Texas Market

[jonathan]

Hey Guys,
I have been working with a company in Texas since the 19 April and will be returning to Australia on the 7th Nov. The market here is strong with many investors from other parts of the United States buying investment properties here. Unlike places like California where prices are similar or higher than Sydney, much of Texas is like New Zealand 3 years ago. In other words although the cycle has been going for a while the market here has a long way to run.
Their are great opportunities for investors, but it is important to do your own due diligences. It is important to remember that if you wish to buy here then you will only receive a 70% loan, which means that you will have to fund 30% either with cash or a line of credit. The other thing that is important is that currently their is a 3% property tax in Texas. So if the property is around $100,000 then it would carry a property tax of around $3000 dollars. The average price in San Antonio is $130,000 however ideally you would want to purchase for under $100,000. As New Zealand has increased by around 83% in most cities over the last three years if you are considering investing here, I suggest that you carry out your research sooner rather than later.
Bye

[kai]

Hello Jonathan,
One other point that is worth mentioning is that regarding the property taxes around 50% of the tax goes to fund schools. It has been deemed that this is illegal and as such the Texas government are looking to fund schools from a different source. One example is that cigarette taxes have just been increased by $1 per pack, with other taxes to follow. This may mean that we may see a reduction in the property taxes. However as yet it is impossible to know by how much. If the tax was to be reduced by say 1% it could only help further fuel a property boom here.
See you soon