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SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 575: INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE INVESTING
Investors from the U.S., Canada and around the globe are choosing to invest in real estate across borders. In today’s podcast, international attorney and real estate professional Lauren Cohen shares how you can find great international real estate deals and navigate the confusing investment maze as well as the laws and regulations that surround this type of investing.
What You Will Learn
- What are the four key top advantages of international real estate investing?
- Why “one size does not fit all” in real estate investing?
- The importance of a having strong team both in your country and the country you are investing in
- Finding a Joint Venture Partner in the country you want to invest in
- How the right team can help you develop a winning strategy for foreign investment
About Our Guest
Lauren Cohen
Serial entrepreneur Lauren Cohen is an International Lawyer, Realtor and Foreign Investor Expert. Originally from Toronto and now in South Florida, Lauren is also a best-selling author and sought-after speaker, and she launched her podcast, INVESTING ACROSS BORDERS, in late 2020. Lauren and her turnkey team believe in overcoming obstacles and navigating global expansion for business owners and real estate investors, while offering access to unique passive income options. Lauren’s superpower rests in paving a path to immigration visas through real estate and business investment, navigating the path for clients to invest, live, work and play across borders.
More About Lauren
- Lauren is originally from Toronto
- She has duel citizenship (U.S. and Canada) and a dual license to work in both countries
- She is an international investor, lawyer and realtor
- She has a podcast called Investing Across Borders
- She helps people (mainly inbound to the U.S.) as well people outbound from the U.S. and Canada into other countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, France, Israel, India, etc. worldwide
- 90% of her clients are outside the U.S. and looking to relocate
- The other 10% are people in the U.S. and Canada looking to relocate to another country part- or full-time and certainly when they retire
- She recently worked with a client investing in Cambodia
- She creates a model around what her clients’ needs are and builds from there
- One of the benefits of Covid is that it has opened up doors to international investment
- She has a number of investors who don’t even see the properties they are buying
- Lauren’s team helps them with the due diligence, etc. on the ground
How She Got Involved in International Law and Real Estate
- Her ex-husband was deported on the way back from their honeymoon
- Her husband was an international business lawyer and he struggled to overcome his deportation
- She found her “why” and started focusing on international immigration and investment
- Being from another country and having been through all the processes of international investing, obtaining visas, etc., she felt comfortable there
- Her clients appreciate the fact that she has “been there and done that”
- As a lawyer, a realtor and having dual citizenship, it made sense for her to develop her business
Advantages of International Investment
- Diversification
- You can expand your investment portfolio beyond just one country and/or state
- Tax benefits
- There can also ne tax advantages to investing abroad
- Vacation Home
- Many people buy international investment property for a vacation home
- Short-Term Rental
- Many also rent or lease their international vacation homes out to generate cash flow
Other Considerations
- There are lots of good deals to be found abroad
- But, just finding a good deal doesn’t always mean it will work well for you
- You need a good team to work with in the states/Canada and in the country you are interested in
- A good team can advise you not only of the legal and tax implications but in many other areas
- Lauren has team members in 22 different countries who can find property throughout the world
- Then, there are many more considerations involved in the purchase and maintenance of the property
- Most countries don’t require you to be a citizen to purchase property
- It’s not “one size fits all” – each individual will have their own specific situations and consideration
International Investors’ Biggest Mistakes
- Going into a foreign country and thinking that “one size fits all” and that buying properties is the same as in other places
- They don’t get the right guidance
- They go for something just because it looks good on paper
- They don’t do their due diligence
- They don’t hire professionals for tax, legal, etc. advice
- If you have the right team, you will do fine
- Sometimes you win
- Sometimes you lose
- But that’s the way it is with real estate investing anywhere
Advice for Old Dawgs Looking at International Real Estate Investing to Help Them in Their Retirement Years
- Look to joint venture with partners in other countries
- Lauren helps facilitate those partnerships
- If you have a strategy, focus on your goals and work with the right team of professionals, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish
Current Business
- At her business, it’s all about helping people achieve their goals
- She helps clients feel that they are not alone, well-protected and confident that the right things will be handled for them
- She wants to see her business grow and thrive as they continue to help people accomplish their investing goals across borders and achieve those goals legally and successfully and make some money in the process
Rap-It-Up
- Favorite real estate book: The E-Myth Real Estate Investor by Michael G. Gerber, Than Merrill and Paul Esajian
- Favorite business book: The E-Myth by Michael G. Gerber and Essentialism by Greg McKeown
- Most valuable web site for success (other than your own): Amazon.com
- Favorite app: Amazon and Instacart
- Favorite quote: “If you will it, it is not a dream.” Theodor Herzl
- If you lost everything – all your assets – and had to start all over, knowing what you already know, and you only had $1,000, what would you do to re-launch your real estate investing business? I would build a cheap website/landing page and spend money on quick Facebook ads, targeting the markets I’m looking at to get clients from. I would get 5 clients within two weeks!
How to Reach Lauren
- Her Podcast: Investing Across Borders
- Her website: E-CouncilGlogal.com and RealEstateAcrossBorders.com
- Look for her on Social Media as LaurenESQ
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