tikiwagon

Hi we are thinking about buying a house in the LA area,We would like to get a duplex and possibly rent the main house out and use the smaller one for us when we come over on vacations etc,But we are not having much luck in finding out the legalities of this as far as making rent money in the US(we were going to keep what we make in the the States as a fund for us when out there and have a hsbc account already set up out there)We dont want to borrow any money for this and hopefully it will be a cash transaction. We are out there on a small vacation next week to see what are good areas and hopefully to see a couple of realtors to have a look at places so any help on this would be great
Thanks

sir_eccles

What is your status in the US?

ian-mstm

What is your immigration status in the US?


Depending on how much income you get, you'll probably need to file a US tax return... but it's certainly not illegal for non-US citizens or non-PRs to own property in the US.

Personally, I'd never purchase propterty in the US unless I had a foolproof method of being admitted to the US in some status other than a visitor! What if the CBP officer was having a bad day and sent you home? What good would the property do you then?

Ian

cluedweasel

They may have to file a Californian one too. We own property in California and have to file a state return as California considers you resident for tax purposes if you own property there.

markwm

It really depends on your budget. No reason not to other than that, as already mentioned, you may get refused entry at some critical point. I would strongly advise appointing someone you trust to oversee everything in your absence (though not sure how that would work if you don't know anyone here).

Area will be dictated by your budget: the more you have, the closer to the nice areas you can be (also subjective). Without knowing your budget it is impossible to say. Nice areas (for me) would be West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood but there are many others as well. Over the hill you have Studio City (very nice), Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, etc, etc. On the coast you have Santa Monica, Marina del Ray, Malibu, etc, etc. An almost endless list.

Note as well that without some sort of working/resident visa the longest you can be here is 6 months per year (please correct if wrong).

Noorah101

If they have a B-2 visa in hand, they would probably be allowed to stay in the USA 6 months per trip (not per year). If using the VWP, it's 90 days (per trip, not per year).

Rene

Nutmegger

Don't forget to look into the property taxes on the house and, if you will not be on the spot, the cost of a property manager to ensure that the renters are not breaking up the place and to respond when the loo stops working in the middle of the night. Once you have made the purchase, there will be carrying costs even though you are not considering a mortgage.

tikiwagon

Thanks for the info, We are looking at camarillo/ventura area as we have a friend there who will help us also possibly bit further down (Thousand oaks etc or even pasadena/sierra madre as we have friends there too)Liked irvine(more friends there too!) a lot but property looks very expensive. We would possibly only be coming over a few times a year for short trips to start with as we only ever been on vacation befor,The longest being last year of 6 weeks but really love the place and want to invest in a 2nd property out there instead of England, this way we can live out there for a while and see if we really want to try and live there properly in the future. We have been there on vacation every year for quite a long time so have got a feel for good areas but just really need to find about the money situation regarding taxes,Who do we need to see out there for this?We have contacted a couple of realtors who have CIPS qualifications to see what they say.

Nutmegger

Be very careful of your terminology -- you will be visiting, not living!

When you are shown a house, part of the information on the specification sheet you will receive will be the property taxes. Also ensure there are no other charges like a homeowner's association with an annual fee.

ian-mstm

www.irs.gov for income taxes. No idea about CA taxes.

Ian

Ozzidoc

Ventura is nice!

I like this one:

http://www.sawbuck.com/CA/Ventura/250-N-Catalina-Street

tikiwagon

So do i but a little out of our price range! looking for a duplex as already mentioned but dont seem to be many about

Noorah101

Wow! Beautiful. But for such a grandiose exterior, the interior looks a bit small.

Rene

Noorah101

And what visa would you be looking at to live in the USA in the future?

Rene

Nutmegger

To say nothing of the fact that if I was paying over a million dollars for a house I wouldn't want to be able to shake hands with the neighbors out of the back door or be right on an intersection!