All Forum Posts by: Brianne H.

@Jeff Wallenius I am still researching various areas, but looking at Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kansas City, possibly NC or Ohio.  Ideally AZ or NV but from what I've heard those markets came and went already. 

Drat, I was hoping there was a way to do it that I wasn't aware of. Oh well, I guess we'll go the traditional sale route, thank you for the reply. 

I am selling a house (technically a primary residence, but it's a finished flip) and I am wondering if there's a way to do the following: 

An option I would like to consider is selling the house with $0 down for the buyer. Ideally the buyer would have decent credit and income, they just haven't saved up a 5% down payment. If I sell the house for $375k, I would keep 5% ($18,750) in the deal (their down payment), and they would get a mortgage for 95% of the loan. The 5% down would be registered on title as a caveat/encumbrance to be paid out when they sell or refi, with a small % of the equity that's building up in the property, in exchange for keeping the 5% in the deal. 

Benefits are I would be walking away now with an amount of profit I'm happy with, and my money in the property is slowly growing over time. The buyer is able to buy a house now without needing to save for a few years, and they would just pay their closing costs. This is quite similar to how the Attainable Homes Program works, but with a few differences. 

Now my question is, how to make this work? Any mortgages that are over 80% LTV require CMHC or Genworth insurance, and I'm thinking they're going to frown on the 5% not coming from the buyer's own funds. Will the buyer have any issues getting a mortgage for it? Is it easy enough to come up with an agreement between seller and buyer for the 5% down payment that gets registered on title? Is there anything I'm missing? Thanks in advance

Ultimately I do not want to be a registered owner on title (I want to move on to other properties and don't want this to affect my debt ratios), and I would like to walk away with cash from the appreciation from the flip. 

Following. I am also from Calgary and looking to invest in rentals in the US. 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but how did he go from $39,500 for the first house 10 mins after leaving that property, to $24,000 for the written bid? Some change in price is to be expected when he gets a chance to actually sit down and break the numbers down, but that's a huge price difference... nearly half. And the first number he gave you seems extremely high to me. First reg flag. After having a chance to think those numbers through, nothing is broken down, not necessarily line by line, but at least into projects/categories. Red flag number 2. Charging $150 for a written bid is red flag #3 to me. Unless it's a common thing elsewhere that I'm not aware of, providing estimates is part of the job, and it's quite common to get several estimates for a project. Not every estimate a contractor gives will turn into them getting the bid, but that's the nature of the job. I've never paid for someone to give me an estimate. I would get a couple more people out to look at the properties and don't be paying for any more estimates. 

Thank you for the replies. I don't have any intention of moving to the US so would the correct term to use when looking for financing be non-owner occupied? 

@Allan Snow is LP Limited Partnership? I haven't looked into this yet but do you have any more info on why an LLC might be double taxed by not an LP? Are we talking about Canadian or American LLCs?

@Kate Stephens Good to know it can be done without being physically present if necessary! 

So what about this 45-60 days to secure a mortgage that I've read in multiple places? How does that work? Is it only for foreigners or Americans as well? 

Good to know, I wasn't aware of 1-4 family still being considered single family. Seems a little odd that a 4 plex would be considered by most to be single family, but if that's the way they see it, I'll make sure to refer to it as such. 

Thank you for the replies! The lenders list is very helpful, I will check into some of them. 

Hi, I am fairly new to BP and am considering investing in the US. I am quite familiar with financing options and rules in Canada, but the US is a totally different ball game. I'm still in the process of just starting out and researching different markets, but I would like to buy small multis (duplex/triplex/4 plex) for our first few investments. 

I'm wondering what options are out there for financing to foreigners - I am Canadian, my husband is British (and Canadian permanent resident). From what I've read, there's usually an extra 1-2% interest charge for conventional mortgages. What options are there for <20% down payment? What other options are out there that would be ideal for financing a rental that I may not be aware of? 

I've heard mortgages in the US take 45-60 days to process (!) Is it that long for everyone, or just non-Americans? How does that work? Is the property still only conditionally sold until the mortgage is fully processed, 2 months after you've put in an offer? Is it also true you have to be physically present in the title office on closing day? 

If a new corporation was to buy the property, how does financing work for that? Am I correct to assume that the corporation would still need to be backed by a personal guarantee? If the property is in a corporation's name, is it acceptable to have only one shareholder sign all the documents and be present on closing? 

Thank you for any answers and advice! 

Thank you for the replies, that's some very good information. I never even thought about doing digital locks or thermostats before, but I'm sure it makes it a lot easier. 

Unfortunately self-managing isn't an option, as any vacation property in my area is at least 1.5 hours away, and probably not the most profitable investment. Thank you for the information, it's very helpful!