Canadian resident- How to buy a home in USA?

Hi

I am a real estate broker in California, I can help you find homes in Northern California (Sacramento and San Francisco regions). Prices are very cheap. You can buy a home for around $200k 4 bed/2 baths/2 car garage, less than 10 years old. It can be rented out for a net yield of around 8% p/a. You can also get a loan from some banks, the down payment required is usually around 40-50%. The interest rate varies for a 30 y fixed it is about 6.5% p/a, for a 5 yrs ARM amortized over 30 years, around 5%. Please check www.BuyHomeInUS.com, a website I created with more information on investing in US properties for foreigners. Our website is www.BethanyREINvestments.com. Please send me e-mail at jkdanu@gmail.com for more information.

1. Can a Canadian resident buy a home in the U.S? YES, there is no restriction for owning freehold properties in USA.

2. Can we get a mortgage in Canada to buy in the U.S? YES, the down payment must be fairly large though. You can buy multiple properties as investments, no problem.
Alternatively, just get a home equity line of credit on your current home in Canada.

3. What are the process of this if possible? The process is fairly simple. Buying a property in California takes 30-45 days. You can do a Power of Attorney, so if you have someone here in SF, he/she can sign all the paperwork.

4. Anything relating to Tax I should know about? YES, there are property taxes and income taxes issue. Canadians get a special treatment I believe, send me an e-mail, I can send you some more info. But foreigners can get the same tax treatment as US nationals.

5. Can I rent out the property once purchased? YES, the rent for a $200k property can be $1800-2000 per month, before taxes, insurance and prop management.

6. Would a property manager/agent be required if I want to rent out my property? YES, I can manage it for you, or there are also other prop management firms specializing for this.

7. What would the general cost be for this? Prop management fees : Leasing fee to obtain a tenant usually 50-60% of 1st month's rent, the prop management fee is around $100 per month.

Best regards
James

Get the quotation from different builders in your locality through online or offline.Then analyse all the quotation and choose three from them.From the three quotation select the best suitable one for you.Also you can ask them your requirements and they will provide the house according to the it.

Yes, a Canadian can buy a home is in the USA. You can buy a home as a secondary home.

Not all banks give you a mortgage but Compass Bank does... As a Canadian you are require to pay 2% more in interest on a mortgage. But because mortgages are so low this is not really a problem b/c you can actually lock in your mortgage for 30 years, unlike in Canada.

Depending on where you buy a home property managers are not always required. Especially in Arizona where there is no mantaince, on your property. no grass to cut. Just Pest Control that can be $25 or so and taxes are low, in comparison to Florida and California.

In regards to taxes you are required to pay the 20% once you sell the property. But if you buy another property with 180 days there is a way to avoid this tax... important to contact an accountant to ask about this information.

Also, I do believe you can rent the property but you must fill out some paperwork, another good question for an accountant. you are required to pay the us 30% on income for a rental.

Arizona is the best area for investing in properties at the moment. home prices have dropped by 50%...

Note that 30% down may be required as a Canadian... And once this is in the property you can not take this money out, unless you are a resident of the US...

Great opportunity to buy in the USA...

Be sure when buying a property in the USA not and i say "NOT" to give POWER OF AUTHORITY to any one... especially the Real estate agents etc...

Speak to a Canadian lawyer before buying any property.

Great site to view homes is www.ziprealty.com

Hi, my name is Eugene Eliseev and I am a Canadian real estate agent.

I can help you to achieve higher returns on your real estate equities.
Example:
An unfurnished, four bedroom, two bathroom, 2200 sq ft, 5-8 year old house in Florida can be bought for $100,000.
It can then be rented for $1,000 per month, with a normal rent period of one year.
After deducting taxes, insurance and property management fees, the profit will be $700.

That is an 7% return per year. In Canada, this is difficult to achieve, because of high real estate prices.
OK, to buy a house in Florida is simple, but to rent it you have to know somebody who you can trust. I found one company and it is one of the best. They will find good tenants and take care of all the required repairs (if needed).
Their fee is 10% of the rental price.
All of my clients and friends (me too) who bought houses in Florida and gave these houses to this company to manage are very satisfied with a result.

Sounds too good to be true. Right? Contact me and I'll prove you that it works.

If you interested in this kind of investment, let me know and I will provide you with more details, like how to get a low rate equity mortgage on you property, how to open a bank account in USA, how to convert money from CAD to USD with a good rate and etc.


Best regards,

Eguene Eliseev
Real Estate Sales Representative.
Weiss Realty Ltd,
tel 416-636-6800 (office)

In my point of view buying property in USA is not as complicated as many think. You just have to remember some important things like about the location where you want to buy home, concern with a professional real estate agent and last but not least is your budget.

My situation may be unique and I am having some confusion sorting it out. I'm looking to invest rather than live in the US at this time.

I'm a Canadian non-resident. I work for a US military contractor whose head office is a LLC out of Dubai. I live outside N. America. I am paid in US dollars to an off-shore account. I pay no taxes legally in Canada and pay no taxes in the US (I have documentation showing I am not required to pay US taxes).

Now, I want to purchase property in either Tennessee or Arizona. In Tennessee, the taxes are low, as are the housing prices. In Arizona, prices are higher, except in some areas which have low housing prices in unappealing areas.

I have read through this thread and have probably missed something so forgive me.

Is there any sense to purchase 4 rental houses x $50k each = $200k.

Mortgages (if still possible to get?) totaling about $130k after laying down $70k as deposit would be obtained.

Reason for purchase is a small profit on the rentals each month. I am quite familiar with the housing markets in Jackson and Clarksville, TN and to a lesser degree in Phoenix. Before going further, I thought I'd get expose my idea to ridicule and scrutiny.

Things I know:
-US mortgages are 2% higher for non US citizens (if obtainable)
-deposit might be higher than 30%
-property mgmt fees are 10% of rent in TN (Don't know for AZ.)
-housing market may not upswing in my lifetime

Things I don't know:
-additional taxation
-is a Trust a consideration for this situation (bearing in mind my work location)
-would a 6 unit apartment building be a better choice

Warm regards,
Gary

One thing that might help to know is where you will live after you buy your units. I think it may be treated differently.
If you end up living back in Canada there may be more of an incentive to set up some sort of cross-border trust. From my research this is the best thing to do if you are purchasing a high dollar value or a number of properties.
It helps you avoid the Estate issues, some of the withholding/capital gains delays and issues. Don't get me wrong you still pay but it helps limit some of the risk.

If you end up living in the US I think the issues are different and I haven't looked into that area to closely.

Good luck

and that in this deal?