Canadian resident- How to buy a home in USA?

This is a bit of a tricky one, further back in the thread it explains that you can rent out property, it's just you have to pay US income tax on the income.

If you physically live in it and act as a landlord though then you're working in the US. You can't do that as an F-2 dependent and as an F-1 you can't do it either during the course of study. I suppose you could hire an agent to do it. I suppose it boils down to how arm's length it is.

You do need to get an I-20 from the college to get F-1.

thanx for the info.

i still have to get a visa (I20?) so i can be f1 (which if memory serves is a student.

i hadnt thought about the fact that if i am living in it i am "working" as a landlord. i was hoping to just live off the income. i wouldnt mind paying the income tax. i just need to have revenue while i am studying.

ughhhh. i guess id have to hire an agent as you said. or just buy a house outright and use my savings and what money i make workign part-time.

if you think of anything else. please let me know.

i appreciate it.

I seem to dimly recall there is caselaw on people acting as landlords as visitors to the US, the upshot of which is that you can't do it if you live there, but really you need an immigration lawyer to look up the case law on this one as it's kind of a grey area.

But yes you do need an I-20. There are no visas for Canadians in non-immigrant categories usually, but you need the I-20 in order to apply for F-1 status at the border, any registered college or university can issue you one, you also have to pay the fee.

Great stuff here! Glad I found this resource.

I am a Canadian currently finishing up undergrad at a U.S. institution, and I have been accepted into med school down here as well (NY state). My dual-degree program is fairly long (7 years), so I figure it may be best to try to buy a condo rather than rent for 7 years. I think I'd aim for something in the neighborhood of 70K-90K.

Are there any students out there that have tried to secure a mortgage? I am a Canadian citizen (was a "resident alien" for 2008, and "non-resident alien for the 3 years prior") and have been on an F-1 for four years. I have great Canadian credit, but no established credit state-side.

Any thoughts or advice? Thanks in advance and happy holidays.

Trying to get a mortgage these days is like trying to get blood from a stone apparently. And if you're a student with no significant income, it'll be even harder I imagine. Gone are the days of no money down and banks trying to help anyone own their own home. And those days are not likely to return I'm afraid.

The problem with medical degree programs in the US is that the IRS will only allow you to file on 1040NR and 8843 for five years, which means after that date you can no longer claim to be a non-resident student for US income tax purposes. This means if you have an EAD you have to pay the FICA taxes, plus if you have a US scholarship it's subject to standard taxation. If you still claim residency abroad then people abroad can still give you money, but it's subject to the tax laws of that country. But it's not US-source so it's not subject to US tax.

I would have thought by now that you have some sort of credit history, the problem is going to be your employment history and whether they consider it significant enough that you're a good credit risk.

Hi Everyone
This is just CURRENT info (as of June, 2009) that may help someone out. My husband and I were just in San Diego and Las Vegas putting offers on properties.

Firstly, we got a mortgage with BANK OF AMERICA but it's running out NOW. So don't expect to get an American mortgage even with good credit. It is the last "A-paper" (basically, regular bank) lender that will give "non-resident/alien" mortgages (according to our mortgage lender). And they have had meetings about stopping this - and stopping this SOON. That said, we are qualified for one right now (for a second/vacation home) but still have to put 35% down and we have good/perfect credit. And they won't OK for that much... even with 35% down. But right now is the last chance for a typical/market rate loan. At least in California, to the best of our knowledge.

That said, you can still get a "hard-money" lender to back a loan at 8-11% interest and 50 to 60% down payment (which to me seems like a loan shark). All around, seems dodgy.

Secondly, we have an offer in Las Vegas as prices are ridiculously cheap. We have an offer on a 3-bedroom, 1250sq.ft. condo that's a foreclosure (at $49,900) but there are multiple offers on everything if it's in a nice area. They go QUICKLY. There are many, many, many places for sale so really know your areas as most of it's dodgy.

That's about it for now. I used this website as a starting point (thanks again, Steve) last fall and we're just going from there. My husband is convinced that prices still have a ways to go down, but for $50,000 we couldn't resist making an offer. Fingers crossed.

Secondly, we have an offer in Las Vegas as prices are ridiculously cheap.

Like I said further back, there's a reason they're ridiculously cheap. I gave up on Las Vegas, it's just a minefield with property there because most of the neighbourhoods are really new and you have no idea what's going to end up happening to them. And the property taxes are much higher than in Arizona.

So although driving down Hwy 89 is going to suck big time I think if I buy another property down there it's going to be somewhere in Arizona.

Steve you're totally right - you have to be prepared to lose your money (I sure wouldn't get a mortgage there -- not that we even could ). Another huge consideration is the "HOA" (Home Owner's Association) - basically our equivalent of a strata - could be broke now or anytime in the future because if people can't pay their mortgage, they aren't paying their HOA dues!

Would it be advised to register a limited company in USA and buy your house through the company? Then lawsuits ..ie from tenant would be limited? Has anyone done this ? Looking for info on this.
I am thinking of buying a house in the Phoenix area of Surprise. If anyone can assist me that would be great.