US citizen buying a COLO property from offshore

[Astro8891]

Hi everyone.

My girlfriend and I are looking to buy in Colorado.

I am a New Zealander and she a US citizen, we are in our early twenties. She has been living in NZ for a year now and is about to obtain residency.

The average house prices in the cities down this end of the world are $450-700k with 3 year fixed rates at 6.85% and lending restrictions requiring one to have a deposit of 20%......... In summary its tough...

We plan to live back in Colorado in the next 10-15 years, and have been looking to invest. From what i can see we can lock in for 30 years at 4% which is fantastic.

Additionally, looking at sites such as coloproperty.com we see we can buy an income property which would pay for the mortgages and expenses itself! This all sounds great however i am thinking it may be too good to be true?

We are looking at buying something around the $200k mark. On our salaries we can afford to fund the mortgage given the property is vacant for a period of time.

1. What am i missing here? Can she or the both of us obtain a mortgage from offshore?
2. Could we buy the property through a LLC or a trust with her parents?
3. What level of deposit would we need for something around $200k?
4. What are the tax implications of this? NZ and the USA has a tax treaty agreeing that one cannot be double taxed on income between the two countries.
5. What is the likely cost of full insurance and a property manager?
6. Can anyone see why this would not be a smart move?

All the best!

[Damap]

Astro I have a relative in the same situation. One a kiwi the other a US citizen now both living in the USA. You have 2 main issues and that is you may struggle to get a loan unless you have a great fico score and your financial history has aged enough.
My nephew is getting car loans and buying phones on payment plans to try and get more depth to his credit history as even though they both have very good jobs they cannot get a mortgage yet.

So that is likely to be your stumbling block at this stage otherwise your plan is sound enough.
What am i missing here? Can she or the both of us obtain a mortgage from offshore? Probably not
Could we buy the property through a LLC or a trust with her parents? YEs but huge risk for the parents and they will have to have great credit.
What level of deposit would we need for something around $200k? Could be as little as 3%
What are the tax implications of this? NZ and the USA has a tax treaty agreeing that one cannot be double taxed on income between the two countries. Correct you will pay tax in whichever country you are a tax domicile and that is credited against your tax in the other country
What is the likely cost of full insurance and a property manager? Management 8 to 10%, insurance $500 a year
Can anyone see why this would not be a smart move?