All Forum Posts by: Brianne H.

@Jonathan Leblond thanks! Yes so far I'm finding Canadian banks would only be willing to lend on a vacation home. Are you finding it's the smaller local banks that are more open to foreigners, or private lenders? 

@Elijah Williamson I think you're onto something if you plan to stay in the area. If not, property management might with a little different but wouldn't be impossible. I'm pretty sure there was a podcast about a lady in I want to say Saskatoon area? She was doing very well in her market. I'm a little East of Calgary where prices start to come down a bit, but in all honesty I hadn't looked into rural areas very much because of the issues you mentioned, but the price point is better. Where did you find most of those example deals, on the MLS or privately?

Thank you @Michael Wong, I was looking into a few of the Canadian banks today and getting some odd responses. Their initial response was sorry no we don't lend on US properties, and then after some digging and approaching them again with webpages that indicate they do, they came back and said you'll need to talk to our US locations about that - definitely going to pursue it, but just seems weird they wouldn't be wanting to promote their financial services. 

Hi, I'm ready to start buying BRRRRs in the US, but I'm trying to get my financing in order first. As an international borrower, where are you getting financing from? US banks? If so, what sort of rates and terms are you looking at? I haven't found any Canadian banks willing to lend on US property as they aren't able to place a lien if needed, yet I seem to remember hearing of Canadian banks financing in the US. Thanks!

@Adam McInnes 19 bedrooms?! I'd be interested in seeing how that's set up... and the parking! That might be one of your biggest hurdles, besides neighbours who might (likely) complain and dealing with the city. Which neighbourhood? 

However if it can still work as a regular 4-plex, I'd look into it. I think if all units are rented out by the bedroom it's going to be a madhouse. You could possibly try doing 3 units as regular rentals, and 1 as a student/roommate rental, and see how it works and what cashflow/turnover actually look like, and then go from there. 

@Jesse Graham one thing to be aware of, wherever you decide to invest, is to read the entire landlord-tenant act for the province. Besides BC having more tax on the front end when purchasing a property, they have some of the most tenant-friendly laws you can find. Good luck to you trying to remove/evict a tenant that knows their rights and wants to be difficult. Disputes are handled through arbitration (read some past cases to see how biased the arbitrators are - who also have who knows what qualifications and you permitted to record the session.) and not the court. My parents recently went through this for months with their rental on Vancouver Island. It was only through a stroke of luck their tenant ended up leaving, and I consider them EXTREMELY lucky that he only left a filthy mess and didn't pay the last half-month's rent.

Because of the extra taxes and the tenant friendly laws, and compared to AB, I don't think there could be a deal good enough for me to want to park my money in an investment there, but that's just me, and something to be aware of.

To make a long story short, last year (fall 2018) we had hired a contractor to build a garage, and materials that were paid for and "ordered" never showed up. This was my first serious bad experience with a contractor, and despite checking references, having a written contract, and this being a friend of an acquaintance, let's just say there were some lessons learned of what not to do, and leave it at that. 

Here's my question though, is it worth it to go after him in court? Some important factors to note:

- Since this happening, I'm not the first person this has happened to, he's ripped off at least 20+ other people I can get in contact with. (Makes me feel only slightly better). 

- Outstanding amount I'd go after him for is $19k. 

- It's my understanding that someone else took him to court and won (2-3 years ago?) and has a garnishment on his bank account, and might see a couple dollars here and there, but not much else. Would this person have first priority for wage garnishment? I'm not sure. 

- It's unclear if he works at a legit company any more as I've heard he's self employed now. 

- He recently separated from his wife and has 3 kids he no doubt will be obligated to pay child support to. 

- I suspect he has a LOT of other debts, and in our correspondence where he's admitted guilt, he's also said he has talked to a bankruptcy adviser, but can't yet bring himself to go down that road. Whether that's actually true or not, I suspect declaring bankruptcy would be in his best interest due to how many debts I suspect he has. If I get a court judgement against him, could that be wiped out with bankruptcy? 

- He owns nothing  - he rents, and doesn't have a vehicle that's worth much of anything. I don't even think he's got that many tools. 

- If I file in court, it's a $200 filing fee, plus then the time in court. I have no doubt I'll win, but collecting on a judgement is an entirely different story, and would I just be throwing good money after bad at that point? (Plus I also need to physically find him to serve him, and he's not at the address I have listed for him.) Also I'm going to be having a baby this summer, who will require several surgeries, so trying to get to court (who knows how long of a wait) between all of this is going to be more challenging that usual. The statute of limitations is 2 years, so I still have a little over a year. 

- In December, after promising he'd repay the money owed (everything is by email so I have it in writing) I received a $1000 e-transfer from his wife (right before they separated). That's the only money I ever saw from any promised repayments. 

- If you're thinking, "Why don't you just report him and the police will get him for fraud?" I did, which I how I learned he's done this to many others. However, because A) we have a contract, and B) He showed up on the job site at least once, it's a civil, contract issue, and not a criminal one and they can't charge him for fraud. (Welcome to Canada, where you can do whatever you want and at most, get a slap on the wrist.)  

So based on all of this, in your opinion is it worth it to try and pursue this? $19k is a significant amount to me, and I have everything documented and in writing so I'm certain I'll win... but will he just turn around and claim bankruptcy? Am I throwing good money after bad? $200 filing fee is one thing, if I had to get a process server to try and track him down they quoted me around $300-400. Plus the timing sucks to try and go to court, and it'll likely be a couple months waiting time at least. But the possibility of being able to recoup some of that cost is enticing. 

Hi @Dale Barber, I am also in the Calgary area. I've done 3 live in flips and just finished off our principal residence, which was buying raw land and moving an older bungalow onto a new foundation. 

@Svetlana Ivanova you could probably find some savings in cutting back on the life insurance. You said the three of you are insured and with 2 policies? What do you mean by that? My husband and I got 20 year term life insurance 4 years ago. For a healthy 23 and 27 year old, we only pay $64/m CAD together for $435k each in coverage.

I think it would be a terrible idea to go without medical insurance. I'm not American and have never had to deal with the insurance system there, but going insurance-less seems like a BIG stupid risk when you could be a car accident or an illness away from financial devastation. I'm currently a healthy (thank goodness) 27 year old, and pregnant. Found out 2 months ago that baby has a severe heart condition which best case scenario will require multiple surgeries and hospital stays. If I lived in the US with no insurance, this could easily be $800,000+. How is anyone going to be able to overcome that if you don't have insurance? Things happen that sometimes you have no control over. Even with insurance that's going to be a LOT of money out of pocket. The thing I am most thankful for right now is that these surgeries are covered and won't cost me anything. You can certainly check into other insurance options and see what's covered, difference in the deductible amount, etc, but don't get rid of it entirely.

@Chad U. thanks for the info! Yes I definitely plan to talk to an accountant before jumping in. Way too many things I don't know!