Investing from Europe

[AGRoss]

Dear REIN members,
I have been following this forum for some time now and my impression is that there are very competent people with a great attitude.

I live in Italy and I would like to evaluate possibilities of investing in properties in Canada on a rent basis followed obviously by a Rental Property Manager.

My brother has purchased some properties from the Middle East in the London Ontario area with some success (he has a Canadian passport). I am in the very initial stage and have to check in depth about the taxation implications of purchasing from Italy.

Are you aware of property purchases from abroad from any of your members or colleagues? Would it work in general terms (obviously I would need to find a serious PM who would find interesting properties and then follow the tenant screening, management, etc.)?

I am married with 2 children, have a mortgage on my house with no other dept, available cash would be approx. 45k CAD (another 90k CAD as back-up in Italy which I would prefer keeping for other investments).

I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks.
Andy

 

[TodorYordanov]

Hi Andy,

Investing from abroad is no problem at all.

In my opinion a PM would not be your best source for finding a property and managing your affairs in Canada. You need a whole team or a trusted Joint Venture partner in Canada to make sure that the REIN system is followed by everyone involved.
Good luck and let me know if you have specific questions.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

It works only if you have a team on the ground if you wish to do it yourself .. or you do it with others !

First, know where to invest.
2nd, know what type of property to buy
3rd, know how to get a mortgage as a non-Canadian .. as LTVs are lower, around 65-70% max.
Then find a realtor or 3 in the area of interest who knows s.th. about the property type of interest.
Then find a lawyer
Then find a property manager
Then know what forms to file with the CRA as the PM has to withhold 25% of GROSS RENT if you do not file the proper forms, thus find a proper accountant .. ditto on exit !

Once you have a team in place, know how much money CASH + mortgage makes sense, then find a deal with a realtor, write offers, get a mortgage, inspect it, close it, file tax forms, manage it.

You can also invest with us if you wish and co-own several apartment buildings .. or a number of other syndication firm or JV offering entities too in a variety of property types ! We have about 40+ non-resident investors .. most from Europe.

 

[AGRoss]

Thanks for the quick replies.

Yes, definitely it is a complex situation and finding the right people would be the major issue.

Thomas, I saw your website and it seems quite interesting, do you have any info dedicated to overseas investors to send over to me for evaluation? If yes, pls send it to: gregorio001970(at)yahoo(dot)com