The Far and Wide Team
Being Australians investing in the United States, Diana and Wayne can’t do this without a team on the ground.
We have set out below some of the members of our team. Which when you partner with Far and Wide Real Estate you get the benefit of this team without you having to find and vet these people yourself.
Sourcing the Property
Far and Wide Real Estate use many methods to locate suitable properties. As such there are numerous people helping Far and Wide Real Estate source properties in the United States.
These include:
• Internet searches for properties for sale by Realtors (what Real Estate Agents are called in the United States).
• Properties provided by realtors direct.
• Searches for properties for sale direct by the owner.
• Properties provided by what are called in the United States, Wholesalers. These people actively look for houses that people need to sell and act as the middleman between the seller and the end buyer.
• Other investors who partner with Far and Wide Real Estate.
Irrespective of who sources the property, Far and Wide Real Estate will perform due diligence on the property to ensure it meets our investment grade criteria.
Updating the Property
Once we have identified a suitable property and have it under our control, the next step is to update the property. In Australian we would say renovate, but in the United States they say rehab.
To do the rehab we use both local project managers and general contractors.
The Project Manager’s purpose is to coordinate / facilitate the project on the ground from project scope thru project completion. They are in effect our eyes on the ground to make sure projects get done on a timely basis and within budget.
It is the General Contractor who actually undertakes the rehab, who sub out the work they do not do themselves. This means that generally the local project manager and ourselves only deal with one party during the rehab and it is the General Contractor’s responsibility to co-ordinate the various trades people.
Far and Wide Real Estate use fully licensed General Contractors and get several quotes for most rehab jobs that need to be done. We will select the most appropriate General Contractor for the work.
Managing the Property
Property Management can be a tricky business anywhere in the world.
At Far and Wide Real Estate we want to make sure our clients have the best experience so we try and find the best property managers. They may not be the cheapest (as to be the cheapest they have to cut corners somewhere). But we continue to work with our property managers to get excellent service and value for money.
The current property managers we work with are Eric and Lee. Not only are both very experienced property managers, they are both property investors themselves and understand the issues from the owners perspective and work to get the best outcome for the owner.
Other such as legal and insurance
It varies by states who does the legal work in respect of a property sale. It can be a Title Company (a bit like a conveyancer in Australia) or a Lawyer. At Far and Wide Real Estate we often have the use the Title company / lawyer the seller selects. If possible we like to use our preferred title company as they understand what an investor needs and wants.
In terms of insurance, as you would expect in the US this is a critical area in terms of our clients risk management. We use an experienced insurance broker that we have personally met to place cover. Once again this may not be the cheapest option, but it gets the client the same cover we personally take out on our properties.
US taxation is another area that you will need to deal with. At Far and Wide Real Estate we know this can be confusing. We have relationships with tax professionals who focus on non US citizens to help work your way through this area. Both at your set up stage and meeting the ongoing requirements.
Want to be notified when our next property is ready for sale?
Diana and Wayne Wanders
Far and Wide Real Estate
diana@farandwiderealestate.com
wayne@farandwiderealestate.com