All Forum Posts by: Lisa Mauritis

Hi Daniel,

Welcome to BP.  I am trying to buy in the Miami area as well and am finding it difficult.  I was searching for properties on Craigslist and found 2 properties that sounded great.  The problem was that  the people that posted the adds were not the property owners and just ended up disappearing.  With the 3rd property I tried to buy the realtor (who became my agent) didn't send me the offer before the offer submission deadline.  

I guess the moral of the story is that if you want to buy in Miami, you can't give up.  The first property I bought took me 5 months to close on (it was a short sale).

Good luck!

Lisa

Amazing!!!  Your deal is very inspirational!!!  Hopefully I will soon be able to share a success story like yours.

Lisa (stuck in analysis paralysis)

Congrats! @Joshua Dorkin and thank you for all your hard work to make real estate investing accessible to all.

@Nat C. @Jessica Swingle I Really want to thank every in the forum for their input especially Nat Chan for starting this discussion and Jessica Swingle, @kanise kelley for the great info!!!!!

How should I prepare to make deals (buying fix & flips and buy and hold properties) quickly.  

I will be in the area of the US (Miami/FortLauderdale) where I want to invest in fix and flips and buy and hold and I will be there for approx 2 weeks.  I am hopping to pick up at least 1 property.  I have cash money (hopefully only to use for down payment and repairs).  Aside from being approved by a hard money lender, how can I analyze the deal on the spot so that I can make an offer as soon as I see the property.  

I am trying to be pre approved by a hard money lender (if you are a hard money lender, please contact me).  I will be with my partner who is a building contractor (so he can determine the cost of repairs instantly).  How can I get comps in the neighborhood without the help of a realtor (just using my iPhone or my computer).  Also, is there anything else that I will need to know so that I can make an offer on a GOOD investment on the spot?

Thank you to all for passing down your expertise in this area.  I hope one day I can do the same for someone else.

That's amazing!!!!

Hi All,

My name is Lisa and I am just starting to invest in the US market for profit.

I live in Canada for 6 months and florida for 6 months and have been doing this for the last 4 years.  I have 1 property in florida for my own personal use.  During the last 4 years, I have been looking / studying the the investment scene in the US (mainly Florida - because of all the short sales and foreclosures).  My boyfriend is a building contractor and home inspector and we have decided to get into fix and flips, and rental properties (possibly section 8's). 

My challenge is that, before I can analyse a property for profit, I would need to know if we will incur the extra expense of paying tax to the Canadian government on each of the American investments.  I know that if we Canadians start to make profit from investments in the US we have to get an ITIN number (tax #) and pay taxes there.    I also heard that we will have to pay taxes to the government of Canada for the profits we earn in the US.   If I am understanding this correctly, we will be doubled taxed on the profits.  If this is the case, I would think that the tax in Canada should be included in the analysis to determine what the maximum purchase price is on property should be.  

Can someone confirm the 'double taxing'? Is there any way around this? For example, if you make the money in the US and leave it there, does the Canadian government have the right to tax you on money made and left in the US? Should the property be purchased under an American Business, ie either just a registered business (or an LLC which I believe is the equivalent to an incorporated Canadian company) or should the be property purchased under a Cdn registered business or Incorporation?

Thanks in advance for advice.

Hi Jonathan,

My boyfriend is and has been a contractor for 30 years. He has of reno/rehabs during the 30 years. I have been around for many of them. From my observation, there always seems to be unexpected surprises during the reno/rehab that will extend the duration and increase the cost of the reno. To make money on a flip, both staying within in budget and reno / rehab time frame are a factor. To be successful in doing reno / rehab flips, I would partner (JV)with a very experienced contractor.

Lisa

Toronto &  Miami /Fort Lauderdale