Starting out as a Candian looking to invest in the USA

[Ugo O.]

Hello everyone,

Longtime lurker here, I've been educating myself about the space and saving up capital to start my real estate journey. My goals are primary to BRRR and value-add. Basically to buy a property below market value, add value/equity, rent, and refinance, however, I do want to draw out a lot of my capital or leave at most 20-30k in the property (or whatever the more experienced people think).

Because of my goal, the Canadian real estate market doesn't seem particularly great for this, especially with the overwhelming average and median prices of homes, so I believe it would be in my best interest to invest in the US market which has much better prices and can give you a better bang for your buck. I believe that starting out, you would need to find an investor lawyer and accountant to help you set up the legal entities in both countries, then research your market, find financing, build a team, and so on. 

I would love to hear from more experienced people who have done the following in the past, what your thoughts are, and any advice you could provide

[Michael Smythe]

@Ugo O. you'll also need to setup ownership paperwork for USA properties!

Couple of different ways to do that:)

Many parts of the USA don't have cashflowing Class A rentals currently.

So, recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.

If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.

So, when investing in areas they don’t really know, investors should research the different property Class submarkets.

Here’s our OPINION for the Metro Detroit market (use as a template for your target area!) that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases.:

Class A Properties:
Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.
Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.
Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+, zero evictions in last 7 years.

Class B Properties:
Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.
Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.
Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680, some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 years

Class C Properties:
Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation. Can try to reposition to Class B, but neighborhood may impede these efforts.
Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, but 15-20% should be used to also cover tenant nonpayment, eviction costs & damages.
Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores of 560-620, many blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 2 years. Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important! Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.

Class D Properties:
Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with zero or negative relative rent & value appreciation
Vacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.
Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560, little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions. Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.

Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.

What else can we assist you with?