All Forum Posts by: Suzanne P.

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. I just came back from my trip to the US and I actually had no problem getting across the border. I told the agents the truth, that it was a mixed leisure/business trip, told them that I own some properties in the US that I am going to visit and I had no problem. I did not volunteer any additional information other than what was asked, but I had all my corporate and property ownership documents with me, just in case.

Many thanks again for all the helpful comments.

As a Canadian resident and recent flip investor I will be travelling to the United States next week to visit my properties (which are in the final stages of completion) and to have meetings with my hard money lender, real estate agent and construction manager. With increased security checks and immigration issues in the United States, what do I need to tell the border officers when I cross the border (by car)? 

Do I need a special visa (B1 working visa)? The purpose of my trip is actually two-fold - I will be spending 2 days purely for leisure doing some sightseeing and I will have 3 days with property visits and meetings. My properties are owned by a US corporation which is owned by my Canadian corporation, so I do not derive income directly from the US but only through profits that are repatriated to Canada which are then paid out to me by my Canadian company, not my US company. 

What kind of documents should I bring to as backup? I could bring the HUD statements (showing ownership of the US properties), my US incorporation documents, my Canadian incorporation document (the Canadian company that owns my US business), information about the ownership of my house in Canada (to prove I have existing ties to Canada and no intent of relocating to the United States, etc.)

I am a little apprehensive of this and i want to make sure that I do everything correctly so I will not have any problems in the future with crossing the US border. Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide quickly (since I will be leaving on Monday...).

Hi Lee, good to hear from you. I'd love to learn more about the services you offer. Please send me a private message when you have a chance. Thanks in advance...

Thank you for your input, @Larry Fried. Yes, we will definitely be using a project manager on our first few properties; I think its definitely worth the money to have an expert on the ground managing the construction process with vetted contractors. I also find markets are tight in many areas with investors competing for inventory which makes it much harder to do a flip. I fully appreciate and agree with your comments.

Thank you, @Manolo D., for your input. My concern is the timeline for getting a scope of work / estimate when buying a property from a wholesaler. I would imagine that other investors might be able to move on a property quicker than 72 hours. I am not sure how to get around that. The Scope of Work service mentioned above is a paid service as well, so I realize that it will be necessary to compensate a contractor for their time in creating the S.o.W. / estimate. 

Hi Jeff, we are in the same position. I am also planning a research trip to Indy over the next few weeks. Why don't we have a chat about this in the next couple of weeks? Feel free to PM me so we can set something up.

Thank you so much, @Darren Finney, for your reply and I will definitely send you a message so we can connect. I look forward to talking with you.....

My colleague and I are planning to start flip investing in Indianapolis very soon and we are looking for reliable contractors and/or project managers. Also, since we will be buying from wholesalers we would need contractors who would be willing to go into properties and give us a reliable estimate / scope of work quickly so we don't lose out on a good opportunity. I'd appreciate any other suggestions for getting estimates and scopes of work quickly.

There is a local company called Bildwise that offers project management services. They also offer a scope-of-work service but it could take up to 72 hours, which I think may be too long to move on a property quickly. 

I am wondering if anyone has an opinion of whether it is feasible to work directly with a contractor without having a separate third party project manager. These renovations would be out-of-state / out-of-country projects since my partner and I are both located in Toronto. We both have real estate investing experience in the United States and have done remote flips in different locations, but I realize it's always best to have boots on the ground. The key question is whether we could find a good and reliable contractor that we can work with directly.

Thank you in advance for any input on good contractors / fast estimates and construction management issues in Indianapolis.

Thank you for your reply, @Samantha Soto. I'd love to hear more about your company's services and it would be great to meet during my upcoming trip to Indianapolis. Please send me a private message so we can set something up. I look forward to talking with you.

Thank you, @Jorge Ruiz, for your comments. We are in touch with Brett and Ritch already. They have been recommended by several people, so I definitely appreciate the additional input. It's always great when several people identify the same people as good contacts in a market. 

Many thanks and all the best to you for your investing plans.