florida4me

Hello all, im florida4me just found this site and thought i would sign up say hello to you all, hope the weather is grand for all you fine ex-pats all across the globe

Basically ive come into some money not alot but i think enough to invest into the american market as i dont really think the uk is a viable option but is america? I dont know! So ive had a look around and found some different sites that all say different amounts of money some range from $50,000 - $2,000,000 It fair to say i dont have that amount of money.

I was thinking of using my money and entering the real estate sector in some sort of fashion, i was thinking of renting a unit/shop somewhere (not sure yet as i havnt had a look.
But was thinking along the lines of property management, looking after british peoples property or employing people to do this. (would sub contractors count in the 10 americans employed?)
Also was looking at getting some cleaners to look after the houses on a day to day basis which would all be included in the price of the service to maintain the property and keep it to a high standard that the client demands.

If this wasnt an option, i would look into the option of renting a fairly large retail unit and splitting it into sections to let to people that want there own space but cant afford to keep a full shop themselves...
For example renting a large unit splitting it into 10 sections and renting those 10 sections out to say, hairdressers and people that do nails......

are these a bit far fetched or seem a bit simple and not achievable to fit the visa criteria?

Ray

That all a bit vague...what visa are you looking at from all this ..
If so where in the States ..try to be specific ..including the amount

florida4me

Sorry about that. Im looking at investing in Florida hence my name, i think ill probably have around $125,000 to invest in a business.
As for which visa, im not sure which i would need, the investing 1 i guess sorry ive not looked into it that much to be honest

Ray

Sounds like an E-2 ..That amount is a bit low for the London Consulate
and bear in mind you will need money to get accomodation, cars, etc
and I would recommend enough money to see you over two years
as a back up ..

If your thoughts linger toward property management in Orlando ..forget it ..there are thousands already..its a real cut throat business there
I suggest you also read www.thefloridaforums.com which leans towards E-2 people in florida

florida4me

Sure i can imagine that there will be a large amount of people doing the same thing. Thanks for the visa clarification, really helps with knowing what im looking for! What about my other idea? Would that be a decent option as to get me in so to speak? Will have a look at the floridaforums see what they say.
How much $$ would be adequate?

Ray

The other idea would seem to be a passive investment and would not fly ..read the FAQ here
http://www.investorvisausa.com/index.html

For the business investment a minimim of 150k- 200k would be better ..
Be warned though this visa will not get you a green card ..

Bob

Why Florida? Loads of other parts to the country that would be far more viable...

Oh, and other considerations, married and with kids or not? It'll affect how potentially miserable they could be depending on which visa you try and make a punt with.

TruBrit

best investment today >

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...postcount=2417

Mummy in the foothills

tonrob

See? Don't look so daft now, do I?

Patrick Hasler

My God

He could buy a hot dog stand

Michaelmike5556

Chicago !

florida4me

Alright, no need to take the piss cos im not a multi millionaire like you.

Some people on here are so helpful!

After a bit of advice and you either get shot down in flames or get comments like this.

thanks to the others that have actually given a decent reply

tonrob

Were you thinking of "selling up" in the UK and moving out to FL for a long period? (Notice I don't say "for good" as no route to GC with E2 as Ray states). If you are, and $125K is your total sum available then it's probably nowhere near enough. If you have more funds elsewhere and the sum stated was just for the business then it's probably just a bit shy. At this time the smart people are making sure they have cash savings for 6 months (or even 12) living expenses in case their primary source of income goes tits up, and this includes the ones who aren't self-employed.

Can I ask, in the current economy would you have risked starting a business back home in the UK where at least you might know the local market? I would think that to try to do so on foreign soil where all is new could be much more challenging. At the end of the day I suppose it's down to your perception of (and appetite) for risk - as long as you go in with your eyes fully open.

Bob

Added bonus with blighty, he won't get booted from the country when the business goes tits up....which they invariably end up doing in Florida...