I bought four houses in Atlanta, Georgia - without setting eyes on them But what sort of Briton is brave enough to buy? And how are they doing it? One of the more established US property-sourcing firms is the Belgrave Group based in Romsey, Hampshire. Earlier in the crisis - in 2010 and 2011 - it recommended UK investors buy repossessed properties in the stricken city of Detroit. Attractive homes were then available there for as little as £30,000 and could be let at rents equating to a 20pc annual return. More recently Belgrave has been recommending investors buy in Atlanta. In the past two years it has sourced and sold 200 properties there to British investors, yielding an average of 14pc - after maintenance and other costs. But that is just investors' profit through income. In the 12 months to June Atlanta's house prices rose by 18.6pc, according to local lenders' data, so existing investors can count that as part of their total returns. The surge in prices is having the effect of limiting yields, however, and making it more difficult to source properties. Belgrave's Johanna O'Brien said: "Atlanta is one of the US cities with a growing population and its economy is growing fast too, which is driving property prices back up. A year ago you could buy an entry-level detached three-bedroom house for $65,000 (£40,500). Today it would be $80,000 to $85,000. That is still well below the market peak in 2007 when the same home might have changed hands for $150,000 (£94,000), she claimed. Ms O'Brien said banks have slowed in their offloading of repossessed or "foreclosed" properties, constraining supply and pushing up prices. "In the early part of the crisis foreclosures made up 60pc of properties on the market, today that proportion is 25pc to 30pc," she said. Many Belgrave clients do not visit the properties they buy. "They are a mixed bag," said Ms O'Brien. Some have never invested in property at all. Others are fully fledged landlords with large portfolios in the UK and elsewhere. But what they have in common is that they want an income. The firm, like a growing number of rivals, provides what it describes as a "complete armchair service." This entails finding, buying, refurbishing and then letting the property on behalf of the investor. Belgrave makes its money by paying even less for the properties than it sells them on for. Once the property is let a local lettings agent is contracted to manage it from there on - and Belgrave then ends its relationship with the investor. It is the sort of model which attracted criticism and controversy in the UK in the buy-to-let boom of 2006 and 2007. Property-sourcing firms or "property clubs," such as the notorious Inside Track, which collapsed in 2008, profited by selling "armchair" services where investors - often based in the South - would buy "discounted" newly built flats, typically in northern centres such as Leeds or Newcastle. The hope was to make short-term capital gains as well as achieve ongoing income, but many investors were burned by paying too much for properties that were difficult to let. Mike Goddard is no property novice. He owns property in the UK and elsewhere but his primary work is with the lettings agency franchise he founded, Belvoir Plc. This 156-agency network is listed on the Aim stock exchange and Mr Goddard's stake is worth around £18m. Mike Goddard: 'Buying property with viewing it personally requires trust' About a year ago he used Belgrave to buy four three- and four-bedroom properties in Atlanta without viewing any of them. He paid between £45,000 and £50,000 each and they generate monthly rents of about $1,000 (£620). Management costs per property work out at $60 (£38) per month. His total, after-cost return is 12pc, he said. "It's my first experience of buying something without seeing it," he said. Doing this certainly requires a degree of trust. I spoke to a number of investors who had done it before me, and I noticed a name among Belgrave's clients that I recognised the chairman of a major UK estate agency chain. So I called him to see how he found the process. I am definitely in this for yield. Chasing capital growth is a mug's game. It's not been painless I've had the odd void. Mr Goddard's primary interest remains in UK properties where he believes yields of 8pc to 10pc are still obtainable. To those looking to the US he advises that they tee up reliable help in the form of accountants, attorneys and insurance brokers. We did have some problems. You need to pick the brains of people who've done it before. Firms similar to Belgrave operate in other markets. Websites such as Frontlineberlin.com and Buyberlin.co.uk aim their services at UK buyers who seek yield rather than holiday homes. Just one in five Berliners own their own homes but this proportion is changing. Although rent controls exist there is flexibility to increase rents and Buyberlin says yields average 8pc to 10pc. Property pundit Stuart Law, founder of property investors' club Assetz, said: "There are very real opportunities in Germany where it is possible to achieve 9pc or 10pc. We have investors buying flats there for a couple of hundred thousand euros. He said there were two main risks. The first is sitting tenants, who limit your ability to raise rents. The second is the management company and cost. But overall you are looking at a high yield for the risk.