise you could be paying several thousand per year in property taxes.

soma

Sweet Jebus - how can you be interested in buying in the US right now..? Have you kept tabs *at all* on the property market situation there..?

They are on the verge of a particularly nasty property crash. Currently inventories are shooting thru the roof and prices are dropping.

http://thehousingbubbleblog.com

Macers

I think thats why the OP is posting... Getting advice etc

soma

He specifically asked for:

paulmay wrote:

I'd just like to find out about the applicable laws, taxes, finance.

Which seems to imply that he's already interested in buying (step 1) but it is essentially concerned about the implementation details.

My point is that this guy needs to re-assess step 1.

IMHO the US property market is in the midst of a crash. My family have been lucky and managed to sell
property in Long Island a few months ago at the peak of the market. Right now similar properties cannot be sold - no one is buying. The word 'bubble' is in every regional US newspaper.

soma

soma wrote:

IMHO the US property market is in the midst of a crash. My family have been lucky and managed to sell
property in Long Island a few months ago at the peak of the market. Right now similar properties cannot be sold - no one is buying. The word 'bubble' is in every regional US newspaper.

Saw a good article though on the Florida market, which has certainly calmed down with all the hurricane fears. Lots speculating that it won't go lower and may climb again...and praying that the benefits of the Kyoto Treaty kick in soon too...

soma

Deleted User wrote:

Saw a good article though on the Florida market, which has certainly calmed down with all the hurricane fears. Lots speculating that it won't go lower and may climb again...and praying that the benefits of the Kyoto Treaty kick in soon too...

If you believe that, I hope you enjoy the rest of your life in cloud cuckoo-land.

Yeah things are looking sweet in Florida alright. I can really see that nice turn-around coming. Just as long as I ignore the local newspapers reporting foreclosures up 26% and houses being obtained for next to nothing at auction:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD01092006.htm

SouperComputer

soma wrote:

Sweet Jebus - how can you be interested in buying in the US right now..? Have you kept tabs *at all* on the property market situation there..?

They are on the verge of a particularly nasty property crash. Currently inventories are shooting thru the roof and prices are dropping.

http://thehousingbubbleblog.com

Fairly closed minded opinion from my view. It depends entirely on where in the country you are looking. Things have calmed down overall, but to tar god-knows-howmillion homes with the same econmoic brush spanks of ingnorance to me. Overall things have been cooling for a couple of months, perhaps some areas may "crash" but I dont imagine its going to be a nationa epidemic.

I've just moved here and have been evaluating the property situation both here and at home.

Long story short, ill be buying here

even at the height of the bubble over there you could still get much bigger houses much cheaper than here!

I presume your happy over there - planning to buy property and all - are there any differences in the property market there versus here that stand out to you?
best of luck soupercomputer

Ruu_Old

I dealt with ReMax when buying my house in Illinois, depends what part of the US you want to buy of course. If you want an idea of how much my house cost, there is also a calculator thing on the link below, that is my realtor, that shows what the payments rough would estimate. Link.

soma

soma wrote:

If you believe that, I hope you enjoy the rest of your life in cloud cuckoo-land.

You sound like a man with issues about the US housing market!

I know people buying in Orlando all the time and they don't care about short term property bubbles bursting, or problems with the weather on the Florida coast. They are rich enough not to have to worry about temporary set backs.

It's the advantage of being filthy rich. And if they never sell them, meh, they have nice holiday homes...

Victor

Deleted User wrote:

even at the height of the bubble over there you could still get much bigger houses much cheaper than here!

Which would you prefer?

Ireland: Mortgage repayments of X and no property taxes or
USA: Mortgage repayments of half X and property of half X

hmmm

Deleted User wrote:

Saw a good article though on the Florida market, which has certainly calmed down with all the hurricane fears. Lots speculating that it won't go lower and may climb again...and praying that the benefits of the Kyoto Treaty kick in soon too...

They're pinning their investment decisions on a reversal of global warming? LOL, this forum is much better than the humour board.

Victor

Victor wrote:

Which would you prefer?

Ireland: Mortgage repayments of X and no property taxes or
USA: Mortgage repayments of half X and property of half X

good point but if you buy an apartment here your how much does the management fee add up over the life of your mortgage?

KdjaCL

As said above its dependant on area, i own a flat in Middletown NY and the rent i get is ****e compared to what it would be worth here. granted i was given the flat but still with tax and crap i dont make a large amount off it.


2 bed apartment just off R411 in 2 storey compund 40 others there, nice area but i get $800 PM and from that i get $550 as other $250 goes on landlord crap. I have a share in another one in a college town Bloomingburg which gets me more as its a house split into 3 that works out better as we get a rebate if we rent it to tree hugging tax dodging hippies in the area.

Will be selling one in NY if you want to buy


kdjac

hmmm

hmmm wrote:

They're pinning their investment decisions on a reversal of global warming? LOL, this forum is much better than the humour board.

But the whole thing about global warming is that it's...global.

And you may have noticed that there are still a few people on the globe buying property eg. waters may rise off Dublin's coast, but I don't see anyone handing away sites by the sea in Dalkey or Malahide. Or how about them Cap Verde developments...on an island!

But the day everyone stops buying because the sky is falling in,THEN you can say 'I told you so'...

Victor

Deleted User wrote:

good point but if you buy an apartment here your how much does the management fee add up over the life of your mortgage?

Irrelevant as you will pay the management fee in both countries.

dochasach

Victor wrote:

Irrelevant as you will pay the management fee in both countries.

- Management fees vary so you'd have to look at the individual development.

- Annual property tax varies by region a few states have none (Texas and Alaska?) Figure about 2.5% of house value per year. Blue (Democrat) states typically have higher tax rates.

- Home insurance rates are extremely high in some areas. Flood insurance in Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana is either expensive or impossible to get (but often REQUIRED!) Lots of luck getting earthquake insurance on the west coast.

-Property prices are falling in real or inflation adjusted terms in almost every region you've heard of, Boston, Baltimore, NYC, Las Vegas, Los Angeles... Parts of South Florida are 20% below their median YOY. (Possibly down even more from peak, but YOY values not including incentives are what the NAR reports because it doesn't look ugly.

- Inventory is up across the U.S., well over the 9 months that generaly triggers price falls. In some places if no new houses came on market it would stiil take 2 yearas to clear inventory.

-Foreclosures are rapidly rising. Debt vs income is at its highest value since the Great Depression in the 1930s

-I wouldn't buy over there unless prices dropped another 25-50%.

-But it's a bargain compared to here.