10/10/11 - 12h00

Troy Fabien

Troy Fabien is the owner and CEO of Miami Assets Realty, a real estate firm established for the purpose of cultivating the international real estate commerce between south Florida, and Latin America.

Background

• Campinas, Curitiba and Piracicaba: beyond Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo
• Brazilian agribusiness
• Where and how to invest?
• The Brazilian and the American real estate industry

Interview

Tom Reaoch

Today we’re going to talk about business between Brazil and Miami Florida. I’m happy to have with us today Troy Fabien. I met Troy in Campinas during a visit to the American Chamber of Commerce here in Campinas. Troy was a member of a delegation of business persons from the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. They were visiting Brazil and Campinas was one of those cities.

Troy Fabien is a native of South Florida, raised in Miami Florida which has now become the international center and trade between the Unites States and Latin America. Troy is also the owner and CEO of Miami Assets Realty, a real estate firm established for the purpose of cultivating the international real estate commerce between south Florida, and Latin America. So with that Troy, I’d like to say thanks for being part of Talk2Brazil and welcome.

Troy Fabien

Thanks for having me Tom.

Tom Reaoch

So tell us a little bit about your trip. We spoke, we had our very interesting meeting here in Campinas, you were able to share some of the information about Miami but what struck me that as part of a mission from the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, this was your first time to Brazil is that correct?

Troy Fabien:

That’s correct Tom. Unlike a lot of people that travel and visit Brazil who usually go through Rio, my first trip to Brazil was to the beautiful and huge city of São Paulo, among the four cities that I visited. So I didn’t get the beautiful opportunity to visit your beaches because of course I was there for a trade mission and a successful one. There’s always time to come back and do the R&R but I must say that I was quite, extremely pleased with what I experienced in the four cities that I had the pleasure of visiting.

Tom Reaoch:

How did this come about? This came about through the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce? They basically put this together and invited you, how did that happen?

Troy Fabien:

Basically the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, which I am a member of, held a meeting in which they gave the platform to a small consulting firm that put together a trade mission open to our delegates and members and so having been in the meeting I thought it would have been a valuable opportunity to engage Brazil through this particular trade mission and as a result the consultant put together an itinerary which I thought was very well thought out and very intriguing which in my opinion gave me the best opportunity to see and engage for the, in my opinion, main cities in Brazil.

Tom Reaoch:

Beside São Paulo and Campinas where else did you stop and what did you see?

Troy Fabien:

I stopped off in Piracicaba and the last leg of the tour was in Curitiba.

Tom Reaoch:

Had you ever heard of Campinas or Piracicaba or Curitiba before this trip?

Troy Fabien:

Prior to engaging the consulting for who put together the trade mission, no I didn’t. However after the trip those three cities were on my lips fairly regularly [laughs].

Tom Reaoch:

Okay, tell us about your impression, I’d like you to share that with our audience because it’s the same for most people Troy, most foreign business persons have never heard of Campinas or Piracicaba. Some might have heard something about Curitiba because Curitiba from an architectural standpoint, from a city, a structured city, and a planned city has been somewhat in the international news because historically it is one of the cities that is better planned in Brazil so there are people who have heard of it. But what were your impressions of these three cities?

Troy Fabien:

Oh wow. I would say I was extremely awestruck by the level of sophistication and progression of those respective cities outside of São Paulo. Of course I went in not knowing what to expect like anybody would have. I did, you know I did a basic Google search on you know, the various industries that each city’s primary industry offered, however doing all my research and actually engaging those cities are two totally different things and I have to say it exceeded my expectations on various levels. From the standpoint of just the level of sophistication and how progressive the cities were in terms of from a commercial standpoint; commercial and cultural standpoint, let me – I don’t want to omit that because Brazil is very highly cultural on many levels and I think that’s what adds the unique flavor in which the respective cities engage in the marketplace.

Tom Reaoch:

Okay.

Troy Fabien:

And Campinas, to be more specific, I was blown away by the level of agro-business that particular city engaged in. There was everything from sugar cane to corn crops, I mean so on and so forth. I was particularly impressed with the level of wealth that the locals actually seem to have.

Tom Reaoch:

Right. No yeah, the level and the standard of living here in Campinas specifically, and each of these cities, Piracicaba and Curitiba likewise are pretty much, I would say first world class in that sense and also I guess in your little trip from Campinas to Piracicaba, and Piracicaba is actually one of the basic research centers for sugar cane business here in Brazil not only from the agricultural aspect but also from the manufacturing aspect. Most of the sugar mills and equipment what have you is manufactured in the area of Piracicaba. But going from here to Piracicaba I guess you did enjoy all of the sugar cane fields, right?

Troy Fabien:

Oh yes, very much so. I was impressed and awestruck I have to say because I mean, I was looking at acres and acres of these fields and I was watching it being [inaudible] it was just an incredible thing to see.

Tom Reaoch:

No, it is and I agree with you because it’s one of the things that’s always surprised me when you take a look and if you can get to a higher elevation just look out and see, many times you know, until the horizon it’s just sugar cane; just like a green carpet.

Troy Fabien:

I truly agree with you.

Tom Reaoch:

And so Piracicaba struck you well, Piracicaba is a little bit smaller city than Campinas but also from an educational standpoint and also commercial and business standpoint a very interesting city.

Troy Fabien:

Yes, yes, Piracicaba seemed to have been a city that seems to stand on its own however, still very strong and each city, I have to say Tom, offers its own unique characteristics not only from a commercial standpoint and a cultural standpoint but from a people standpoint and it’s, again, I left going from each city with a different perspective.

Tom Reaoch:

Good. And all favorable?

Troy Fabien:

Oh, extremely favorable. I mean I’m still singing the praises of this trade mission as it pertains to just Brazil. The way Brazil has propelled itself onto the world economic scene has caught the world by surprise and until one actually goes and sees for themselves exactly what Brazilians and the country is doing, not only locally but on a national and international scale, one would do themselves a disservice which now I can understand why there are so many multi-national companies that are already in place and fully engaging Brazil on such a huge and massive scale and more are penetrating that market as we speak.

Tom Reaoch:

Right, that’s true. And then your impression, is it fair to say it was the same impression of your whole group?

Troy Fabien:

Yes, very much so. A couple of the members that participated in the trade mission were actually of Brazilian origin however they had been away for such a long time, so in essence it was a homecoming for them, and they were amazed.

Tom Reaoch:

Yeah, I remember speaking with the [indistinct] exactly that was one of the points, specifically when we were talking about Campinas. They’ve just been away for so long that they were surprised.

Troy Fabien: Absolutely and to them it seems like this resurgence or I should say emergence rather, on the world scene by Brazil and it has happened overnight in their eyes.

Tom Reaoch:

Oh, I agree.

Troy Fabien:

And so, but my assessment of this Tom is that this was a work in progress on a political and economic level plus with and just the perfect storm took place.

Tom Reaoch:

[Laughs] That’s good. Well, so it was worth the money, worth the effort and worth the time right?

Troy Fabien:

Unquestionably, unquestionably and I would highly recommend anybody who is vaguely interested amongst those that are highly interested to participate in a local trade mission that involves going to Brazil, you know, and get in touch with people like yourselves Tom, if one of the cities that they’d like to visit is Campinas so that they will get a better idea personally what exactly is taking place there and until can actually get out there and see for themselves, it’s unlike anything that they’ll ever see. I tell people this everyday I see them in regards to São Paulo for example, São Paulo is Manhattan New York on steroids.

Tom Reaoch:

Right, that’s true.

Troy Fabien:

And Campinas is not too far behind that. [laughs] And you know, although it’s less hectic but I give Campinas five more years.

Tom Reaoch:

The greater Campinas region, we’re talking of a little bit over three million people, that’s a lot of people and we’re talking of a gross national product equivalent to the country of Chile, so the robustness of the area and the attractivity is what you felt, just certainly a lot happening here.

Troy Fabien:

Very much so.

Tom Reaoch:

In sort of leaps and bounds though, so I think that that’s the good side, and again many persons who haven’t heard of the region, once they do come that’s the impression that is shared with me as you have had. So I’m really happy that you did have a productive and interesting view of what was happening here and congratulate you even more because most persons sort of on the [tange] of, “Well, should I go, should I not go?” Obviously you’ve come, you’re now a believer because seeing is believing and it’s something to multiply and it is true, these types of missions that I think you get not only the insight that you’ve had but the productivity of a visit is higher. Just coming down by yourself and roaming around, that works; but not as well as something structured like the mission you came with.

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely, absolutely, and to add to that, when you go in a group whether small or large, you have the opportunity to participate on a larger scale with the various trade organizations local trade organizations…

Tom Reaoch:

That’s true, because through the American Chamber here in Campinas that’s part of our role, receiving [in mind] specifically, of being part of the reception of different missions coming here, really to help people, you know, get a better feeling of what’s happening.

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely, and most importantly - well I won’t say most importantly but, important that people who want to know exactly what’s going on in Brazil it gives people an opportunity not to look through the prism of what we see on T.V. or in the movies where it’s just the love, sandy golden beaches, the aqua blue waters because that’s the only impression I’ve ever had of Brazil.

Tom Reaoch:

That’s true, but that’s also the impression I have of Miami so, [laughing] and those are fair impressions because you do have that [over talk] both beautiful beach setting, there’s nothing wrong with that because one of the things that attracted me to Brazil – I was born in Pittsburgh and lived most of my life in the States in Ohio and I never saw a beach, other than the beach at Lake Erie, but you can’t consider that a beach, but then coming to Brazil and seeing what a real beach was all about certainly is an attraction and as Miami has, Miami too has grow into a point of attraction and for Brazilians, just reversing that, Miami’s always been the point of entry in the United States for most of the Brazilians, so it is a very favorable climate not only – and I’m not speaking weather-wise but a favorable cultural and business climate for Brazilians, be they persons or corporations [then of] establishing relationships and business in Miami. But from a Brazilian standpoint it’s the front door to the U.S.

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely; and around the east part of Miami, Miami Beach.

Tom Reaoch:

Yeah, that’s right, like now for the sake of our Brazilian audience and for the audience outside the United States, Troy, I’d like you to share, because again sometimes we have a impression of what’s happening or actually what’s not happening in the United States and it may be unfair because here when I speak to my friends in Brazil, they say “The United States is in recession, everybody’s without a job and nothing’s happening there,” but what I’ve always said is when - even in the United States when things are bad there’s still good, is that true?

Troy Fabien:

That’s correct, and just to add to that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and although the United States is in fact going through a transition, a tough one, but nothing that it’s not going to come out of. Now with that said there’s opportunities abound, particularly here in south Florida. Brazil is Florida’s China and it has been for the last several years.

Tom Reaoch:

Right.

Troy Fabien:

And Brazilians are taking advantage of what’s going on here and particularly in my industry, the real estate industry, whether that be commercial, whether that be [residential], or whether that be income-producing property and so the market is behaving in such to where it’s opened its doors and has for some time to international buyers and the bulk of the buyers, or investors rather are coming from Brazil, they’re taking advantage of these [dips]…

Tom Reaoch:

So you’re saying Brazilians have surpassed the other Latin American countries in investors in Miami.

Troy Fabien:

Yes, our primary buyers of goods and services as it pertains to south Florida, it has surpassed Columbia, it has surpassed Argentina, it is Brazil. You can basically see the influence that Brazilian culture has already in south Florida, it’s made its mark here not only economically in the marketplace but culturally as well from its furniture, you know, designs and of course commercially in terms of the businesses that have opened up - and these are of course businesses that are already - that [originated in] Brazil that have an imprint here…

Tom Reaoch:

Yeah, but you’re speaking about businesses set up by Brazilians now, Brazilians investing in business in Miami area?

Troy Fabien:

Correct. That’s correct. They have a - Brazilians have a very strong presence here in south Florida particularly in Brickell, Doral - these are cities that, you know, smaller cities that make up the greater Miami area, Miami beach so on and so forth. What my company does is we help steer foreign buyers on the small or large scale who want to invest in south Florida depending on the investor’s unique investing needs and basically what we do is we take a profile of the company and determine what the company’s needs are from an investing standpoint and we determine what exactly are they looking to do based on returns, based on investment strategies, are they looking to [import of investment] that they’re experiencing in Brazil and we give them a realistic snapshot of what would be expected, it’s based on their respective needs.

Tom Reaoch:

So what I would need to do as an investor is sort of give you the checklist of what I want, I’m looking for say residential home or condominium, I want to put that out, rent it out as a property or I want to use it and from that checklist you’re going to tailor that to the person. What if I’m a person, I’ve never been to Miami, I really don’t know where to go or what to do, how do you handle somebody, now for our Brazilians, because Brazilians may say you can invest, you can buy property in the Unites States for many Brazilians they don’t really have a grasp of that. But there’s the other side for foreign nationals in Brazil it’s not all that easy to buy property or to own property, so they just feel it’s the same but for a Brazilian national that doesn’t necessarily want to live in the Unites States but wants to have investments, what I hear you saying that it’s, shall I call it an easy process or a more fluent process?

Troy Fabien:

It’s very streamlined. We have first off, we care of our foreign buyers from A to Z. What we do is for the foreign buyer that has never been to the States and since we are talking about south Florida mind you, Miami Beach, what we do is, based on that scenario, we arrange with them to get a small tour of the areas with – and that’s personally handled by my firm, so that they can get an idea of what’s going on in the area, what areas are viable based on their particular investing needs, and then we also arrange for them to take a look at some of the available investments [based] on the areas of interest on their part and give them ideas of what exactly these sort of deals that, you know I should say savings rather because right now, you know, there’s a fire sale going on.

Tom Reaoch:

So there are good deals?

Troy Fabien:

Oh, very great deals, great deals.

Tom Reaoch:

So this is the time to do it?

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely. Right now depending on an investor’s appetite for various investments, they can see savings of anywhere between 30 to 40%. For example, let’s say a condominium being sold in Miami Beach that goes for 300,000 - 350,000 US dollars on average, they can get now for anywhere between 175 to 200,000 and we’re talking about a one time…

Tom Reaoch:

But what do I get for 200,000? What is a condo…

Troy Fabien:

For 200,000 US…

Tom Reaoch:

What does that get me?

Troy Fabien:

You can get a condo on the water.

Tom Reaoch:

Okay, but how many rooms, what is in that?

Troy Fabien:

We’re talking about 1 bedroom, in some cases two bedroom, one bathroom units, approximately 600 square feet, and they go up from there.

Tom Reaoch:

And that’s on the waterfront; I’m putting my toes in the water.

Troy Fabien:

In some cases you’re literally walking out into the beach, literally a block away and in some cases right on the water, so it depends on what exactly what the client is interested in. Now of course some of these…

Tom Reaoch:

Yeah, but with that to and obviously a fantastic view, whether I want to get my feet wet or not, but I can sit there look out the window and really appreciate a great view.

Troy Fabien:

Or the balcony depending on where you purchase... Now of course some of these condos they go as high as a million, million and a half, but then of course you’re looking into the upper echelon condos and they come with full concierge services, valet parking, a gymnasium, 24- hour security, you name it. Fully gated and secured and in other cases they also come with grocery stores inside the condominium itself, so…

Tom Reaoch:

So a self-contained environment, self-contained community…

Troy Fabien:

Self-contained environment, so…

Tom Reaoch:

But even when you mentioned there at the entry level, we’re talking of 200,000 dollars for a one bedroom apartment that previously was worth 350,000 right, if I hear you correctly?

Troy Fabien:

Right.

Tom Reaoch:

And as we all know that what goes around comes around, we’ve seen ups and downs, sometime in the future there is a probability that that is going to regain part of its value.

Troy Fabien:

Well it’s starting to happen now because of the influx of foreign national buyers in our marketplace inventories have started to evaporate fairly quick because of the glut of foreign national buyers taking advantage of these deals and rightfully so.

Tom Reaoch:

Right, I can see that because no, I would not have thought that those would be the price levels and if you’re talking 200,000, 300,000 dollars that’s, from a Brazilian standpoint to be able to have and own property in the States at that value, I’m not saying it’s impossible, it’s pretty plausible.

Troy Fabien:

Oh yeah, absolutely, and I’ve seen the values in Brazil and they’re staggering in terms of the amount of appreciation and [inaudible] per period of time.

Tom Reaoch:

That’s where we are right now in Brazil and that’s one of the things recently in the local newspapers I read that even land values here in Campinas have reached values similar to New York City so when you see the high cost of having – and for the same reason we just talked about, Campinas in growing, a lot of investment, a lot of people coming here, a lot of companies bringing in personnel so at some point even a shortage in living quarters, so that’s all happened so the prices just went through the roof so for probably what you would buy a similar one or two bedroom condo here you could probably buy two in Miami.

Troy Fabien:

[laughs] That wouldn’t surprise me one bit because that’s exactly what people are actually doing, what investors are actually doing, Tom, is they’re actually buying them in bulk and renting them out in some cases.

Tom Reaoch:

So literally buy one and get one free, right?

Troy Fabien:

[laughs]

Tom Reaoch:

Or two for the price of one?

Troy Fabien:

Two for the price of one or get them while their hot because they’re not going to be like this forever, but we do offer a menu of services that involve pairing investors, if in fact they’re interested and purchasing investments for returns, setting up with property management companies, we give them CPA’s, we have attorneys that specialize in setting up corporations and discussing immigration matters, we have our lenders and all of them speak Portuguese…

Tom Reaoch:

Ah, very good. That was a question I was going to ask so a Brazilian going and wanting to invest and buy doesn’t even have to speak English.

Troy Fabien:

That’s correct.

Tom Reaoch:

And in lending is there credit? Could a Brazilian have credit to buy in Miami?

Troy Fabien:

Yes, what the lenders do here is they give them with a certain amount down in most cases we’re talking 35 or 40% down, they’re able to get financing particularly with condos and homes and then in some cases less, if it’s a home versus a condo; they’re able to put 30% down and finance the remainder.

Tom Reaoch:

Why is that, why is there a difference between a home and a condo, just for my understanding?

Troy Fabien:

Oh, simply because with what’s going on with condos, lenders view condominiums with slightly more risk.

Tom Reaoch:

Oh they do?

Troy Fabien:

Yeah, this is just from a lending standpoint, so what they’ve done is that they’ve factored in that risk and have required investors – this is not just foreign, this is local as well, they’ve required borrowers to put more down on condominiums versus homes but the difference is not much, we’re talking a difference of maybe 5 or 10% being put down but a lot of buyers have been coming with all cash, so that hasn’t been really a sticking point when it comes to these transactions.

Tom Reaoch:

Now I just found that point interesting because somewhat here in Brazil it’s the opposite.

Troy Fabien:

[laughs] Isn’t that something?

Tom Reaoch:

No, these types of condos in, let’s say contained environments or contained community-type condos specifically they’re sort of perceived as being lower risk from a lending standpoint than the single unit home or multiple unit homes.

Troy Fabien:

Understood, understood. Fortunately we have access to a handful of lenders that can give competitive rate and [loan to] value as well so again that would be inconsequential.

Tom Reaoch:

But for a Brazilian, it’s like about the home again, because again sometimes and persons that I’ve spoken with here in Brazil and in Brazil obviously we have a different situation. When we talk about property rights and if you own property what could and unfortunately here sometimes does happen of your property being invaded or somebody coming in, squatters coming in, whatever, is that a concern in Miami? Let’s say I have a home, I’ve purchased a home, and I’m not there, is somebody going to come and just take over my house?

Troy Fabien:

Oh no, not at all. Unlike other parts of the globe, the United States strongly believes in enforcing property rights. Once a person closes on a property and has the title to that property, that property is theirs and that property is enforced diligently through the courts of the United States and nobody can take it from you, you know, whether through imminent domain, whether through like, whatever. Property rights are highly enforced because this is one of the rights that we so enjoy so well here and comfortably here in the United States, that’s a right we as citizens take very seriously and is extremely and diligently enforced here and so that can never – that never happens, that never happens.

Tom Reaoch:

So that right even for a Brazilian owning that he would have the same right, doesn’t necessarily have to be a citizen because that’s just the way things are done there is that it?

Troy Fabien:

That’s just the way things are done here because again, it’s a matter of personal rights. Whoever owns a deed to a particular property or title, that is theirs and no entity – in exception to the government of course – can take that property from the owner, from the rightful owner.

Tom Reaoch:

But if somebody walks in you call the police and they’ll get them out.

Troy Fabien:

Oh absolutely.

Tom Reaoch:

Simple as that.

Troy Fabien:

Simple as that; there’s no two ways about it and again one of the few rights that we here in the United States enjoy and that’s just not the Americans but anyone that owns right to any asset in America is strictly enforced and there’s no entity that can take that away from an owner.

Tom Reaoch:

Right, that’s a good point because, like I mentioned, many Brazilians feel that since they don’t understand that situation because here it’s somewhat different that if you do have property and somebody invades that, here you’re going to have to go through and get lawyers and do a whole process and it’s not only consuming time but money to get those persons evicted and sometimes you have to pay for all of that.

Troy Fabien:

Right, oh no, this – wow as sad as that sounds we as owners here in the United States we don’t give that a second thought and I think that’s out of, I guess you can call it comfort or security, that’s just the way things are done here in the United States and we’re thankful for that.

Tom Reaoch:

And so that is a plus then back to investing are the same for the two to one, so I can invest my money, I can get two apartments for the price of one that I can get here in Brazil and it’s mine and it’s protected, I can live in one and rent the other one out or rent both of them out and not even have to go to the United States and my investment in protected.

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely, matter of fact, over half of the investors that do invest here live abroad and they have a property management company that either takes care of the property or they don’t have a tenant in there and they have it as a second home for their [people] because some people, there’s some investors that just don’t enjoy the idea of somebody else occupying their property…

Tom Reaoch:

A time-sharing situation then.

Troy Fabien:

Exactly, exactly.

Tom Reaoch:

But to be able to set that up and have somebody then take care of that or let it out then you also handle that, that’s part of services that you could provide?

Troy Fabien:

Yes, actually what we do is we place them in touch with a property management company in whom we work with very closely, give them an idea what their management costs would be depending on the property, what their reasonable – and again it depends on what the goal is of that particular investor, that service of that particular mortgage, are they looking for a return or are they just looking to have the property occupied and the debt paid for, you know, while they’re away. Unless, again, it’s a cash deal then that just becomes a non issue and it becomes a cash [over-talking]…

Tom Reaoch:

But just as a rule of the thumb is it – could we think that the rental levels today, let’s say today’s market for what somebody would invest if they would and could get the loan, obviously the rental fees that they could have would certainly cover the mortgage.

Troy Fabien:

It would depend on again the amount of the property; it depends on the taxes and their insurance because that has to be factored in as well. More times than not it does cover that and allow a small margin for profit, but again everybody’s scenario is different because of the amount that they either put down and how much is being financed. More times than not, Tom, you’ll find that investors are able to make a small profit from their investment.

Tom Reaoch:

And from the tax point of view, you mentioned taxes; we’re talking about property taxes.

Troy Fabien:

Correct.

Tom Reaoch:

And that varies depending on where the property is I imagine.

Troy Fabien:

That varies, of course and it can be arranged to be either collected in the mortgage and whatever difference is unpaid would have to be satisfied at the end of the calendar year.

Tom Reaoch:

The calendar year, and these taxes are municipal, they go to the municipality?

Troy Fabien:

That’s correct and of course we have a local CPA who’s Portuguese of course, if the investor is from Brazil and speaks Portuguese, [back in] a system with taxes and also being able to mitigate taxes and greatly reduce them in a lot of cases because there are charges that a foreign buyer may not be aware of and so it’s important to…

Tom Reaoch:

But, as for a benefit or as that he has a different cost?

Troy Fabien:

Oh no, no, no, as a benefit.

Tom Reaoch:

A benefit, okay.

Troy Fabien:

Yeah, absolutely. As a benefit.

Tom Reaoch:

A foreign national would have some tax benefits that an American wouldn’t?

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely, absolutely, but the only way to find this out is to be able to engage one of our local CPA’s that specialize in international taxes and it’s well worth the price of engaging the service of an international tax attorney.

Tom Reaoch:

What do you see, are there other concerns that foreign persons, foreign nationals have in wanting to own property in the United States and specifically in Miami?

Troy Fabien:

No, no, there aren’t. The only thing again is insuring that you have the services of a tax attorney who can look out and protect your investment and basically help reduce any tax liability that one may ensue [inaudible] from outside of these United States, but aside from that, people, foreign investors like the Brazilians that we have enjoy the fruits of their investments here and rightfully so. There’s some Brazilian investors that actually purchase income producing properties because they understand and recognize the benefits of having businesses here, such as franchises or even [over talk]…

Tom Reaoch:

That could be another point too, as we were talking about homes, but an investor or group of persons want to get together they could get something that’s on-going and generate different types of return.

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely, and on average, say for example these multi-family properties which, let’s say for example a 50-unit apartment community, which runs on the average of say two and half, three million dollars, can generate anywhere between 8 to 13% return on your investments; a lot better than what people are seeing on Wall Street and a lot better than what you’re getting from your local bank.

Tom Reaoch:

Right, that’s true.

Troy Fabien:

And these are nice returns, if an investor is interested in who has of course the capital, they can look into purchasing retail shopping plazas. As a matter of fact I have the pleasure of working with a local professional from Brazil who has a client that is actually looking into the plausibility of purchasing a shopping plaza out here in south Florida which has a Starbucks and a Chase Bank as an anchor among many of other retail shops. Now of course an investment like this we’re looking at upwards of 25 to 27 million dollars so of course only a small select few can engage the market like that but the return of course will be substantial so we engage investors on every scale from…

Tom Reaoch:

Well I can see from what you said from 200 to 250,000 dollars to 25 or 30 million and whatever’s in the middle and I’ve taken a look at your site which is Miamiassetsrealty.com and seeing you have a pretty wide offering in all of these different areas so…

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely, and what we do is we understand that foreign national or foreign investor rely on us to be able to give them as much information and we do a lot of hand-holding here – and understandably so and rightfully so.

Tom Reaoch:

And the show-and-tell, it’s like you said of coming here and seeing they’re going there and seeing and believing is the same and you need to be with someone that you can trust and hold onto a trustworthy hand, right?

Troy Fabien:

Exactly, exactly and that’s all part of service and we pride ourselves in doing that and being able to offer as a benefit those various services because like myself, I knew little to nothing about the various cities that I visited but after having been there I came away with a greater awareness and greater understanding as to the industries and what’s going on particularly in my industry which is the real estate market, and so with that said, you know, I highly…

Tom Reaoch:

You’re an example.

Troy Fabien:

Yeah.

Tom Reaoch:

And we hope - well I hope to see more Americans coming and I also hope to see more Brazilians going so, and I think that’s the way business is, a two-way street.

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely, absolutely.

Tom Reaoch:

And Troy I want to thank you, we’re coming to the end of our time but I want to thank you for sharing your insight on your visit here and also this information for our audience of the different opportunities of investments in the United States so it just goes to show there is business everywhere you just have to find the right people to do it with.

Troy Fabien:

Absolutely.

Tom Reaoch:

So I want to thank you again for being part of our show today.

Troy Fabien:

Thanks for having me, I really appreciate that and thanks for having such a platform to be able to share and engage and exchange knowledge and information because there isn’t any other place I know that is offering information in regards to what’s taking place in Brazil in an English format, English speaking format is that, so I’m thankful for the services that you provide.

Tom Reaoch:

Well thank you, well we’re still unique I think in that so hopefully it’s working, okay?

Troy Fabien:

Okay.