You’ve probably heard the whispers but in case they weren’t quite loud enough, now is a great time to invest in buy to let property in the USA.

Combine low home prices with rent increases and the chance to take advantage of bank-owned repossessed property being marketed as short sale and the reality is that you can get as much as an eight per cent return on your investment in rental income.

Another significant factor that might persuade you to invest is that there are properties on the market for half the price that they would have been on the market for this time five years ago. Alongside this, there has been a recent relaxing of regulations governing the purchase of foreclosed properties to convert into rentals. The facts say it all – business is booming once again!

According to an article by Karen Weise in Bloomberg Businessweek, “Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been calling for more rentals.” The Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, owns more than 100,000 foreclosed homes and is selling them in bulk to investors in a pilot program started earlier this year. Most of these homes were based in Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta and Florida.

But what of the cost it takes to refurbish the properties in order to make them viable for rental? Well, real estate data firm, CoreLogic, claims that renovation costs can be recouped in less than a year, especially in places like West Palm Beach, Florida.

Global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley predict that this kind of activity will stimulate the US economy and believe that “cleaning up and repairing rental properties could create as many as 800,000 new jobs across the country. Maintaining the properties could add one million more.”

The process of acquiring one or more of these properties may take time and be labour-intensive, but the results look promising. Using a reputable licensed real estate agent and seeking legal advice during the process is highly recommended.

USAbuyingguide.com has more information about renting out your property in the USA or to download a free buying guide click here.

For details of property for sale in America, visit the USA listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in, or moving to, the USA is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into dollars to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange or visit the Currency Zone.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in America, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘USA Property Buying Guide’