All Forum Posts by: James Ma

Hi Elizabeth,

I am from Canada so not sure if things differ in NY - Sounds like your purchase required a board to review your application before you could buy? Sounds like a place I wouldn't want to buy as the selling process for you in the future whenever you decide to sell could be quite frustrating and inflexible while scaring away potential buyers because of the extra hassle.

I have bought a probate estate sell before  - unfortunately it can take a while depending on how fast it clears the courts and that is out of the control of the lawyers. I was also under contract as well to basically buy and have to wait it out as we did not put a set close date into the contract and it was assumed that 14 days post-probate approval we would do possession and statement of adjustments. Because of this though, I was able to get a great deal on the place.

The story did have a happy ending (so far anyway) - after 3 months the probate cleared and we closed, the property had appreciated about 10% in value and having already bought about 15% below market value- it's ROI has been great! It is also rented out and cash flow positive. Hopefully your story works out in the end too!

You can find cashflow positive properties in BC still but have to look outside of the lower mainland. From what I've read it doesn't cashflow anywhere near as good as opportunities in the states but we have much stronger appreciation. 

The main thing holding me back from investing in the states is having to build a completely new network and still have to look into the tax implications and how it affects ROI as I know Canadians end up having to pay tax to both the US/Can Gov't for rental properties in the US

I think you hit the nail on the head that it just depends how good of an investor you are at stocks vs real estate. Some people (a very small number) will make more at stocks than real estate.

One of the biggest reasons I find that people are more drawn to stocks than RE is the simplicity - no need to look for a property, manage tenants, fix problems etc.

Great job Sofia looking for properties that cashflow instead of simply buying into lower mainland like most people who speculate or don't consider ROI at all.

From my conversation at banks in BC, it seems like they require 25% downpayment for investment properties. I'm not sure how much the credit history will impact you, but income is definitely the standard banks use when giving out mortgages. Even if you have a ton of savings but low income, they won't approve a very high mortgage for you.