Property
 

Hi all,

A broad question ..

Would buying a property (i.e. the north eastern coast) in the states be worth it, considering the current situation with the housing market over there? My parents are somewhat tempted in selling their property here in the UK to move abroad, US being high up on the list, in the next few years.

Ta. :)

Re: Property
 

What visa are they planning to use - or are they USCs?

Re: Property
 

Not USC's..they're UK OAP's, not on a K1 OK. TTFN

Re: Property
 

The Eastenders one?

Re: Property
 

ignoring the visa issue, I personally would not like to purchase a property in the north east right now if an investment was what i was looking for

property market across the USA is down with the areas of highest prices most probably likely to drop further

you maybe able to get a bargain at a foreclosure auction - but you need some serious wedge to get it initially closed then refinanced

Re: Property
 

:(

Re: Property
 

as you personally are probably seeing right now :(

same here, its just the prices didn't go up so much in the first place, so they have less to fall (hopefully)

I send out a semi satirical local real estate report once a month giving a reality check on the market.

not difficult to argue with simple facts like closings going from 25-30 a month down to 5-7 a month....

Re: Property
 

where in the NE?

Bloomin' expensive for the most part, and property tax sucks again for the most part....and if they are old, are they willing to deal with the lovely warm winters we have?

But again, visa is the big issue, but being retired, they could get a B1/2 visa for 6 month stays, but medical insurance for any length of time will be well expensive.

Re: Property
 

But, if you were buying with pounds right now and thought (numbers out of the air) that the exchange rate would go down 10% and property prices would go down 7% over the next two years, you'd still be better off buying now than in two years.

It also depends where you buy within the NE (obviously): some areas will experience growth or flat lines, some will decline. Doing it from afar and picking the right area, and renting it out in the meantime, would be difficult (but not impossible).

Re: Property
 

OP said they wanted to live in it, begs the question again, are they USC's?

Re: Property
 

I've just bought a house in the NE, in Yarmouth Maine. We thought long and hard about whether to just rent for a year or two and see what the property market did. But there were very few houses to rent we wanted to live, and I do think property is a good investment in the long term.

Remember real estate agent fees are higher here (often 6% when you sell). If they need a mortgage at all then it will be more complicated with no credit history, and also they may pay more interest initially. Property tax can be very high - I am paying $6000 a year.

If they want to move abroad I would rent for a while and use the interest off the money they make from selling their UK house, then decide what they want to do. But I have not exactly taken my own advice :blink: