To Sell Or Not To Sell?

[nikad]

To answer your questions, he wants to go to the US but he doesn't know how to get a visa. He's totally fed up with Argentina. Says the stress is too much. He can wait it out but to do that he has to cut back on his work load which means less money. He's thought of buying in Florida. He is not convinced that "bricks" are any longer secure as they used to be - says Cristina is doing her best to destroy the last refuge, property.

I actually heard last week that in Miami they were going to offer visas to individuals investing in the city a min of 500k

 

[nikad]

http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2012/12/18/1366641/miami-planea-atraer-inversiones.html

 

[steveinbsas]

I actually heard last week that in Miami they were going to offer visas to individuals investing in the city a min of 500k

If only it was as simple as making an "investment" of $500.000 to $1,000,000.

According to the article you linked to in your last post (errors in English thanks to Google translate):

"The City wants to become a regional center EB-5 visa for attracting investment for projects in the fields of construction, entertainment, tourism, education and health, said Mikki Canton, a lawyer hired by the municipality to analyze economic development projects.

With the appointment of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the City could attract investment of $ 500,000 to $ 1 million for projects in certain sectors poor Miami. For entrepreneurs behind the projects, the EB-5 investments are a good alternative to traditional financing from banks that have been more difficult to achieve during the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, foreign investors receive conditional visas for themselves and their immediate family. Visas become permanent residence if you can verify that the project has generated at least 10 jobs for every investment."

Furthermore: "For its part, the City expects to charge an administrative fee to each investor who chooses to Miami."

If I had investments that I felt were at risk in Argentina, I doubt I would feel more secure about investing in a "project" in a "poor sector" of Miami that must "succeed and generate 10 jobs for every investment" in oder for me to be able to live in the United States.

Read more here: http://www.elnuevohe...l#storylink=cpy​

If Sergio's. friend would have that kind of money to invest after selling his properties here, I hope he doesn't get involved with something like this just to get a visa hoping it leads to permanent residency. If investing in private property was all that was required to get a visa to live in the USA it would be worth considering, but the US is not going to start giving visas to foreign owners of pivate property anytime soon.

Perhaps they should change the inscription on The Statue of Liberty from, "Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" to "Just give me your money."

 

[Joe]

When you look at real estate prices in BA based on rental income the market seems overpriced to me. I have only done a cursory examination of this, viz. looking at apartment listings in broker's windows. Anyone care to comment on prices vs. rental income in BA? In many parts of the US you can get positive cash flow from day one.

 

[Jaredberryman]

An Argentine friend has several investment properties. This is all he has in the way of investment, future pension etc He is thinking about selling and getting the money out of the country because he is afraid that the situation could get worse and it will be absolutely impossible to sell and change to any hard currency. He has hopes of settling in another country some day if he can get a visa. Is selling a good idea? I am not sure what to advise.

If your friend actually has connections to get all that cashed exchanged into dollars or other currency, and he also has the connections to get it out of the country, it might not be a bad idea. I think that Real Estate has hit it's max price, and will probably start to come down a bit.

Also, Florida is expensive. Propose to your friend that he can get cheaper properties elsewhere in the US and get a higher return on his investment. Argentines look often to Florida because it is only a six or seven hour plane ride and everyone speaks Spanish. But the good news is that there are plenty of people that speak Spanish all over the US now.

Your friend also does not need to get a permanent residence visa to do business in the U.S. He can enter and leave continually with a business visa just fine. He can own property and start up businesses with no problem without even the visa.

Eventually, Cristina will leave, and things will change drastically. Properties will always be a stable investment in Argentina. If it's been that way the last 100 years, it will continue to be that way. Most likely.

 

[tangueraintrepida]

Also, Florida is expensive. Propose to your friend that he can get cheaper properties elsewhere in the US and get a higher return on his investment. Argentines look often to Florida because it is only a six or seven hour plane ride and everyone speaks Spanish. But the good news is that there are plenty of people that speak Spanish all over the US now.

I have to disagree with you on this, Jared. Florida is not that expensive in comparison to other coastal states, especially since the housing market tanked 5 years ago and hit Florida extremely hard. Housing prices are slowly increasing now, but there are lots of great deals on the market and the banks still haven't cleared out all of the foreclosures on their books yet so good deals will continue for a little while longer. The market in Florida will eventually come back strong because northerners will continue to wander down in search of warmer year-round weather. We bought a house in Orlando over a year ago, and it's now making us income enough to more than cover our rent here.

Sergio, if your friend is able to sell and get out of Argentina, Florida is not a bad place to invest in property. I personally don't want to move back to Florida after living there for 18 years, but most people that live there love it. He should do his homework and find a place that suites his lifestyle, whether it be Florida or any other state, or even country for that matter.

 

[mrporoto]

I read that Spain are offering residency to people who cash buy property worth 160.000euros and he would be able to get a really
good deal for that amount.Then if he had spanish residency he can go anywhere in europe to work and live.Investing in UK isn't
bad,I have little experience,could give him some info.Suerte.

 

[garryl]

I actually heard last week that in Miami they were going to offer visas to individuals investing in the city a min of 500k

Wrong, visa is a federal thing, city can not issue anything. There was a proposal by a congress guy, but just
a talk. If that's the case, expect 10 million Chinese to move to Miami

 

[garryl]

I read that Spain are offering residency to people who cash buy property worth 160.000euros and he would be able to get a really
good deal for that amount.Then if he had spanish residency he can go anywhere in europe to work and live.Investing in UK isn't
bad,I have little experience,could give him some info.Suerte.

Also wrong, the residency is not like US green card, it does not have any benefit, also the buyer can not rent it out. It's for
self use only. This is not a very attractive option for RE investors.

 

[garryl]

If only it was as simple as making an "investment" of $500.000 to $1,000,000.

According to the article you linked to in your last post (errors in English thanks to Google translate):

"The City wants to become a regional center EB-5 visa for attracting investment for projects in the fields of construction, entertainment, tourism, education and health, said Mikki Canton, a lawyer hired by the municipality to analyze economic development projects.

With the appointment of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the City could attract investment of $ 500,000 to $ 1 million for projects in certain sectors poor Miami. For entrepreneurs behind the projects, the EB-5 investments are a good alternative to traditional financing from banks that have been more difficult to achieve during the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, foreign investors receive conditional visas for themselves and their immediate family. Visas become permanent residence if you can verify that the project has generated at least 10 jobs for every investment."

Furthermore: "For its part, the City expects to charge an administrative fee to each investor who chooses to Miami."

If I had investments that I felt were at risk in Argentina, I doubt I would feel more secure about investing in a "project" in a "poor sector" of Miami that must "succeed and generate 10 jobs for every investment" in oder for me to be able to live in the United States.

Read more here: http://www.elnuevohe...l#storylink=cpy​

If Sergio's. friend would have that kind of money to invest after selling his properties here, I hope he doesn't get involved with something like this just to get a visa hoping it leads to permanent residency. If investing in private property was all that was required to get a visa to live in the USA it would be worth considering, but the US is not going to start giving visas to foreign owners of pivate property anytime soon.

Perhaps they should change the inscription on The Statue of Liberty from, "Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" to "Just give me your money."

I am in the EB -5 business, EB-5 is perhaps good for a green card, but once your 500k-1m is merged into bullder's big fund, good luck to have
it back in 5 years. Very likely it will be gone. So far very few people have seen their money back, much less for returns,.
It's kinda scam that a lot of people from China would not mind, they just want to get a green card for emergency.