Finding a low risk investment with high returns can be difficult in the current economic climate. Economic growth is slowing and foreign political issues only add to the uncertainty plaguing investors’ minds.

However, many investors have turned to overseas property investment, which can provide impressive gains with substantially low risk, while also adding diversity to investment portfolios.

There are several advantages of property investment such as low-cost, simplicity for buying and selling, it can be tax efficient and it can be far more reliable than stocks.

An area that is showing high returns on property investment right now is Michigan, in the United States. Michigan was badly affected by the Global Financial Crisis and that stress caused many homes to go into foreclosure. While this was a disquieting time all around the world, it meant houses in the area dropped to rock-bottom prices.

Australian investors in particular have moved into the Michigan market as the city starts to come back from the Crisis, as even during these challenging times, the Detroit region is the economic powerhouse for the entire state of Michigan and the nation. Emerging sectors have so far brought in over $1 billion in new investments in Oakland County alone.

Over the past decade, more than $15 billion has been invested in the downtown area by the private and public sectors, building two new professional sports stadiums, live theatre and opera venues, gaming casinos and hotels, new offices, residential buildings, retail centres, restaurants and nightclubs.

As a result of these investments, the character of downtown Detroit and its neighborhoods has fundamentally changed, and more people are moving to the area. Basically, there is a huge market for rental property in the region now, meaning that investors will never be short of a tenant.

There are several steps that need to be taken when purchasing property overseas, including establishing a LLC (Limited Liability Company), establish a trust account with a property management company, finding a property, viewing it, making an offer, arranging an inspection, settlement, refurbishment, management of the property and hand over to the tenants.

All of this can be daunting to any investor, overseas or local, so finding a company that can help with that is essential.

Australian investor Karen said she was not sure about buying property in another country on her own and she was in need of a strong support system.

“I really didn’t want to buy property over the net, and I’m in the position to look at the properties myself with Cash Flow Gold,” she said.

Karen said that she is very happy with the returns she is already receiving from her US investment property.

“If we can achieve over 20 percent on properties over there, and you’re lucky to receive about five or six percent in Australia, I think you’re crazy not to do it.”