Quote:
Originally Posted by Run Silent
Whew - lot to take in here. At work, so minimal time for answers.
Why overseas? cheaper property, less governmental regulation. I am frequently in that country and wife is from there.
Stricter regulations or more lax? Far less regulation for pretty much everything. While some areas - such as renting regulations for tenants are stronger there than in the USA, you can avoid many of them if you deal with the informal sector.
Does the $ go further in acquiring property? Yes. All three properties are 1500sf (roughly) penthouses in large highrise condos on a beach in one of the most lux areas of the country (think Malibu or Miami). I paid less than $100K for each of them.
How do income and other taxes work? It's complicated, but I am a CPA, so I have more knowledge than most. The bulk of the net income is retained in that country, so I am able to avoid some tax liability here in the USA, but not all.
Is labor potentially cheaper for a management company? Labor is super cheap. House cleaning runs about $0.50 an hour. I use a management company. They take about 15%, but that includes housekeeping, basic maintenance, security, and more.
Multi family or single homes? Multifamily high rise condos on the beach.
Did you buy personally, set up a company, finance the properties? We don't believe in debt, so all properties have been paid for with cash. They are run as Pty. Ltd. corporations in the foreign country - like an LLC here in the USA.
Short term (Air BnB, VRBO, etc) or long term renters? I run them all as short term rentals to avoid tenant laws in the host country, which are extremely stringent. We use Air BNB, but for the most part, it doesn't work that well there, so we use the local version of a vacation rental site. We also have a website run through the PMC. Occasionally we will have a longer term renter, like 30-60 days, but that's about it. They are occupied about 70-80% of the year.
Yes - we have a local PMC that handles most everything. They take 15%. Typically, we visit them once a year - although with Covid - we didn't go this year as the country has had a travel ban since March.
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Excellent.
Debt free is great and the prices sound better. Are the nightly rates proportionate to the lower initial investment, or are you just making in hand over fist. I'd imagine the HOA is minimal as well.
Taxes always spook me - really because I don't understand them as well as I would like. I'm always interested in a way to reduce the burden. Not illegally of course, but knowing the right paths to take are more difficult than I would...hope? Maybe I'm just expecting a light shining down saying "do this."
Sounds like you've got a good system over there. Great for you and yours; hope the fortune continues.
