Canadian looking for info on setting up US corporation for REI

[Account Closed]

Hey Everyone,

I am a Calgary resident, Canadian citizen looking for primary resources on the limitations of US real estate investing as a Canadian. My plan is to set up a C Corporation in the state I'm most interested in investing in (looks like Montana at this point). I am looking for credible sources on the following topics:

1) The cost of setting up a C Corp in Montana

2) US rules about foreign nationals owning a US C Corp to do business (my research can only go so far when looking at what C Corporations can do, but I'm sure there are limitations because the owner and president would be a Canadian citizen)

3) How C Corporations can get a mortgage, rules around Private Money investing (in Canada they are pretty strict), rules around Hard Money Investing.

4) Double taxation with Corporations.

5) Anything else you think I should know about this particular situation, or even if you live in Montana, give me a shout!

I'm looking to a lot of research upfront and make sure I have a relatively solid plan of attack before I hire a Cross-Border specialist for $100 an hour. I am starting to analyze deals, but getting financing as a Corp will be difficult. What bank will take me with no assets?

[Mazen Al Ashkar]

@Account Closed provided massive value but one thing i would add is to consider shifting your focus more on getting started than nailing down the right structure with all the combinations for taxes, etc... 

You mentioned 2 things that caught my attention. 

1) You can get great deals (I'm assuming you can qualify/quantify a good deal) 

2) You have excellent credit in Canada, can you not take a line of credit from Canada to finance and then refi in the US after seasoning with solid rents?

Personally, i setup a LP with 1% General partner being a LLC for liability protection. This way i avoid double taxation on the 99% of the partnership and 1% of LLC, i just have to eat it.

Again, i think you can get started much sooner thank you think if you just focus on the 80/20. 

Hope this helps