BrokerIPTV: Today we are talking with Gretchen Rosenberg. She is the managing broker for Kentwood Company at Cherry Creek. Gretchen thanks for being with us.
Gretchen Rosenberg: Hi, Dan.
BrokerIPTV: Lets talk about international real estate, because when people say international real estate they think like Milan or Germany, but does Denver have kind of an international component to it?
Gretchen Rosenberg: Well, at Denver and Colorado we have buyers from all over the world, many from eastern Asia, from India, a lot from Latin America and Europe as well. Europeans are buying investment and commercial property. Canadians look at Denver and Colorado as a great buy, because of the US dollar being devalued. Then we have many, many executives. I have worked with business executives coming and going from Hong Kong and from Mexico City.
BrokerIPTV: Now, imagine as the relocation department in your company and other specific companies, I mean dealing with an international buyer has a lot of different kind of tricks and flips, am I correct?
Gretchen Rosenberg: It does. That most large real estate companies do have a relocation department. Our company has Kentwood Relocation and we are also members of a larger network called Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World has a very global presence and the Kentwood Relocation Department is working with a publication called Residence International where we publish our listings and then they also put them online for us to email. So, global relocation is a huge business and our company is definitely involved in that.
BrokerIPTV: How is this transaction different? I mean obviously we have got a currency issue, but you are talking about people who are coming from a different country with different values about what you can buy at what price for a land and homes and so forth, I mean is there a huge education process that goes on there?
Gretchen Rosenberg: Well there is and you can get a designation as a real estate broker called Certified International Property Specialist. That helps you with cultural awareness for people coming from different parts of the world and being culturally aware, how different people negotiate and also understanding currency is very important. These currency transfers need to be strategically managed so that they can leverage correctly when they transfer their currency into US dollars to make the purchase. Then there are tax laws that you need to be aware of like the Foreign Investors Real Property Tax. So, it is more complicated for sure.
BrokerIPTV: Yeah and your relocation department helps out all that?
Gretchen Rosenberg: The Cherry Creek office of the Kentwood Company has several people who have the certified international property specialist designation.
BrokerIPTV: How about a US citizen wanting to buy internationally, whats the difficulty or obstacle there?
Gretchen Rosenberg: Right. There is a book called Who is Who in International Real Estate and we can look at brokers all over the world, if I someone who wants to go to Costa Rica I can find them a broker in Costa Rica who understands how to work with an American buyer and then I make the referral and I earn a referral pay that way.
BrokerIPTV: How about trends in international real estate, I mean if somebody called me say “Hey, whats happening in Cherry Creek Village?” I could tell him, but if somebody said “Hey, whats happening in Italy right now?” I don’t know what the market is going on in Italy.
Gretchen Rosenberg: There are so many resources online for that. The University of Denver, Burns School of Real Estate analyses markets all over the world. The CIA actually has a great website that you can go to. That will give you some insight into whats going on in different countries. So, most of us who do international real estate use the internet to do the research we need to do in different countries.
BrokerIPTV: Thank you.
Gretchen Rosenberg: Thank you, Dan.
BrokerIPTV: Appreciate it.
Gretchen Rosenberg: My pleasure.