RBC Bank Hosts Advice Event for French Canadians Purchasing Homes in the U.S.

What: RBC Bank, Marcoux & Associates Inc., Keller Williams Realty Boca Raton and DS Welch Bussiere will host a cross-border banking advice event for French Canadians on Tuesday, March 11 at the Fort Lauderdale Marriot North in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

 Experts will advise local Canadian “snowbirds” and expats on finding and financing homes, the differences between banking in Canada and the United States and the opportunities and potential pitfalls of buying a property in Florida. This event will be spoken entirely in French.

 Canadians are the top international homebuyers in Florida. Equipping Canadians to successfully live, bank and purchase real estate in Florida is critical to the state’s economy. 

Who:                    

·         RBC Bank cross border banking expert and senior relationship manager Joanne Lavigne will discuss cross-border banking including advice for Canadians locating and financing homes in the U.S. They will also discuss how RBC Bank is uniquely positioned to assist Canadians purchasing U.S. real estate.

·         Joanne Marcoux, CPA, Marcoux & Associates Inc., will discuss cross border tax issues for Canadians owning U.S. assets

·         Chantale Labbe, realtor, Keller Williams Realty Boca Raton, will provide an overview of the southeast Florida real estate market.  

·         Louise Houle, tax attorney from Montreal and attorney at DR Welch Bussiere, will discuss cross border legal and immigration issues.

Joanne Lavigne, Joanne Marcoux, Chantale Labbe and Louise Houle will be available for questions and interviews immediately following the event.

When: March 11, 2014

9 – 11 a.m. (8:30 a.m. registration)

Where: Fort Lauderdale Marriot North

             6650 N. Andrews Avenue

             Fort Lauderdale, FL 3309

Why: The top international home buyers in Florida for the last four years, Canadians in the U.S. often encounter complex banking issues, from understanding their tax status to reconciling differences in mortgages and down payments.

Canadian homebuyers are critical to Florida’s economy. With approximately half a million Canadian homeowners in Florida, Canadians represent a real estate portfolio conservatively estimated at $50 billion. Canadians living in or visiting Florida also spend $4 billion dollars each year, or about 40 percent of all of Florida’s foreign tourism revenue.                               

With a volatile Canadian dollar and increasing home prices in the United States, it is more important than ever that Canadian homebuyers be aware of the home buying process in the U.S. With expertise in cross border banking and a strong local presence in Fort Lauderdale, RBC Bank is committed to keeping Canadian residents informed and prepared as they make the move to the U.S.

About RBC Bank:

RBC Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada that provides U.S. banking solutions to RBC consumer clients with a cross-border lifestyle.   RBC Bank pioneered cross border banking and has been serving clients who visit, shop, study or relocate in the U.S., for more than ten years.  Today, the Bank provides everyday banking and real estate lending solutions to Canadian clients in all 50 states. 

About RBC Royal Bank:

Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada’s largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and are among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking and transaction processing services on a global basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who serve close to 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients in Canada, the U.S. and 51 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.

Details: For media inquiries, please contact Alex Huffman, Largemouth Communications, o: (919) 459-6455, Alex@largemouthpr.com