US Citizen buying property in Alberta, Canada

[T Payne]

I'm a US Citizen who's looking to buy a condo in Calgary/Edmonton, Canada. Also, I would like to use the condo as an investment property (i.e. rent it out long term).

- Can i use a US Bank to finance the property in Canada?

- What tax considerations do i need to be aware of for a rental property in Canada?

- Is it a painful process?

If anyone has gone through this process, please do share the details/resources with me. Thanks

[Scott Isbister]

T Payne:

Can i use a US Bank to finance the property in Canada?

Try RBC or BMO - they have north american networks.  Also RBC has a great banking network that when set up will allow you to bank, transfer money, pay bills, and hold bank accounts on both sides.  

- What tax considerations do i need to be aware of for a rental property in Canada?  

I have had experience with properties in both US and Canada.  As an investment property in Canada you will have to file income tax both with the IRS and CRA.  You will likely have to hire someone to file on your behalf.  With the tax treaty you do not pay double tax.

- Is it a painful process?  Its not painful, just extra steps and getting familiar with the process.   

Raising capital through banks cross border is tougher.  In many instances the banking officer you approach won't realize they offer the cross border services 

If anyone has gone through this process, please do share the details/resources with me.

Financial considerations of investment property in Canada:

* depending on what market you are coming from in US, you will generally find investment properties make more sense in US than in Alberta from a ROI. Reasons: less capital requirement and lower carrying costs in US (taxes, insurance , interest, etc). If I were you I would see if RBC will allow you to borrow up here. That way you have a mortgage denominated in Canadian dollars and it will match the C$ rental income stream. One drawback is most Canadian banks you can only lock in your interest rate for 7 years. In the US, you can lock in for 25 years. So you are assuming significantly more interest rate risk up here. In Alberta, the insurance costs have gone up quite significantly the last year. In some instances, went up 60% year over year. Make sure you check this out in advance to ensure the numbers make sense to your investment.