Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)

Kathleen Peddicord is President and Founding Publisher of the Live and Invest Overseas group. She has traveled to more than 70 countries, invested in real estate in 24, and established businesses in 7. Today, Kathleen writes every day for readers of www.liveandinvestoverseas.com and is a regular contributor to Forbes and U.S. News & World Report. Lief Simon is a leading expert in global property investing, with more than 25 years of personal experience across 24 countries and dozens of purchases. He is currently a contributing editor for Live and Invest Overseas, and offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter.

Preface xi

Introduction: Earning Cash Flow from Real Estate Overseas is the Same as Earning Cash Flow from Real Estate at Home … with These Three Important Differences 1

I Buying Real Estate Overseas is Not Only a Top Cash-flow Strategy—It’s Also a Sure Way to Improve Your Lifestyle 9

1 Buy Overseas to Make Travel and Adventure Part of Your Life Right Now 13

2 Cash Flow from Property Overseas Can Fund Your Dream Retirement 35

3 Cash Flow from Property Overseas Can Pay for a Second Home You’d Never Be Able to Afford at Home 45

4 Cash Flow from Property Overseas Can Make You Rich (While Creating Diversification, Asset Protection, and a Legacy for Your Heirs) 49

II Start with This Key Question: How Much Can You Afford? 51

5 Consider Local Financing Options (If They Exist) and How You Can Qualify 55

6 Consider Shopping for Financing Back Home or with the Developer 57

III Six Strategies for Earning Cash Flow from Property Overseas 59

7 Short-term Rentals—Airbnb is a Double-edged Sword 63

8 Long-term Rentals—Here’s the Single Secret to Success and Maximum Return 69

9 Hard Money Loans—Earn Double-digit Returns Helping Other Investors 75

10 Preconstruction—Buy Before the Property is Built to Leverage and Flip and Multiply Your Return 79

11 Agriculture—Buy Land to Rent to a Farmer 83

12 Fixer-upper—Make Money While Learning the Local History, Language, and Culture (If You Can Survive the Experience) 91

IV World’s Top Cash Flow Markets—Where to Buy Whether You Have $50,000, $250,000, or $1 Million to Invest 97

13 Where a Strong Dollar Creates Opportunity 103

14 Where Tourists Rule 107

15 Where You Can Buy Preconstruction to Flip or Rent 113

16 Where You Can Leverage 119

17 Where a Productive Land Investment (of Less Than $50,000) Can Deliver Regular Pension Checks for the Rest of Your Life 123

V How to Buy Real Estate Overseas in Eight Easy Steps 127

18 Do Your Research and Identify Three Destinations That Fit Your Budget and Your Lifestyle Goals 131

19 Figure Your Budget, Including the Round-trip Costs of Buying and Selling 133

20 Build an In-country Network of Reliable Contacts 137

21 Identify a Purchase 143

22 Negotiate the Purchase 147

23 Close the Deal 151

24 Take Title 153

25 Manage the Asset—Understanding Your Tax Obligations as an Overseas Property Investor 157

VI How to Sell for Top Dollar 159

VII How Not to Lose Money—Confessions of a Couple of Overseas Property Investors Who Have Made Costly Mistakes 165

26 Don’t Be Tempted to Take a Second Bite 169

27 Know Who You’re Buying With 173

28 Understand the Local Bureaucracy 177

29 Be Sure of Your Exit Market 181

30 Manage Your Rental Manager 185

31 Remember the Fundamentals 189

VIII What Every Overseas Property Buyer Needs to Know About Transferring Money Across Borders in Our Post-FATCA, Anti-money-laundering Age 191

Appendix A: How to Do Overseas Cash-flow Math 199

Appendix B: Market Data 201

Appendix C: Due Diligence Checklist 203

Appendix D: Understanding Your Tax Burden 207

Acknowledgments 211

Index 213