Question Regarding a Canadian Purchasing a Residence in the US -
Hello David,
I noticed your email address on the
internet and thought you might be able to assist me.
What I would like to
do:
I am a Canadian citizen from
Nova Scotia and I work for an
Oil Company in Alberta.
I will continue to work in
Alberta (or
Canada) but I want to
purchase a townhouse in Washington County,
PA.
I contacted the Royal Bank of
Canada regarding
obtaining a mortgage for the property in PA and was advised that you cannot
obtain a Canadian mortgage on a US property because
if there is ever a default they cannot obtain the property. I was advised to
obtain a US
mortgage.
I contacted a mortgage lender in PA
and was advised that I needed a Green Card (which takes 5-7 years and I am not
interested in obtaining) to obtain a US
mortgage.
Any advise or anyone you
recommend that I contact?
Thanks,
--------------------------------------------------------------------
david ingram
replies:
Never head of such a thing.
If you have 35% down, you should be able to
get a mortgage anywhere in the United States.
I likely have 300 clients who have US
mortgages without a green card.
Try another bank, S & L, or a mortgage
broker.
Just watch out for 'up front' fees at a
mortgage broker's office.
Unfortunately, there are many out there who
will charge you an up front fee and then say they cannot get a mortgage for you
and keep the fee.
If you do decide to use a broker, make sure
any fee is 100% contingent upon their arranging a mortgage on terms that are
satisfactory to you or approved by your brother or mother or lawyer,
etc. That means they get nothing - not even $50.00 if you do not get a
mortgage.
For instance, your agreement might say that
the broker is entitled to a fee of $4,000 upon obtaining a mortgage at 6%
amortized over 30 years with no changes or interest rate adjustment for thirty
years
The massive sub-prime mortgage meltdown in the
US at the moment has happened because 100's of thousands of people took out
mortgages with low payments that doubled or even tripled two years
later.
BEFORE you sign any purchase or
mortgage agreement, have it vetted by a lawyer or KNOWLEDGEABLE real estate
person with knowledge of local law.
Strangely enough, I know the area you are
buying in. My sister lives in Wheeling, West Virginia, just across
the line, 35 miles to the West on highway 40 (the National PIKE), the first
Federally funded highway in the US. If you go 60 miles southeast on
highway 40, you come to historic Fort Necessity, which few Americans remember or
know of as part of their history. (my 14 year old son Peter told me about
it in 1998).
In the summer of 1754 a battle at Fort
Necessity was the opening action of the French and Indian War. This was a
clash of British, French and American Indian cultures. George Washington
surrendered to the French troops at the Fort which he built out of "Necessity"
but was allowed to leave with his troops and most of his arms, surrendering only
his swivel guns. He also was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel at Fort Duquesne at
the age of 23 at the start of this skirmish. In 1759, Wolfe won at the Battle of
the Plains of Abraham and by 1763 the war that ended with the removal of
French power from North America. Remember that Gorge Washington was a British
Officer at this point. However, the stage was set for the American
Revolution. In 1755 George was made a full Colonel and in 1758, promoted
to acting Brigadier General at the age of 26. 12
years later, at the age of 43, George Washington raised the Continental Army at
Cambridge Massachusetts and Valley Forge outside of Philadelphia.
Washington Country, your destination was formed in 1791 and named after
George.
But it did not stop there. Washington
County was the centre of the end of the 1791 Whiskey Rebellion. In 1794,
George Washington, now president of the United States, at the head of a
12,500 member Militia marched into Monongahela and staunched or ended the rebellion with the
arrest and imprisonment of a very small number of people. 2 were sentenced
to death but Washington pardoned them because one was 'simple' and the other
insane. Two or three of the others did die in prison. Lots of
history in Washington County.
My sister and her husband and three children
live in Wheeling West Virginia (30 miles away) and one of my favourite clients
of all time, Virginia Harper is buried in Wheeling. One of my other
friends has a mother and sister living in a Hutterite Colony 50 miles south east
at Uniontown.
And, although Scranton PA is 180 miles
closer to New York City than it is to Washington County, I have an 82 Cadillac
Eldorado convertible parked outside my house as I write this. Of course,
the Caddy was bought in Scranton.
Good luck on your purchase. You can do
it if you have the cash for the down payment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On February 11, 2008, David Ingram
wrote:
It is very unlikely that blind or unexpected email to me will be answered. I receive anywhere from 100 to 700 unsolicited emails a day and usually answer anywhere from 2 to 20 if they are not from existing clients. Existing clients are advised to put their 'name and PAYING CUSTOMER' in the subject line and get answered first. I also refuse to be a slave to email and do not look at it every day and have never ever looked at it when I am out of town. e bankruptcy expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income Tax service and help
However, I regularly search for the words"PAYING CUSTOMER" and
always answer them first if they did not get spammed out. For the last two
weeks, I have just found out that my own email notes to myself have been spammed
out and as an example, as I wrote this on Dec 25, 2007 since June 16th, my
'spammed out' box has 47,941 unread messages, my deleted box has 16645 I have
actually looked at and deleted and I have actually answered 1234 email questions
for clients and strangers without sending a bill. I have also put aside
847 messages that I am maybe going to try and answer because they look
interesting. -e
bankruptcy expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income Tax
service and help
Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 9 PM 7 days a week Vancouver (LA) time - (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office) expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income Tax service help.
$1,700 would be for two people with income from two countries
Catch - up returns for the US where we use the Canadian return as a guide for seven years at a time will be from $150 to $600.00 per year depending upon numbers of bank accounts, RRSP's, existence of rental houses, self employment, etc. Note that these returns tend to be informational rather than taxable. In fact, if there are children involved, we usually get refunds of $1,000 per child per year for 3 years. We have done several catch-ups where the client has recieved as much as $6,000 back for an $1,800 bill and one recently with 6 children is resulting in over $12,000 refund.
David Ingram expert income tax service and immigration help and preparation of US Canada Mexico non-resident and cross border returns with rental dividend wages self-employed and royalty foreign tax credits family estate trust trusts income tax convention treaty advice on bankruptcy
It is very unlikely that blind or unexpected email to me will be answered. I receive anywhere from 100 to 700 unsolicited emails a day and usually answer anywhere from 2 to 20 if they are not from existing clients. Existing clients are advised to put their 'name and PAYING CUSTOMER' in the subject line and get answered first. I also refuse to be a slave to email and do not look at it every day and have never ever looked at it when I am out of town. e bankruptcy expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income Tax service and help
Therefore, if an email is not answered in 24 to 48 hours,
it is likely lost in space. You can try and
resend it but if important AND YOU TRULY WANT OR NEED AN ANSWER from 'me', you
will have to phone to make an appointment. Gillian Bryan generally accepts
appointment requests for me between 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM Monday to Friday
VANCOUVER (Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles) time at (604) 980-0321.
david ingram
expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income Tax
service and help.
david ingram's US / Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
My Home office is at:
david ingram's US / Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
My Home office is at:
4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325
North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325
Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 9 PM 7 days a week Vancouver (LA) time - (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office) expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income Tax service help.
Disclaimer: This
question has been answered without detailed information or consultation and is
to be regarded only as general comment. Nothing in this message is
or should be construed as advice in any particular circumstances. No contract
exists between the reader and the author and any and all non-contractual duties
are expressly denied. All readers should obtain formal advice from a
competent and appropriately qualified legal practitioner or tax
specialist for expert help, assistance, preparation,
or consultation in connection with personal or
business affairs such as at www.centa.com. If you
forward this message, this disclaimer must be included." e bankruptcy expert US Canada Canadian
American Mexican Income Tax service and
help.
David Ingram gives expert income tax
service & immigration help to non-resident Americans &
Canadians from New York to California to Mexico family,
estate, income trust trusts Cross border, dual citizen - out of
country investments are all handled with competence &
authority.
Phone consultations
are $450 for 15 minutes to 50 minutes (professional hour). Please note that GST
is added if product remains in Canada or is to be returned to Canada or a phone
consultation is in Canada. ($472.50 with GST if in
Canada)
expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican
Income Tax service and
help.
This is not intended to be definitive but in general I am
quoting $900 to $3,000 for a dual country tax return.
$900 would be one T4 slip one W2 slip one or two interest
slips and you lived in one country only (but were filing both countries) - no
self employment or rentals or capital gains - you did not move into or out of
the country in this year.
$1,200 would be the same with one rental
$1,300 would be the same with one business no
rental
$1,300 would be the minimum with a move in or out of the
country. These are complicated because of the back and forth foreign tax
credits. - The IRS says a foreign tax credit takes 1 hour and 53
minutes.
$1,600 would be the minimum with a rental or two in the
country you do not live in or a rental and a business and foreign tax
credits no move in or out
$1,700 would be for two people with income from two countries
$3,000 would be all of the above and you moved in and out
of the country.
This is just a guideline for US / Canadian
returns
We will still prepare Canadian only (lives in Canada,
no US connection period) with two or three slips and no capital gains, etc.
for $200.00 up.
With a Rental for $400, two or three rentals for $550 to
$700 (i.e. $150 per rental) First year Rental - plus $250.
A Business for $400 - Rental and business likely $550 to
$700
And an American only (lives in the US with no Canadian
income or filing period) with about the same things in the same range with a
little bit more if there is a state return.
Moving in or out of the country or part year earnings in
the US will ALWAYS be $900 and up.
TDF 90-22.1 forms are $50 for the first and $25.00
each after that when part of a tax return.
8891 forms are generally $50.00 to $100.00
each.
18 RRSPs would be $900.00 - (maybe amalgamate a
couple)
Capital gains *sales) are likely $50.00 for the
first and $20.00 each after that.
Catch - up returns for the US where we use the Canadian return as a guide for seven years at a time will be from $150 to $600.00 per year depending upon numbers of bank accounts, RRSP's, existence of rental houses, self employment, etc. Note that these returns tend to be informational rather than taxable. In fact, if there are children involved, we usually get refunds of $1,000 per child per year for 3 years. We have done several catch-ups where the client has recieved as much as $6,000 back for an $1,800 bill and one recently with 6 children is resulting in over $12,000 refund.
This is a guideline not etched in
stone. If you do your own TDF-90 forms, it is
to your advantage. However, if we put them in the first year, the computer
carries them forward beautifully.
This from "ask an income trusts tax service and immigration expert" from www.centa.com or www.jurock.com or www.featureweb.com.
David Ingram deals on a daily basis with expatriate tax returns with
multi jurisdictional cross and trans border expatriate problems for the
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