Canadians Snap Up U.S. Properties

[KevinSolomon]

[quote user=KevinSolomon]I agree. Looking at the linked articles apparently the "few" include Baltimore, Philadelphia, Hernando and Pasco County (Tampa); which are all offering 20% gross rental yields.



PS: Which Canadian "Top 10" city is offering 15%-19.9% gross rental yields at the moment?





The following are U.S. cities that offer double digit gross rental yields.



Omaha, Nebraska narrowly misses with 9.9%. Other cities include Charleston (South Carolina), Columbus (Ohio), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Columbia (Souh Carolina), Washington DC & Arlington (Virginia), Gainesville (Florida), Greenville (South Carolina), Sioux City (Iowa), and Anderson (South Carolina).



The 10 Best Places To Become A Landlord



PS: Which Canadian "Top 10" city is offering 10%-14.9% gross rental yields at the moment?

 

[AndyLuchies]

I'm not sure if this post is going to help. I'll be honest. I have limited time to surf the web each night so I didn't bother to read all the posts before me (sorry).

I am an American citizen living in Ontario and so after joining REIN, I invested in the States in spite of all Don's warnings against it....and I paid through the nose, lol.



I'm sure people can make tonnes if you're willing to do the homework, but I didn't do enough and ended up losing about $30,000 all told by the time I got out. The upside in all this is that I was able to do a good deed and give a house away to the tenants in the process! So maybe God will bless me in return, haha.



The most fun part of American property is clearly the taxes. If you don't have an accountant who knows what he's doing, don't even bother looking. If you have questions about american tax, don't even start looking at the deals. Don't invest south of the border until you have no more questions about tax implications of buying, selling and renting property down south. It's less profitable than you think unless you cut corners.



Also.... didn't help that the guy I bought property through is now in jail....quite a hilarious story once you get past the $30,000 in the hole.



Anyway, no more time to rant. Just be careful. Like anything, if you do it smart it can work, but please ask yourself the great Donald Trump question: "What are you pretending not to see?" If these deals are so great, why are they hanging around long enough for Canadians to catch wind of them?

 

[jeffjas]

I'm sorry about your US real estate experience, however you are making the process of investing in the US sound very complicated and worrisome when it isn't. Your experience is an exception and not the norm.

 

[KevinSolomon]

Can you provide REIN forum members with any useful information about how they can avoid your alleged $30k pitfall?



[quote user=housingrental]

He's not sharing with us


[quote user=ChrisDavies]

Giving the benefit of the doubt.

 

[AndyLuchies]

I'm not sure why your question is phrased with the adjective "alleged." It seems absurd to me that someone would take the time to post on a real estate investors website about a failure that isn't real. Why would I make myself look like an idiot to my peers? I'm not selling anything; I have nothing to gain by telling some of my story. You may not know me on this forum yet, but others do. For me to lie or exaggerate a story of failure in my life would tarnish my reputation and my honor (with no upside) to leaders in the real estate community. My moral character is worth significantly more than my asset base and certainly more than a story.



The only advice I'll give is to do your homework as previously stated (especially regarding taxes). I'm obviously not against investing; I own rental property. My only purpose in posting was to let anyone who's following the thread but lacks experience recognize that its not as easy as it looks. You can always lose what you invest-- sometimes under circumstances you don't fully control. I'm only hoping that someone who is as eager as I was 10 years ago, doesn't get into investing in a foreign country with their head in the clouds.



I assumed that was a pretty uncontentious statement.

 

[KevinSolomon]

I mean no offense. The reason I used the term "alleged" can best be explained by quotes used by REIN members earlier in this thread (since it appears to apply):



[quote user=housingrental]He's not sharing with us


[quote user=ChrisDavies]Giving the benefit of the doubt.





[quote user=GaryMcGowan]It is unwise to take advice from people that can not articulate and back up what they are saying.





[quote user=jeffjas]I'm sorry about your US real estate experience,
however you are making the process of investing in the US sound very
complicated and worrisome when it isn't. Your experience is an exception
and not the norm.





Please feel free to address the aforementioned quotes with your experience in buying U.S. property. I'm sure that it would help many forum readers and REIN members.



With regards to your advice of readers doing their homework ("especially regarding taxes"), what has your homework yielded about owning U.S. property with regards to taxes? If nothing, then the advice doesn't really speak to anything since anybody could have given the advice of "doing their homework" with regards to anything under the sun. "Do your homework, especially regarding realtors". "Do your homework, especially regarding home inspections". "Do your homework, especially regarding foreign exchange". Ad naseum.



However I'm "Giving the benefit of the doubt" just in case you actually did some homework, "especially regarding taxes" that you would like to share since it would help readers of this thread.



So what insights are you referring to after making the specific
comment of doing homework, "especially regarding taxes"? I would be
interesting in knowing since I own a number of U.S. properties and my
accountant and I may find it helpful.

 

[Matt Crowley]

[quote user=AndyLuchies]My only purpose in posting was to let anyone who's following the thread but lacks experience recognize that its not as easy as it looks. You can always lose what you invest-- sometimes under circumstances you don't fully control.


Well said...from what I have seen Andy offer to this forum, he often carries good advice (backed by experience).



Risk = reward



Bigger yield =~ bigger risks



I agree to go in with your eyes open...and appreciate this is an advanced strategy. If you have never owned a property nearby, you don't really know how to manage a property. Same with a real estate agent who focuses on investment property (you may not know how to direct one)...and a real estate lawyer...and a tax accountant who specializes in cross-border transactions...and a renovator who is fair, does good work, and treats tenants with respect.



No matter how good your team is, you are always 100% on the line and accountable for every decision that is made in your business. The less you know about any one of these skillsets, the greater you enhance your risk. The fresher the relationships, the harsher the learning curve.



When you factor all of these learning curves in, you will substantially lower your expected yield when you go in as a "newbie".



However, there are pros out there. It's not in my wheelhouse to invest overseas, but if it were I'd align myself with a pro who has already done it and give up some upside to learn how to do it. I would anticipate you would probably lose less money to real estate expert payout than would be sacrificed by inexperience. I'd then decide whether to continue portfolio growth from there.



Just my two cents. There is no right answer on where or how to invest. Many roads to the same destination!

 

[KevinSolomon]

[quote user=SweetZone]Well said...from what I have seen Andy offer to this forum, he often carries good advice (backed by experience).


That is why I asked him about the specific experiences he has about
So
what insights are you referring to after making the specific
comment of doing homework, "especially regarding taxes"? - See more at:
http://myreinspace.com/public_forums/forums/public_forums/Real_Estate_Discussion/62-17378-152258-Canadians_Snap_Up_US_Properties.html#152258
buying U.S. property "especially regarding taxes". I think forum readers can learn a lot by the information that he has obtained "backed by experience".



Still waiting...



"Giving the benefit of the doubt..."

So
what insights are you referring to after making the specific
comment of doing homework, "especially regarding taxes"? - See more at:
http://myreinspace.com/public_forums/forums/public_forums/Real_Estate_Discussion/62-17378-152258-Canadians_Snap_Up_US_Properties.html#1522


[quote user=SweetZone]

Risk = reward



Bigger yield =~ bigger risks


It depends on an individual's definition of risk. Most individuals have a misguided definition of 'risk'. Most people see risk when prices drop. Most people see less risk when
prices rise. That's backwards. For better or worse, I'm not afflicted by this perception.



In 2010, I saw virtually no risk in investing in U.S. real estate; paying 5x gross rent for good properties in good neighbourhoods. So in 2010, only speaking for me, bigger yield = less risks.



[quote user=SweetZone]

I agree to go in with your eyes open...and appreciate this is an advanced strategy. If you have never owned a property nearby, you don't really know how to manage a property. Same with a real estate agent who focuses on investment property (you may not know how to direct one)...and a real estate lawyer...and a tax accountant who specializes in cross-border transactions...and a renovator who is fair, does good work, and treats tenants with respect.


No offense, but I've never knew how to manage a property before my investments in U.S. real estate and I still don't know how to manage a property. Only speaking for myself, that's not important.



I also didn't use a real estate agent who focuses on investment property. Why would I? I don't care about another investor's opinion. I just care about my own. It's also not their job. The job of my real estate agent is to check out properties/neighbourhoods that I tell them to check out. The numbers are my job.



With regards to a real estate lawyer or cross-border accountant. Well, those are a dime a dozen. I can Google for those. That's not important to me either.



And with regards to property management. I'm just looking for one with the contractor relationships as well as the other expertise that I need (leasing, evictions, cleaning, etc.)



With regards to treating tenants fairly: I treat them as fairly as they treat me.



[quote user=SweetZone]
No matter how good your team is, you are always 100% on the line and accountable for every decision that is made in your business. The less you know about any one of these skillsets, the greater you enhance your risk. The fresher the relationships, the harsher the learning curve.


I have absolutely zero knowledge of contracting work, property management, real estate law, cross-border accounting and everything else.



Again, speaking for myself, when the price of good properties in good neighbourhoods is 5x gross, there is virtually no risk.



Most people don't understand that, and then end up needing to have all this knowledge about contracting work, plumbing, property management, real estate law/evictions, lease agreements, cross-border accounting and all that time-consuming crap because they paid 10x gross.



If an investor pays 5x gross, all the expertise that I will ever need can be paid by the tenant. I neither have the time nor the inclination to learn all the stuff. My life is short and I live once. I collect the money, farm out the expertise, and live my life.



[quote user=SweetZone]

However, there are pros out there. It's not in my wheelhouse to invest overseas, but if it were I'd align myself with a pro who has already done it and give up some upside to learn how to do it. I would anticipate you would probably lose less money to real estate expert payout than would be sacrificed by inexperience. I'd then decide whether to continue portfolio growth from there.


I wouldn't do this.



This is just another objection that people throw up and call a 'reason' not to invest. They want somebody to hold their hand because they're not confident with their definition of risk nor are they confident of their calculations (which is basic arithmetic).



Just my two cents.



From direct experience.



[quote user=SweetZone]

Just my two cents. There is no right answer on where or how to invest. Many roads to the same destination!


True. I'm just not interested in the longer roads because my life is short and my time is my most precious commodity.

 

[REQRentals]

To be sure there were great buys in 2010 but to use them as a benchmark for current deals is a little like saying you bought the DOW @ 7000 when considering current stocks: If it is not a currently available option than neither does it seem a relavant comparison.



Even in 2010 if you did not rely on anyone other than yourself then how many times did you have to fly down to make all of these personal assessments ? And at what cost ? We regularly see people on "investment buying" trips looking for a $ 50K property and spending 10K in the process.



How many deals did you have to inspect in order to land each one that you bought ? In 2010 contractors had no work and would gladly run over and estimate the cost to renovate 6 or 7 REOs. in the hopes of getting one job. To do it now you have to renovate enough properties that you have staff contractors else you pay for a lot of inspections to get a single deal.



Do you pay the contractors or do you pay day labor and have you own commercial trade accounts with the suppliers so as to pay them directly on trade volume ? If you do not want to know anything about contracting or anything else than how do you either direct the labor or audit the expenses and work that was done ?



If you are no longer buying and renovating could you maintain sufficient volume to achieve cost parity with an organization that was actively renovating and building ?



By pooling resources, information and capital in a "cost based" structure you can achieve these and other benefits as well as discovering and participating in deals that you might never have thought of yourself:



For example you say you prefer the short road because life is short. To build a house is shorter.To build a bunch of them is shorter still and cheaper also. Very difficult to do without a lot of people working together.



And if you have all of this expertise and experience within your immediate organization is it not better to enlist as much of it as possible in pursuit of your (common) goals ? What is the benefit of treating everyone as mere instruments to execute your instructions ?



The reference to "hand-holding" would suggest that there is nothing to be gained from pooling capital and resources toward a common purpose nor any cost to pursuing an individualistic approach.



I would think it is a question of finding a balance between cost and benefit.



I certainly would not pay for anyone to hold my hand either.



If someone can make me more money however I will generally shake hands if I can come to favorable terms.

 

[KevinSolomon]

These are good questions. I'll try to provide some more clarity. Some of these questions have already been answered in this thread for anybody who is interested in digging through them.



[quote user=REQRentals]To be sure there were great buys in 2010 but to use them as a benchmark for current deals is a little like saying you bought the DOW @ 7000 when considering current stocks: If it is not a currently available option than neither does it seem a relavant comparison.


I wasn't making a comparison. I was stating how I determined at what price to buy.



What the market does, doesn't change at what price I will decide to buy.



I purchased stocks in 2009 (introduction of the TFSA made it an even more no-brainer) and US real estate in 2010 because my criteria was met in both asset classes at those times.



[quote user=REQRentals]
Even in 2010 if you did not rely on anyone other than yourself then how many times did you have to fly down to make all of these personal assessments ? And at what cost ? We regularly see people on "investment buying" trips looking for a $ 50K property and spending 10K in the process.


I bought sight unseen.



No no need to visit. Risk virtually non-existent.



My realtor and my PM were my boots on the ground.



[quote user=REQRentals]
How many deals did you have to inspect in order to land each one that you bought ?


I screened thousands of properties from home. I was given customized FlexMLS access from my realtor. Their MLS system is far more advanced than what is available to consumers in Canada. As you know, it's basically the equivalent of the land registry online.



I then sent a list of candidates to my realtor. We discussed and pared them further down. Then he organized the best way to visit each one to report back to me as soon as he could. I made a decision to move forward (or not).



I got a reasonable long-distance phone plan.



Rinse and repeat.



[quote user=REQRentals]In 2010 contractors had no work and would gladly run over and estimate the cost to renovate 6 or 7 REOs. in the hopes of getting one job. To do it now you have to renovate enough properties that you have staff contractors else you pay for a lot of inspections to get a single deal.


That sounds about right.



[quote user=REQRentals]Do you pay the contractors or do you pay day labor and have you own commercial trade accounts with the suppliers so as to pay them directly on trade volume ?


My PM has the contractor relationships. My PM pays the contractors when we both determine that the property needs it.



[quote user=REQRentals]If you do not want to know anything about contracting or anything else than how do you either direct the labor or audit the expenses and work that was done ?


Google and a phone can tell me virtually everything I need to know about what is involved in a fix.



I do not direct the labour nor do I want to.



My PM and I audit the expenses. My PM audits the work that was done.



[quote user=REQRentals]
If you are no longer buying and renovating could you maintain sufficient volume to achieve cost parity with an organization that was actively renovating and building ?


This factor isn't relevant to my buy-and-hold strategy. I buy when my criteria tells me to buy and I let cash pile up when it does not.



[quote user=REQRentals]By pooling resources, information and capital in a "cost based" structure you can achieve these and other benefits as well as discovering and participating in deals that you might never have thought of yourself:



For example you say you prefer the short road because life is short. To build a house is shorter.To build a bunch of them is shorter still and cheaper also. Very difficult to do without a lot of people working together.


I don't know how many people need to work together for any particular task. I am an investor. I deploy capital. That only requires me and some capital. Individuals who are interested in running a company and dealing with many people can do that if they wish. To each their own.



I retired at the age of 40. That's short enough for me. And back when I worked I never worked more than 20 hours a week. There's little incentive to work when the money is working. Others are more ambitious. To each their own.



[quote user=REQRentals]
And if you have all of this expertise and experience within your immediate organization is it not better to enlist as much of it as possible in pursuit of your (common) goals ?


I don't have any expertise and experience outside of knowing when to buy a small handful of specific types of assets.



From my experience, if I hit my buy criteria, I can pay for what I need without doing much work myself. The more I pay, the more that I will need to step in to minimize costs. I'm not interested in working like that.



I'm not sure to what common goals you are referring?



Everybody had a common goal to make money on a mutually beneficial basis.



[quote user=REQRentals]What is the benefit of treating everyone as mere instruments to execute your instructions ?


People and businesses offer their services at a price. Whether they are realtors, property managers, contractors, pest removal experts, lawyers, title companies, cross-border accountants, or whatnot. I just pay for what I need. When I need them. The benefit is that I get what I want and they get what they want. Everybody seems to be happy with that.



[quote user=REQRentals]
The reference to "hand-holding" would suggest that there is nothing to be gained from pooling capital and resources toward a common purpose nor any cost to pursuing an individualistic approach.


My reference to "hand-holding" wasn't meant to convey that impression. My reference to "hand-holding" was meant to convey my perspective that many individuals require all the lights on the street to show "green" before moving forward. It's not necessary to learn how to do what a PM, lawyer, accountant, contractor, or realtor do. That's a waste of my time. I just pay for the expertise that I need.



There are a lot of benefits to be gained from pooling capital. I simply choose not to pursue those kinds of benefits.



[quote user=REQRentals]I would think it is a question of finding a balance between cost and benefit.


Correct. I achieved my goals by using what I needed to use. No more. No less. Different people have different goals.



[quote user=REQRentals]If someone can make me more money however I will generally shake hands if I can come to favorable terms.





I'm not particularly interested in being a temporary custodian of more money at the moment. I'm sure it will happen anyway since compounding works that way.



And assets generally don't shake hands. If I notice something that hits my price, I'll buy it and throw it into the pile. Otherwise I'm focused on other things that are more important to me right now.

 

[REQRentals]

Yup. That is pretty well how it works.



But speaking as a realtor and PM it seems that you did place a good deal of reliance on yours. If they had been more specialized it might have saved you a lot of time.



The other day you commented favorably on some basic US tax questions I replied to.



Presumably you had to go through all of that stuff for yourself like the thousands of listings.



That is why people tend not to invest in foreign markets in my view:



Form what I can tell most people are looking to build a portfolio of properties to build personal wealth in or around the place where they have decided to live and raise a family etc.......So it is worth it to put in the time learning about management and the market and all of these other things they will eventually have to know anyway in order to pursue that goal.



If you are only looking to invest in a temporary situation to diversify an existing portfolio then I agree that it does not make that much sense to invest the time to learn all of this stuff.



Whatever your Realtor and PM could not tell you it appears that you had to learn for yourself.



And time as you say is a valuable commodity.

 

[KevinSolomon]

[quote user=REQRentals]But speaking as a realtor and PM it seems that you did place a good deal of reliance on yours. If they had been more specialized it might have saved you a lot of time.


It wouldn't have saved me any time because I don't trust anybody else to run the numbers.



With regards to my PM, I can't really argue. I only have the most generalized knowledge about what they're doing for me. There would be absolutely no way I would be as proficient at screening tenants, contracting, eviction and managing all the interconnecting trades and professionals. I have no interest there.



Also "saving time" wasn't a big concern. As you are quite familiar, the downturn lasted for years. Nobody was doing anything. It was a wasteland.



[quote user=REQRentals]The other day you commented favorably on some basic US tax questions I replied to.



Presumably you had to go through all of that stuff for yourself like the thousands of listings.


Not exactly. I was buying properties until tax time. I didn't concern myself with tax law because that information didn't concern me. The priority was landing the properties. When tax season eventually arrived I then asked my accountant how to sort it all out with the IRS/CRA.



The information that I learned from my accountant had no impact on my investing. That is, the knowledge isn't useful for an investor. It's just trivia. I just told my accountant what I did and to sort it out with the IRS/CRA. He pointed out a few things, I said yea or nay, paid him, and that was that.



I looked through thousands of listings because I couldn't buy them all so I had to determine which ones were best for me.



If I was Blackrock in 2010, I would just take my $3b and buy everything. Which they did at a later date. There's no need to be discriminating if the pot of money is unlimited.



Since I had extremely limited funds, I demanded good properties in good neighbourhoods generating 20% gross margins. I could have settled for poor properties in poor neighbourhoods to generate my 20% gross margins (or more), but like you said, I had the time, so I spent it looking.



[quote user=REQRentals]

That is why people tend not to invest in foreign markets in my view:



Form what I can tell most people are looking to build a portfolio of properties to build personal wealth in or around the place where they have decided to live and raise a family etc.......So it is worth it to put in the time learning about management and the market and all of these other things they will eventually have to know anyway in order to pursue that goal.



If you are only looking to invest in a temporary situation to diversify an existing portfolio then I agree that it does not make that much sense to invest the time to learn all of this stuff.


I don't know about all that. As I mentioned before, I only have the ability to recognize a deal in the stock market and the real estate market. And only extremely niche examples in each arena. And in 2009 it was clear that the businesses in the stock market in which I had some familiarity, was free money. And in 2010 it was clear that the properties in the real estate market in which I had some familiarity, was also free money.



Most individuals who choose to invest close to home as opposed to what the numbers tell them, won't be "building personal wealth" very quickly. It's more accurate to say that they're "building" another savings account.



[quote user=REQRentals]Whatever your Realtor and PM could not tell you it appears that you had to learn for yourself.



And time as you say is a valuable commodity.




To be honest, my realtor and PM didn't teach me much and vice versa. I would have no idea how to do any part of their jobs and they wouldn't have any ability to identify a deal either. I don't think either of us had an intention of learning what the other one did anyway. I know I didn't.



When the next downturn hits, if it's in the stock market or real estate market, in a specific kind of business or property, I'll be buying. Just to throw more stuff onto the pile. Again.

 

[KevinSolomon]

Phoenix Landlords Are Enjoying The Market's Heat


In late July, a venture of P.B. Bell and New
York-based Stonecutter Capital Management LLC closed on the largest
rental-apartment deal in the Phoenix area this year: the $168.5 million
purchase of 2,759 units at seven properties in the region.








With
its recent acquisition, P.B. Bell manages nearly 10,000 apartments and
owns 4,600 buildings in the greater Phoenix area. The company is
building six more apartment complexes, each with about 200 units, in
Phoenix and surrounding suburbs. P.B. Bell, which was founded in 1976,
is headed by Mr. Bell's father, Philip, who is a 38-year veteran of
Arizona's commercial-real-estate market.








Driving
P.B. Bell's bet on Phoenix is the area's expanding job market. "This
year, we're expected to grow by 54,000 jobs and, after that, by 60,000,"
Mr. Bell said. "We're very bullish about job growth ... . The
job-growth projections in Arizona are positive, and the greatest number
are in the Phoenix metro area."







The unemployment rate in the area, which is
home to 4.3 million people, declined to 6.5% in June from 7.3% a year
earlier. Economists at Moody's Investors Service expect the jobless rate
in Phoenix to fall as low as 3.9% by 2018.













The
rebounding economy there also has meant a growing population. Last
year, 59,000 people moved into the area. That, combined with years of
below-average new construction, has helped push vacancy rates at Phoenix
apartment buildings to 6.9% in the first half of this year, the lowest
rate since 2006, according to commercial-real-estate broker Colliers
International.









The amount landlords have
sought to charge for the average apartment have risen 1.5% in the first
half of this year, to $816 a month. This is a record and represents an
8.8% increase since 2010, when the market hit bottom, according to
real-estate data firm REIS Inc.





http://online.wsj.com/articles/phoenix-landlords-are-enjoying-the-markets-heat-deal-of-the-week-1410306151

 

[KevinSolomon]

The U.S. dollar climbed after a Labor Department report showing
America`s economy churned out a more-than-expected 248,000 jobs last
month, with the unemployment rate easing to below the 6-per-cent mark,
at 5.9 per cent compared to August`s 6.1 per cent. At the same
time, the latest Statistics Canada measure of Canadian trade showed the
country plunging to a deficit in August from a hefty July surplus.
Canadian dollar tumbles as U.S. economy perks up, Canadian exports sink

 

[REQRentals]

Interesting panel discussion on international real estate investment and development.

Addresses portfolio diversification, currency hedging and various regulatory and other risks.



Columbia University Real Estate Development Alumni Association, Feb 2012



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnx7L9-YwvM

 

[KevinSolomon]

[quote user=ThomasBeyer]Of course, on top of that taxation is the
potential, or shall I say likely, exchange rate loss in a high oil price
environment with a lose US (QEx) printing press .. so a Can $ at $1.30 US in 2015 or 2017 is not at all unrealistic .. a further 20-30% loss on currency alone !


I'm not a fan of making predictions for the obvious reason that the future isn't predictable (and it generally doesn't pan out well as evidenced by many posts in this thread). However, here are others who are going out on a limb:



Gartman: We're witnessing the end of the oil era



Goldman Sachs: Oil price will fall to $70 US a barrel in 2014



Macleans: What a commodity bust would mean for Canada's economy



Obviously, assuming that the CAD is positively correlated with the price of oil, in my self-interest I hope that the price of oil continues to collapse for years to come and brings our "petrodollar" down with it.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

It is indeed fair to assume that the Can$ remains WEAKER vs the US $ for a few years .. say 1.10 to 1.20 Can$ per US $

 

[Rickson9]

How Phoenix Went From Boom To Bust To Boring
“The market is pretty much back to being fairly calm,” says Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
http://www.businessinsider.com/phoenix-from-boom-to-bust-to-boring-2015-2

 

[Rickson9]

[quote user="Rickson9"][quote user="Darr"]PS. With a low Energy/Natural Resources/Food per capita (relative to Canada), the USD will never again see parity with the Cando in the long term (IMHO and once we get past the liquidity scare).

[/quote]

Hey Darr, it appears that you were right. You wrote your post in 2012 and the USD is no longer at parity with the CAD. Your timing was right on the mark as the currency pair pretty much broke parity shortly after your post. Kudos. Any more insights going forward? Will we move back to parity?[/quote]

Darr continues to be correct. USD is still not at parity with the Cando. Good job!

[quote user="Rickson9"][quote user="Darr"]Oct. 31, 2012. In the long term however, global investors will shun the USD as the
FED is monetizing in excess of a $Trillion per year. The US is fast
approaching the point of no-return where they will be borrowing 40% of
their expenditures very soon. Every country in history that has breached
this threshold has, without exception, slipped into hyperinflation with
a rapid devaluation of their currency.[/quote]


Hey Darr, when will this rapid devaluation of the USD start to happen? You mentioned "long term" a year and a half ago. Do you mean another year or two? Or something longer?[/quote]

Well it's 2 and a half years ago now. How much "longer term" should we be waiting?

[quote user="Rickson9"]I say "Black Swan" because nobody expects the USD to do well against the
CAD. If the "smart money" is wrong, then I make a lot of money doing nothing. If
they are right, then I get to buy USD assets on the cheap and make a lot
of money doing something.

I've never really cared about the "why". I just focus on taking advantage of the "when".[/quote]

Prophetic?

 

[Thomas Beyer]

Is was indeed wise to buy US properties with a strong Can$ when US housing prices were very low, in 2009-2010.

The question now is, is it time to SELL US properties as a Canadian ?

Does it make more sense to invest Can$s today at 80, soon 75 cents US in the US which has already higher interest rates and higher income taxes ?