Glacier Properties International - International Investment Properties at Your Fingertips

They are responsible for the full maintenance and management of your property. They help prepare the property to be rented, perform tenant screening and selection, and oversee the tenant move in process. Property Management is responsible for rent collection, periodic property inspections, as well as accounting and invoicing. They have a team of maintenance professionals that are on call 24-hours a day to handle any repairs needed.

Rental Statements are generated on a monthly basis. You will also be able to Login to view your current and previous statements at any time through www.glacierpropertygroup.com. New Statements will be posted the 15th of the month. Your rental income will be transferred directly to your bank account on or before the 20th of each month.

Glacier will act as the liaison between you and the Property Management Company. This is for convenience since there is such a time difference. Glacier is also very familiar with your property; it’s location, and the real estate and property management industry. At any time you may email or call Glacier for questions. We will contact the Property Manager and get back to you within 24-48 hours. You may also contact the Property Management Company at any time.

It is a Government funded low-income rental assistance program. In the Section 8 Program, tenants pay about 30 percent of their income for rent, while the rest of the rent is paid with federal money. In some instances however, 100% of the rent is received from the government.

The government pays a portion or the entire amount of rent. This means that you are pretty much guaranteed to receive your rent on time every month. It is difficult for tenants to be accepted into the Section 8 program so they usually do everything possible to follow the rules and lease agreement.

Once a property becomes vacant the Property Management Company immediately advertises the property to get new tenants.

The qualification process for approving tenants is very strict. Each applicant submits a detailed application and agrees to a background check. They also submit proof of income in the form of payment stubs and/or bank account statements proving that they make the required income to pay the rent. In addition, current and previous landlords are contacted as well as the applicant’s current employer and personal references.

• Regular Costs Possible Costs (depending on location & type)
• Property Management at 10% – Home Owner’s Association (HOA)
• Property Insurance – Lawn Care
• Property Taxes – Utilities (Water/Trash)

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How are these costs paid?

The Property Management fee, HOA, Lawn Care and Utilities are deducted from your monthly rental income. This will be shown on the monthly statement. You pay your Property insurance once a year. During the Purchasing process you will fill out the insurance paperwork and include your credit/debit card for payment. You pay your Property Taxes twice each year. You will receive simple instructions for this from Glacier in your welcome packet.

The Property Management Company does regular inspections of your properties to insure that the tenants are taking proper care of it, as well as to see if any preventative maintenance items are needed.

The Property Manager organizes all repairs. They utilize skilled professionals that can repair the problem at a competitive price. A $500 maintenance reserve is held by the Property Manager for repairs. If in the unlikely case that the repair will likely cost more than $500 the Property Manager will contact the owner for approval before fixing the repair.

It is a very smart decision to have property insurance and it is also a requirement of Glacier International, and the Property Management Company who maintain the asset, that all purchased tenanted properties have insurance. It is our goal to make sure your investment experience runs as smoothly as possible, and insurance is absolutely essential to achieve this.

Individual policies vary based on location and property type. We work with highly skilled Insurance brokers and companies that customize a plan to give you the best coverage. Coverage includes: Property coverage from Fire, Vandalism, Wind, Hail, etc., as well as personal liability, medical payments, and Loss of rental income.

Cost depends on many factors including: Location, Size (Sq Ft), type etc. Condo’s have a certain amount of insurance covered by their HOA therefore the insurance premium would be between $200 – $400. Single Family homes range between $700 – $1800. Multi-Family Homes start at $750.

During the purchasing process you will complete the insurance paperwork. You are able to use your VISA/MASTERCARD/AMEX credit/debit card on the form for payment. Payment is made the start of coverage and on a yearly basis thereafter.

In the rare case that a property is damaged through fire, theft or vandalism, the property manager will contact Glacier, who will then contact your insurance company to file the claim. You will be notified of the damage and the progress of the claim and repairs.

If a property is damaged by a tenant, and the amount is less than the security deposit held, the property manager will automatically notify you and arrange repairs. If the amount is above the security deposit amount held, the property manager will contact Glacier who will then contact your insurance company to file the claim on your behalf. You will be notified of the damage and the progress of the claim and repairs.

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Holding Companies

What is a holding company?

The purpose of a real estate holding company is to provide an advantage to the company’s owners (you), either strategically, through preferential tax treatment, or through asset protection for your properties. For your holding company you will set up an LLC that is based in the US, or you will use a trust fund (Superannuation Fund or similar).

A Limited Liability Company, or LLC, is a form of a business entity, which can be established by state law. This type of business entity has the same legal benefits to individual partners as a formal corporation, with the operational and monetary flexibility of a business partnership.

The cost for the LLC setup is $1,350. This includes LLC setup, federal Tax I.D. number, and a bank account with a checkbook and VISA bankcard for you to access your funds. Also included is a $100 deposit into your US Bank Account.

Property Management will deposit your rental income into the US bank account. If you have a Superannuation Fund, they will transfer it into your nominated bank account in Australia or anywhere else. It also makes paying property taxes and other bill payments very easy.

Depending on the state you purchase property in, there may be certain requirements for filing an annual report every year, which may include nominal fees to the Secretary of State as well as the obvious tax return.

Yes. Many people choose to have their spouse or business partner as a part owner.

You may be able to hold as many properties as you wish in an LLC. You would also be able to set up an LLC for each property you hold. In that instance, any liability the LLC would have, would be limited to only that property and not the entirety of your personal assets.

Glacier currently does not offer financing, though we are currently exploring different options to allow our clients to obtain better leverage.

The purchaser pays the closing fee, any title insurance required by your lender (assuming you get a loan on the deal) and any local/municipal taxes. This depends on the City that the property is located.

Your consultant will walk you through each step of the process. They will provide and send all closing documents. You will also be assigned a Real Estate Attorney on your behalf that will represent your interests. In addition, Glacier is here to help you in any way.

The main issue is being able to ensure that the condominium assessments are paid, and the water bill is paid (like the current issue we have now). Some condominium rules have, as you know, rental restrictions, rights of first refusal and are difficult to deal with.

Glacier requires that all property transactions have a 10% deposit to secure the property. Once this deposit is paid Glacier will begin to engage the attorneys and title company to facilitate the transaction. If for any reason the buyer is unable to complete the transaction, Glacier will retain a minimum of 50% of the deposit paid to cover expenses and the remainder will be refunded to the clients nominated bank account in U.S. dollars. If for any reason Glacier is unable to complete the transaction, the deposit will be refunded 100% to the purchasers nominated bank account in U.S. dollars.

“Title Insurance” is just that: a policy that insures the status of title in your name as the new owner of the property. Title insurance policies are issued by title insurance companies. The policy protects you against financial loss as a result of “defects” in the title, as well as the cost of defending the title in court. Before issuing a policy, the title company searches and examines documents related to the ownership of and any items affecting the property. It provides a source of indemnification to the named insured if he or she is damaged by a negligent or bad title search or examination and also from hidden defects that would not be discovered in a title search. For instance, a title defect resulting from a forgery would not be revealed in a search or examination of the public records but would be covered by the title insurance policy. Prior to issuance of the title insurance policy a title commitment will be prepared. It contains a list of items that either must be satisfied in order for the title company to issue a “clear title,” or they will be excluded from coverage. Items such as the seller’s mortgage will be “waived” by the title company closing agent when the former mortgage is paid at the closing and will not appear when the policy is issued

(Don’t laugh; we get this all the time)? As with anywhere, some properties are in better areas than others, but we only buy in areas that we think will perform reliably for a long period of time.

Investment property can be depreciated over the lifetime of the asset. Additionally, any capital improvements that are made to the property while you are an owner can be depreciated. Typically, you are able to depreciate 95% of the cost of the asset over 29 years.

You can absolutely benefit from doing this. Glacier has several agents that specialize in retail sales of the properties in the areas our properties are located. We can refer you to them in order to assist you.