Move to USA

[down under]

Hello and thank you for having me in your forum. I build and flip house here in Australia and I intend to move to the USA and do the same. I am looking for advice on which area to buy a lot or two and begin the process, I prefer timber or hardy plank siding traditional homes over say rendered block and paint of Florida. It’s a huge country and this is just an initial feel out. All feed back appreciated.

 

[nadogail]

Welcome to the Forum from Southwestern California, USA Real Estate laws are made by the individual states. They vary considerably from one state to another.

Good Luck in making a successful venture, a lot of "Local Knowledge" will be required to reach a good outcome.

 

[down under]

Welcome to the Forum from Southwestern California, USA Real Estate laws are made by the individual states. They vary considerably from one state to another.

Good Luck in making a successful venture, a lot of "Local Knowledge" will be required to reach a good outcome.

Thank you, I know I will need trades people, realtors and local knowledge plus a little luck but I’m determined to do it I was thinking of St Paul in MN but was worried about the long cold wet winters with snow slowing building projects down - any thoughts on that one ?. Thanks again

 

[steves_001]

We build year round in MN. You get used to the cold. Snow is just another obstacle and many winters lately has not been an issue. We pretty much do anything to a house at any time of year. Really subzero days its not advised to work outside but 20F and above is fine.

Not to rain on your parade but:

If you are flipping, most of that is interior work anyway. Now, getting into that business may be hard as many localities have people that snap this stuff up faster than you can find it. I've done a few in southern MN and pretty much can say I wish I would not have spent the time and money on it. Small returns for a huge amount of time let alone the costs of materials.
If you are also dealing with the trades to do the work, your profit margin is going to be close to 0. Electrical, plumbing etc would need to be done by trades folks as it's not legal to do this yourself if you are reselling (in MN). You can certainly do this for yourself if you are living in the house, but it won't take long for them to find you out if doing all this on your own and the end purpose is selling.
If you are dealing with realtors to buy and then sell your projects, that's who is making money, not the guy with the hammer. Having the realtor license and a broker to work with would certainly help on the profit end.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[down under]

We build year round in MN. You get used to the cold. Snow is just another obstacle and many winters lately has not been an issue. We pretty much do anything to a house at any time of year. Really subzero days its not advised to work outside but 20F and above is fine.

Not to rain on your parade but:

If you are flipping, most of that is interior work anyway. Now, getting into that business may be hard as many localities have people that snap this stuff up faster than you can find it. I've done a few in southern MN and pretty much can say I wish I would not have spent the time and money on it. Small returns for a huge amount of time let alone the costs of materials.
If you are also dealing with the trades to do the work, your profit margin is going to be close to 0. Electrical, plumbing etc would need to be done by trades folks as it's not legal to do this yourself if you are reselling (in MN). You can certainly do this for yourself if you are living in the house, but it won't take long for them to find you out if doing all this on your own and the end purpose is selling.
If you are dealing with realtors to buy and then sell your projects, that's who is making money, not the guy with the hammer. Having the realtor license and a broker to work with would certainly help on the profit end.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[down under]

Thank you, that sounds a bit daunting, here I sub out every trade and as I said have done quite nicely, do you have any specific location that may work better ?.
I guess when I build my first home for myself I will get a feel for the area and move forward from there.

 

[steves_001]

Maybe more the word to use is “general contractor”. Flipping here means buy an old house needing repair and get it on the market as fast as you can.
General contractor’s are the ones who are in charge of lining up the contractors, subs, materials and so on getting it all scheduled into the build.
Breaking into that business is not all that hard but finding subs will be at times a challenge. Most are booked out for the generals they usually work with. Not impossible but your stuff would be last priority at least getting started. Then there is funding and such to deal with, carrying costs as well. Got deep pockets? C’mon over!
Where are you in Australia? I spent some weeks in Sydney and loved it there.

 

[dcg9381]

Choose carefully. The economics of construction and home improvement are very different in states that touch the southern border compared to northern states.

There is no "general contractor" license in my state. There are states where that is very definitely a thing. And other states where it may be even more restrictive than just the license.

Some places you can 100% work on your own home. Others, good luck unless you know someone in city hall.

The US is huge and the local housing markets vary wildly between locations.

 

[Wiz02]

Trying to tread carefully here, but you may want to postpone any decisions on emigrating to the US for a couple of weeks.

 

[down under]

I understand, actually as stated if I start a profitable business I qualify for a B2 visa.
But point noted mate.

 

[steves_001]

The twin cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) are booming for building now. Rochester (to the south 70 miles) is also booming and expected to grow to twice its size in the next 30-40 years. Both good areas. Good luck with your endeavors! Winters here are not that bad really (don't tell anyone, we like everyone to think it's horrid and frozen here all year round).

 

[MushCreek]

The rules vary by state, county, and town, so you'll need to research a specific area. Where we're at in South Carolina, I believe you would have to have a contractor's license at the very least, and if you were going to do any of the work yourself, say electrical, you would have to have a license in that discipline. I was able to design and build my own house, but I couldn't sell it for two years after completion.

 

[down under]

That’s interesting thank you

 

[down under]

The twin cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) are booming for building now. Rochester (to the south 70 miles) is also booming and expected to grow to twice its size in the next 30-40 years. Both good areas. Good luck with your endeavors! Winters here are not that bad really (don't tell anyone, we like everyone to think it's horrid and frozen here all year round).

Are you able to tell me if I need a contractors license in MN ?, we don’t need one here. Also are building lots and new housing estate’s plentiful ?.

 

[steves_001]

Yes, would need a license here. Probably the case in most areas in the US. As for lots, yea, they are there but deep pockets to buy them in most of the build up areas. With the boom, everyone is getting in on it.

To add, it's not that hard to get one. Insurance would be another good idea.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Just for future reference, we don't do religion or politics here and please leave your drama elsewhere.