Canadian Investor Scenario

[Justin Currie]

Hello all, 

I have been involved with many investments but am looking for my first REI venture. I'm in Calgary, AB and have two possible scenarios to jump in to the market.

1. Buy in Calgary as a permanent residence and do a flip. ($670,000 pre-approval)

          - Problem: After down payment and money being allocated to other areas, I will not have an extra $50,000 for renovations. In my market, adding reno's to the mortgage results in huge penalties when selling. What are my options to finance renovations? 

          - It is also risky in my market as renting isn't really an option with a minimal down payment as the cap rates are extremely low. 

2. Invest in the US market. With some of the lower prices it's feasible to put 25% down payments on properties. With the higher cap rates it seems to offset the higher interest rate and poor Canadian dollar. Also securing a mortgage with a US bank would only require me to pay the dollar difference on the initial down payment. 

A couple members on here have reached out on other posts who I plan on getting in contact with to explore options.

Any recommendations on my scenario?