How can I start out with cash in hand, but without income?

[Oscar Adams]

Hi folks,

I am an early 30s male from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This is my first post and I'm very happy and proud to be part of such an exciting and inspiring community.

I'm looking to invest in rental real estate in the United States, mainly because most markets in Canada are overpriced to high heavens, and finding something cash flow positive is next to impossible.

I have around $300k USD in cash and liquid assets that I set apart for this purpose. I have a stock portfolio and some other assets as well so I could come up with a bit more if I needed to.

My question would be, how feasible is it for someone in my position to start investing in U.S. real estate? I realize that finding financing will be harder due to having no W-2 income. I am looking to find out what financing options are available to me, and some advice on how I should proceed in my situation. I've owned residential real estate before (in Europe) and even renovated it myself and refinanced it, so I kind of know what I'm in for. However I'm not familiar with the U.S. process on anything real estate related. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible before I start planning anything.

I was recently laid off from my software engineering job here in Canada. I'm collecting unemployment (from Canada) at the moment, but I'm also looking for jobs in my field at the same time. Currently, I'm looking for jobs in my field in the United States for the sole purpose of having documented W2 income that I can use for financing real estate purchases. My end goal is to have a real estate portfolio that I can retire from.

I signed up for U.S. credit cards to build my credit score there and currently I have a U.S. FICO score of 730. My Canadian score is 800 (our range is 300 to 900) Lastly, I'm a Canadian citizen and I have no debt.

I would greatly appreciate any advice!

Sincerely

Oz