MY FIRST OVERSEAS DEAL ZIV MAGEN
Why did you get into real estate investing?
I got my first property in 2009. Not that long ago
really,
but
the
time
was
perfect
from
my
This may sound cliché, and you’ve probably heard
perspective. The market was offering great deals
this quoted a lot, but I got into real estate investing
all over the world right after all hell broke loose in
to secure a financial future for my family and to
2007-2008. There was this big slump, though it
maximize
our
savings.
I
wasn’t
particularly
wasn’t felt as strongly in Asia and Oceania as it
considering real estate as opposed to anything
was in the United States and Europe.
else, but was more weighing the pros and cons of
who’d been sitting on their funds were suddenly
different investing strategies. In the end, it was the
“pouncing” on real estate all over the place. Japan
regular and potentially high monthly returns that
was a natural environment for me considering my
investment properties provide, in addition to the
location in the world – Australia. I “married into the
more speculative potential for growth. My dad,
country” in 2003, and have been going back and
who’d
his
forth ever since, staying up to a year at a time
retirement for most of his life, always said “If it
when my son was born. I also knew about other
doesn’t work, your family will at least always have
places in the region such as Singapore, Hong-
a roof over their heads”.
Kong and Thailand, having visited and following
been
investing
in
properties
for
It’s really that type of
reliability that cemented the choice for me.
People
their economies with interest for many years. So,
investing overseas wasn’t an alien concept for me,
When did you begin investing in real
estate? Also, why Japan, why not invest
and Asia seemed to be where things were
happening.
closer to home in Australia, or maybe in
As I’ve repeatedly stated in my first few articles in
the United States?
REI Wealth Magazine, choosing your market is, first
and foremost, a personality thing. If you feel
out of water, you probably are. I recommend
that anyone, particularly those getting their feet
wet for the first time, go to where they feel
most comfortable. In my case, the US was out
of the question. The tenant profiles, property
managers,
bank
personnel,
insurance
companies etc., seemed quite difficult to juggle
at a distance, especially for a “wet behind the
ears” investor like I was at the time. Plus, the
distance meant a serious long-haul if things
needed a personal touch, which I felt they
often might in the US (no offense to our US-