Thursday, December 16, 2010

Amercian Property Purchase

The Australian dollar has gone over $1 US again today.

I am not providing financial advice or any form of recommendation but personally I believe that the $ is unlikely to go much higher and Christmas can have a very strange effect on currencies.  Anyone serious about purchasing property in the US, or even just wanting to possibly make a few bucks on currency exchange could place $A into $US. 

How…..Today I found out how easy it is.

I went to HSBC and opened an Australian Account and a US $ Account.  It took half an hour.  Now I can transfer all my $A that I have spare into the HSBC $A account and then transfer them over the internet into the $US account.  Best of all it is quick, simple and free.

HSBC has just opened an office in Ainsle Avenue, Canberra City (near the fountain) and the staff are very helpful.

16 comments:

  1. Hi Catherine

    Thats great news. I will look into setting up an account with HSBC right away.

    Thanks for the tip. Will you also be holding the USA property info nites next year. I was disappointed to have missed out on them.

    Thanks

    Alex

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  2. Hi Catherine

    What areas in the USA are you selling?

    I am interested in Ohio.

    Thanks

    Braden

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  3. Hi Braden, Yes we sell in Ohio and many other places. In fact, I have just purchased myself in Cleveland, Ohio for only $37,000 with a 20% NET yield.

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  4. HI Alex, Yes we will resume our regular Wednesday evening sessions in late January. However, seating is very limited so you need to book - 61624546. Look forward to seeing you.

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  5. Hi Catherine

    I am looking to purchase in my self managed super fund. Do you have any information on what I can buy. I am interested in America and was hoping I could buy in my SMSF.

    Thanks

    Jason

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  6. HI Jason, Yes an SMSF can buy in America. Many of our clients are doing this. Particularly, either those with ample funds to spare or those with small balances which are just being eaten up in fees. A SMSF can't borrow to buy property in the US YET. We are currently not far off finding a solution to this.

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  7. Hi Catherine

    I was reading the aricle in the Canberra Times on the weekend. There were good arguments from both points of view but found that the argument against investing in America was fairly general. Any of the negatives could surely be attributed to investing in Australia also.

    What are your thoughts on the article?

    Brett

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  8. Hi

    Is it worth setting up a self managed super fund to invest in America?

    Sue

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  9. Hi Brett, The article did not conclude one way or the other. A classic fence sitting article. The journalist interviewed Australian property spruikers who are obvioulsy going to bag out American property as they get their commissions from selling Australian property. They interviewed MYUSA who will obviously support USA property. The comment at the end about it being too good to be true was a waste of journalist space as any tom, dick or harry can google American property and see that it is true. The properties ARE that cheap and the rents ARE that good. My main beef with the article is that the journalist spoke to us the week before yet failed to mention that in Canberra there was a non-biased Accounting firm who sells both American and Australian property who is here to help all Canberean's. What type of journalist posts a front page article in the CANBERRA times yet fails to mention a reputable CANBERRA company who can help the people of Canberra???

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  10. Hi Sue,

    An SMSF can be used to buy American property. A lot of our clients with small balances (50k or so) are rolling out of the industry funds, setting up an SMSF and buying American property. The major issue you will hear other commentators say is that the costs of SMSF's are prohibitive if you have a small balance. WFS Canberra has overcome this by charging only 1% of the SMSF up until the fund reaches $250,000. For example; a fund with only $50,000 will only be charged $500pa. This is far cheaper than the fees that this same $50,000 will incur if left in a retail superannuation fund.

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  11. Further on the Canberra Times article, MYUSA property pointed out that if you are going to buy in America you should ensure that you deal with a reputable company who knows what they are doing. I couldn't agree more. There are spruikers out there for sure. What MYUSA failed to acknowledge is that WFS Canberra is a representative of MYUSA property.

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  12. Hi

    I am just concerned that I cant really see what I am buying and I cant affford to head to the USA on a spending spree. What would you suggest?

    Donna

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  13. I agree that is a common concern about buying in the US, however it is not disimilar from buying in another state of Australia. I personally have brought two Aussie properties that I never saw. Even sold them later for a hefty gain and had still never seen them. At WFS Canberra we can help you find comfort in your US purchase by providing research into the area, suburb profiles, etc and we also use Google Maps to walk down the street and check out the neighborhood.

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  14. Hi Cathy

    I am looking at buying in America but am concerned about having to do three tax returns. Apparently in America you have to file a state tax return, a federal tax return and then include it in my Australian tax return. Do I get taxed 3 times? How does this work?

    Michael.

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  15. Hi Michael, We have access to a local American tax specialist that will assist you with your American tax obligations. It varies fromn state to state so I am unable to fully answer your question. But any tax you do pay in American gets offset against your Australian tax as a foreign tax credit.

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  16. Hi Cathy

    Is there any advantage to buying a negatively geared property in the USA. Is it the same as negatively geared property in Australia?


    Freddie

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