blindlemonjefferson

Hi everyone, I was looking for a little advice and am hoping that someone in here has some experience with my situation.

I live in Brooklyn, and am currently on year 1 of an H1B. Assuming all goes well, I'll be staying in NYC for the foreseeable future.

I'm looking to purchase a 2-family home in Brooklyn. I'd live in one unit and rent out the other to tenants and collect rental income.

Does anyone have any experience with this? And does anyone know what the legal implications of collecting rental income would be, and whether it's something that would be permitted with my immigration status?

Any advice would be most welcome.

ian-mstm

Anyone can buy property regardless of their immigration status, so no worries there. The question to ask is whether or not it's a good idea. If you intend on staying in the US and your employer has already started the green card process for you... maybe. If not, probably not.

Ian

blindlemonjefferson

Thanks Ian. Any idea on whether I'd be legally allowed to collect rental income from one of the two units?

labbe

Hi there, yea you are definitely allowed to buy property and rent it out being on a H1B visa. I think it would be a good choice stepping in and buying during these times when mortgages rates are so low. You just have to be aware of what area in Brooklyn you want to buy, and pay attention to get the best mortgage rates and real-tor deals.

Mummy in the foothills

I would never buy unless I had a green card or citizenship. Too risky if your job goes belly up and you have 10 days, or whatever it is, to leave.

Cape Blue

I know people who had to leave on an L1 - it was a LOT of hassle for them to try and sell their property, ended up underwater and they posted the keys back.

To the OP - make sure you have a good look around at things like rent control - don't have that in the UK any more but quite a few places in the US still have it and it can be a nightmare for a landlord.

ian-mstm

Respectfully, while it might be a good time to buy for someone who is a PR or USC, it is decidedly risky to buy when you're on a visa that might result in you owning property in the US that you can neither sell nor rent and all the while you're in some other country unable to return to the US.

It's never a good idea to be too cavalier with other people's money!

Ian

Bob

Tbh, it's a crap idea, until you've at least had the greencard application in a fair ways, but better yet wait until you get it.

You also have to factor in not having any US credit history and if you've only just moved here, how well do you know the area? What about the schools and the transport to schools? You might not have kids but if you're renting out, it'll be important to know all the same.

Also how well does the neighbourhood deal with the snow? What do other landlords do about it? Take care of it themselves or is it down to the renter? What about the liability to you on doing that? Etc, etc. There's just so many more considerations to owning a place here that don't apply to the UK that it is crazy to buy without spending a year here first at the very least.

blindlemonjefferson

I appreciate all those concerns, but I've actually been in the US for 6 years now. I know the area extremely well and this is not a decision I would be taking likely. I'm happy with the level of risk in this investment, and regardless of whether or not my H1 gets extended or I'm awarded residency in the near future, I have systems and checks in place in case I am forced to leave the country.

I probably phrased my original question badly, but I am primarily concerned wit the legality of collecting rental income from the property while on an H1B visa. Does anyone know whether that is permitted?

jackattack

I'm not an expert on this, but I was in a similar situation (although I was on H1-B and was in the process of applying for Green Card, so my stay in the US wasn't tied only to my job). But we had a rental unit in our house and reported all the details etc on our tax return. I don't think that my immigration status had anything to do with it since I was working and reporting income. I don't think that there are any legal issues with this.

fsm

As long as you pay the taxes correctly no issues, I had looked into it when I was on an H1B1.

Side note I have friends in Scotland that own property in Orlando. They have no legal right to live in the USA.

They rent it out through a management company as a vacation rental.