Yes, there are some restrictions.
Almost all mortgage lenders require that you are a US citizen or a permanent resident (a green card holder) before they will lend you any money because they want to know that they can find you to get their money back.
Going to a Canadian mortgage lender will not work either because you cannot use US real estate as collateral for the mortgage. The Canadian bank would have a hard time repossessing the property in the US, so they don't give mortgages for US properties.
What you can do is:
1. Use Canadian property as collateral for a Canadian mortgage. This requires that you have a lot of equity in some property in Canada of course.
2. Sell your Canadian property and use the proceeds to buy in the US for cash.
You could also lie to the US lender to get the mortgage, but it is illegal and if you are caught, there could be some dire consequences. So that is not recommended of course.
In terms of visas, you can live here in the US if you have your own money and do not get a job. A lot of ';snow birds'; (Canadian retirees) live in Florida this way for example.
One thing to watch out for though, is that if you live outside of Canada for more than 6 months of the year, you cannot use health care any more. Snow birds often will live in Canada for 6 months and one day over the summer and fall, then live in the US for 5 months and 29 days in the winter/spring. Check the government web site for your province for exact details on the length of time you have to be in the province to qualify for the health care.
Another thing to worry about is visas. When you visit the US, you get an implicit visa right there at the border. However, if you are going to live here, you need to get an explicit visa. Check out http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/temp_1鈥?/a> for more information on visas. I believe you can only live here 6 months at a time or less (which works with the health care thing!) on just a tourist visa. If you want to live here permanently, you have to apply for a green card.Canadian looking to buy house in United States. Are there any restrictions ?
Yes, you can own property in the united states. There are programs available for foreign borrowers to finance the property they are purchasing.
As far as legal status, that is a question I cannot answer.
You can buy a house if you have the money.
You may be able to get a mortgage.
You might even be able to get documents to live here legally.
But if you just show up and stay- you would be breaking the law.
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