New member from Canada interested in the US Market!

[Francis Faucher]

Hi everyone, my name is Francis. I'm from Montreal, Canada. 

I've been investing in real estate for more than a decade now. Worked on most asset classes in Canada (ground-up dev, multifamily, single-family homes, hotels, commercial properties, industrial, etc). Even launched and managed several real estate funds.

I specialize in various aspects of commercial real estate investment, like market analysis, financial modeling, debt modeling, risk management, portfolio optimization, etc. 

Why the US market and not stick to Canada's market ? Well, the list is really long. Simply put, there's so much difference economically wise, politically wise (depending on states), financially wise and ease to operate, even remotely. 

For now, I sort of want to start "small" and I'm looking to build a portfolio of single family homes in areas with good price-to-rent ratio where there's good cash flow and low price. I've looked at several sectors like Birmingham AL, Memphis TN, and several other. I'd love to have your input on these market and other market you would recommend. Also looked for Florida's market (we did some land entitlement project in the past over there).

If you also have good direct lender for foreigners I would appreciate the referral. I plan to buy, rehab and refinance. The acquisition will most likely be 100% cash, as well as rehab (simply because I want to make cash offers and be able to close in a couple days). 

I would also like to have your opinion in terms of structure. I use to do business via a C Corp, but because of the FAPI rules, the tax deductions have been lowered to 1.9x instead of 4x. So, to reduce overall taxes and to avoid double taxation, I think I should do it via an LLC that flows through directly to me. But then, some would argue that instead of LLCs (costly), I should hop for an Umbrella Insurance.

I'm starting to build my network in the US, so feel free to connect, I'd be more than happy to chat! 

Thanks!

Francis