Good news, eh? Foreigners return to real estate
January 5, 2010 by Matthew Le Baron
Filed under Sellers
For several weeks now, I’ve been preaching about the real estate industry saying if you got the money, patience and time, now is a great time buy.
Now, in a one-day conference in Alberta’s Edmonton, Canadians are being told to fly south, and flock to areas like Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.
Terry Ritchie, a financial adviser who has co-authored, “The Canadian Snowbird in America: Professional Tax and Financial Insights into a Temporary Lifestyle in the U.S.” writes that there are incredible buys in the U.S. because of the strong dollar, combined with low U.S. home prices.
“There’s a lot of misinformation about how a property (in the U.S.) should be titled and owned,” Ritchie told the Edmonton Journal. “I have a checklist that I will raise at the conference that people need to answer because one size does not fit all.”
Meanwhile, Trish Gannon, owner and publisher of The River Journal, writes that North Idaho is open for (real estate) business, and extols the secrets that are to be found in economy near the Canadian border. North Idaho and western Montana didn’t contribute much to the issues that created problems nationally, she writes.
Tom Renk, owner/broker of CM Brewster Real Estate in downtown Sandpoint, is quoted as saying there are 3,000 active listings in the Multiple Listing Service in North Idaho region.
“For example, there’s a property on ten acres with a 3,200 sq ft home and a shop, selling for $219,000. That’s an incredible price. You can’t build a 3,200 sq ft house for that.”
From January 1 to March 15, average sales price on a residential property in 2008 was $315,590 compared to this 2009’s price of $259,659.
For several weeks now, I’ve been preaching about the real estate industry saying if you got the money, patience and time, now is a great time buy.
Now, in a one-day conference in Alberta’s Edmonton, Canadians are being told to fly south, and flock to areas like Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.
Terry Ritchie, a financial adviser who has co-authored, “The Canadian Snowbird in America: Professional Tax and Financial Insights into a Temporary Lifestyle in the U.S.” writes that there are incredible buys in the U.S. because of the strong dollar, combined with low U.S. home prices.
“There’s a lot of misinformation about how a property (in the U.S.) should be titled and owned,” Ritchie told the Edmonton Journal. “I have a checklist that I will raise at the conference that people need to answer because one size does not fit all.”
Meanwhile, Trish Gannon, owner and publisher of The River Journal, writes that North Idaho is open for (real estate) business, and extols the secrets that are to be found in economy near the Canadian border. North Idaho and western Montana didn’t contribute much to the issues that created problems nationally, she writes.
Tom Renk, owner/broker of CM Brewster Real Estate in downtown Sandpoint, is quoted as saying there are 3,000 active listings in the Multiple Listing Service in North Idaho region.
“For example, there’s a property on ten acres with a 3,200 sq ft home and a shop, selling for $219,000. That’s an incredible price. You can’t build a 3,200 sq ft house for that.”
From January 1 to March 15, average sales price on a residential property in 2008 was $315,590 compared to this 2009’s price of $259,659.
IBR Real Estate
Tenley Bedard on Thu, 21st Jan 2010 12:29 pm
Matthew,
I recently had friends in town from Dublin; one of them being an American who was raised in Boise.
They were looking into purchasing a place in the north-end as an investment property, but were unable to acquire a mortgage loan as neither has paid taxes in the US within the past year.
Do you agree with this requirement? Is there any evidence which shows that foreigners have been or ever will be a major default threat? Furthermore, would abandoning this requirement create a greater influx of second-home-buying?
Regards,
TB
Matthew Le Baron on Thu, 21st Jan 2010 7:25 pm
Tenley,
Thank-you for the comment!
Obtaining financing has become very difficult as of late with all of the new restrictions. However, I do know that foreigners are able to obtain financing as long as guidelines are met. From what I understand, any US Citizen must file a tax return even if the citizen is exempt from paying taxes. That may have been an issue since guidelines require all borrowers to provide form 4506T for which allows any lender to verify tax information.
No, I do not agree with this requirement yet understand the added restrictions initiated due to the mortgage fraud of the past. There is no evidence that foreigners are a “default threat”–it just comes down to the lender guidelines. Finally, I do not feel that abandoning the requirement will create a higher influx of 2nd home purchases yet am a strong proponent of fair lending practices.
Last May a home was sold to a US Citizen that works in N Korea as a teacher. He was able to obtain financing through First Mortgage Company of Idaho. I would highly suggest that your friends from Dublin contact Marc Mitchell at this firm to discuss options. Contact info is below:
Marc Mitchell
First Mortgage Company of Idaho
208-475-5319
mmitchell@firstmortgageco.com