Lauren Cohen was on episode GI100. Lauren helps entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, and families strategically expand into the U.S. through business, investment, real estate, and immigration planning. She has helped hundreds of clients achieve their American dream of investing and/or relocating to the US.

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Transcript:

Charles:
Welcome to our episode of the Global Investors Podcast. I’m your host, Charles Carilo. Today we have Lauren Cohen. She was on episode GI100, and Lauren helps entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, and families strategically expand into the US through business investment, real estate, and immigration planning. She’s an attorney and she has helped hundreds of clients achieve the American dream of investing and/or relocating to the United States. Lauren, thank you so much for being on the show again.

Lauren:
Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be back.

Charles:
So tell us a little bit about yourself, both, , personally and professionally, prior to kind of launching your own practice investing across borders.

Lauren:
Well, I am originally from Toronto. I moved here 25 years ago before the rush. And I created a strategic pathway to help Canadians and other, , foreign nationals, , access US status through real estate and business investment, a strategic whole, whole, whole full service solution. I don’t know why I was gonna say whole in one, because it’s not a whole in one, but anyway, I guess it sort of is because it’s all in one. And we help clients move strategically, strategically through the process. And part of the reason or the impetus for me developing this was my own experience, which was that my ex-husband was deported on the way back from our honeymoon. And that was a crazy story that I had no idea was gonna happen. And it really was the catalyst to me building what I have built and my purpose in developing the strategic solution that I offer today.

Charles:
So tell us a little bit about what your firm does and how it helps both investors invest and then moving abroad.

Lauren:
So it’s mainly inbound to the US, although not exclusively. But what we do, which is quite different than any other attorney or service provider, is we take them on a streamlined journey. So moving to the US is not just about getting a visa or getting status or making an investment or expanding your business. It’s about a whole wide range of con- considerations, the who, what, where, when, why, and how. Most lawyers just do the legal, as I mentioned. We have a three-phase process that we develop. So we take the client through the journey. The, the heavy lifting is done in the pre-visa phase, which is when we figure out what they’re going to do, where they’re going to do it, if they’re going to buy real estate. If so, how will that lead to a visa? How to develop a, an active business that is required for the visa.

Lauren:
Do they want a visa? Do they just want to invest because the numbers are better? So it’s very strategic. And my number one, I guess, focus that I talk about and that I, , develop in all of my masterclasses is strategy first, not visa. So we build the visa into the strategy. We don’t build the strategy into the visa because we want our clients to be able to build strate- strategic life, lifestyles and life, make strategic life choices that are going to help them to achieve their goals over the short and long term. Because it doesn’t really help to get a short term non-immigrant visa, be here for a couple years and then have to go back. I want to create a lifestyle choice for them, so it’s about a lot more than a visa.

Charles:
Interesting. Interesting. So one of the things I’ve seen over the years, , I guess it’s been really over the last 24 months here in the United States is when I’m preparing some of our newsletters for our real estate investor clients, and we do that every week, I’ll see, , I’ve seen it and it’s kind of slowed down a little bit, but it was something big, , a couple years ago and it’s kind of slowed down, is that there’s all these talk about Canadians slowing down purchasing here, Canadians slowing down investing here, Canadians slowing down, , vacationing here. How has that changed and how do you actually see it? ‘Cause News is one thing and reality is a different thing. So why do you see Canadians continue pursuing US opportunities despite, , this differences and changes in immigration?

Lauren:
Sure. So that’s a difficult question to answer simply. So I, I’m gonna give you a multifaceted answer. Last year was not fun. , When President Trump announced tariffs for Canada, Canadians were off, to put it bluntly. And there was a mass exodus, people selling, people not vacationing here, people not coming here. But then winter hit, reality hit. And fortunately or unfortunately, , there’s a variety of other political factors. And then there’s antisemitism, which has been, , growing exponentially in Canada, unfortunately. And that has led to a shift to people coming and looking at the US again. Additionally, numbers don’t lie. And the numbers in Canada for real estate investing just don’t work. And it’s all, most provinces are tenant focused, not landlord focused. So if it, I just saw a post today, somebody wanted to evict a tenant that hasn’t paid their rent in 98 days.

Lauren:
So that’s over three months. Okay? That wouldn’t happen in Florida. So it’s, it’s realities. As much as there’s definitely some, , poor negative feelings toward the US and, and all of that, numbers overtake that and practicality determines choices, right? So I’ve seen in the recent, in recent months, a si- significant uptick in interest and desire and actual commitment to making things happen. Whereas before there was a lot of talk, , now there’s actually action.

Charles:
No, that’s, , that’s great to hear that those, , Canadians are coming back to Florida and to the United States in general. I know we have a lot of them, us both being in Palm Beach County. , I mean, we see a lot of Canadians come down here definitely during the winter and, , a lot of them have come down full time. Yeah.

Lauren:
Yeah. What, , as, it’s funny, the other day I was, , a, a cl – a neighbor of mine mentioned, “Oh, we have a new Torontonian who moved in.” Well, he didn’t say the word Torontonian. That’s my word. , And I said, “Oh, really?” Well, turns out he lives two streets away from me. And he used to live two streets away from my brother in Toronto. And he just moved here full-time. So, and his, his, , son is going into sophomore year at the same high school as my son. So it, that, that’s what, that’s what’s gonna be happening for better or for worse, because at least we give them a safe and soft landing. And that’s really what I’m all about, is creating that ecosystem for them. So it’s not just like, get your visa, have a nice day, because it’s so much more than that, that’s involved.

Lauren:
And also, of course, then there’s the real estate piece and the real estate investing and the real estate opportunities. And, , there’s just so many different variables that go into play. And, and most lawyers don’t have that holistic approach that I do that really helps. I, I create relationships with the clients. They have me on speed dial. And, , I’m really there for them and building that ecosystem for them once they get here.

Charles:
So for investors, international investors looking to invest in the US maybe for the first time, and they’re not looking to relocate at this point, they’re just looking for doing an investment. So maybe it’s a, they’re buying a, , a single family house to rent, a duplex, maybe they’re investing into a syndication as passively. What is really the typical process for someone like that to follow for them to get, , set up their entities here and, , get them started in their first investment?

Lauren:
So you said three very different investment types. So a syndication can be very simple because you’re not getting rental income. You’re, you’re basically making a passive investment. So generally, you can get away with a single entity for that because you’re not gonna have the double taxation issues. So that’s, that’s a simple process generally. When you’re investing in a single family home for your own vacation purposes, often it’s the same because you’re not going to be earning that rental income, that investment income. But when you’re actually investing for investment purposes and you’re planning to rent properties, you, most Canadians should and do have a, a double entity structure because, , that’s the way to protect, avoid double taxation and protect that entity at the bottom that actually is the property owning entity. You put in almost like a conduit above that to protect it so that the Canada Revenue Agency recognizes it.

Lauren:
There’s also a big difference between if you’re in, if you’re keeping the money in the US or moving the money back to Canada, which is when the taxation issues become more complicated.

Charles:
How does that re – because that was a question I had from an investor a couple weeks back. , And they were asking, they were asking me how would it work where are they, once the funds are here, is it advisable that they leave the funds here? It

Lauren:
Really depends on what their goals are, right? So if, if they are, , it’s always gonna be easier if you leave the money in the US or be invested immediately. , But if you need access to the funds, then, and you’re living in Canada or wherever, you’ll wanna bring it back. But that’s when it becomes more problematic.

Charles:
Yeah. And I imagine that has to be the correct, , as I understand it, there’s, , differences between the LLC and the limited partnership and all this has to be done correctly between if we’re just talking Canada and the United States to avoid that double taxation because of the tax treaties.

Lauren:
Yeah. And there’s, there’s something really important that most people don’t understand. People think that if they go to, you know, let’s say in Florida, Sunbiz, and set up a, an LLC or whatever, that that’s the end of the story. And, oh, I have a company and I’m done. No. Setting up the company is only a small part of the process because you have to have your operating agreement and all of your documents and your bylaws and everything to actually have a full comprehensive entity in place. Additionally, an LLC is not recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency, so it’s a disregarded entity. So it can create problems. And if you don’t have proper guidance and proper cross-border advice, you’re going to have issues.

Charles:
So if they have you here in the United States, , do they also, will you work directly with your clients, say, , tax professional in Canada as well? Is that how it works? So you work with all their professionals?

Lauren:
Yes. But we also have a team of tax professionals that are specifically cross-border or international, depending on where they’re coming from, like Mexico or Columbia or Israel or the UK, and of course Canada.

Charles:
Okay. Nice, nice. , One of the things I found, , well, when I’m speaking to investors, as we were talking before, about different investments that you’ve seen common. So as I’ve read, you were, you’ve, , about a thousand different clients plus that you’ve worked with to assist them in investing here into the United States. What would you say some of the typical popular US investments that you have found among a lot of your clients come to the States?

Lauren:
So the numbers, , are not all real estate investors. So I’ll just specify that. A lot of them are expanding their businesses, buying franchises, buying businesses, investing in businesses and so on. From the real estate perspective, my favorite model, because it creates an actual operating business, we, we build operating businesses around this very easily. It creates affordable housing and it checks a lot of boxes, is the co-living model. Some people know it as pad split. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. And we love that because it’s an affordable way to get multiple units within a single structure and be able to scale that business and build something around it that checks a lot of boxes when you’re not only going for a visa, but potentially an eventual green card. So I love that. It’s, I, I call them mini multifamily because it’s basically what they are.

Lauren:
, And it’s obviously a lot cheaper because you’re not gonna get a multifamily unit for 350,000. And here you can. You can do a 7-7 for about 350. And it, not here in Palm Beach Gardens or Boca Raton, of course, but in Florida or in Texas or various places, South Carolina, North Carolina. So it’s all about knowing the options that make the most sense for you. Now, some people are very committed to multifamily. That’s fine. You’re just gonna need a, it’s just gonna be a higher price tag. And a lot of people ask, “Can we, can we get financing?” I’ve never had an issue getting financing for any of my clients. And probably 99% of them have some type of financing and don’t pay all cash.

Charles:
Interesting. So with that, how does that work with assisting them if they’re relocating here with that pla – , pad split model that you just explained? Well,

Lauren:
I can’t give you all my secrets. <Laugh> But we, e- essentially, we build businesses around their investments. Okay? So let’s say somebody wanted to do a syndication, be that the GP of a syndication, raise money to invest in these multi – in these mini multifamilies, these pad splits. That could work because as a GP, you’re an operating partner. So you’re running that and raising the money. So that’s an operating business. That’s an example. Another example, you could come in and build a business as a coach. You could build a business as a real estate coach, helping the other clients move from other countries and invest in a similar structure. So that becomes your business, the coaching business, which circles around that. You could become a property manager. You could develop, , an app or a portal around, around the real estate investing. Our signature secret sauce is really pulling that business, extracting the business, the operating aspect of the business from the investment.

Lauren:
And each client has a unique approach that we develop with them. No,

Charles:
That makes perfect sense. So it’s really the putting together, having a business, , as being one of the factors that allows you to relocate here. Before,

Lauren:
Most, most lawyers say you can’t get a visa through real estate investing. And at the tail end of COVID, there were so many, like you said, Canadians that were like, “I want out. I don’t wanna buy a pizza shop. What do I do?” And I’m like, “I’m determined to find this.” So I created a program called How to Immigrate with Real Estate. And that was after we spoke. And we’ve had about 18 clients go through this successfully. It’s a streamlined program where we, we help them with a very curated model to build a business that is where we expect to be visa friendly, because obviously there’s no guarantees. But if it’s o – an operating business, you’re gonna hire people and you’re gonna scale and you’re gonna add investments, it’s usually going to work. So that’s our specialty is extracting the business from the investment. So it’s kind of a little bit of reverse engineering in a way, because most of the time, people make the investment because it’s gonna get the visa.

Lauren:
We pull the, the, the business out of the investment.

Charles:
Are there any other, what are the other typical ways that someone would go about relocating here other than your program, which seems like a great streamlined way of doing it with a much lower investment, , threshold than you would with, , maybe other of these other investments? I know there’s like EIB5 and stuff like that. Are these programs that you utilize at all?

Lauren:
Yes. So EB5 is, , you’re not gonna get, you’re not gonna access an EB5 through direct investment in real estate. Now, there’s a lot of projects in Miami and other places that are saying that you get a condo when you get your green card. So I wanna clarify this because I’m actually doing a video about this because it’s very much misinformation. You, you make the investment in the project that builds the condo building. Then when you pull your. So that, that investment as a passive investment, it’s usually a limited partnership interest. And, and they’re creating the jobs with the project because you need 10 jobs to qualify for an EB5. You’re ma – you make that investment for, let’s say, two to four years. When your, when your investment, when your green card conditions are removed and you get a permanent green card, which is probably around the four-year mark, let’s say, you can pull your money out and reinvest it in a condo.

Lauren:
You’re not getting two for the price of one. So the, it, it, they’re playing on the marketing message because, yeah, you, you’re gonna get the condo, but you could also go buy, you know, you know, a, a new house for yourself or whatever. So it’s your money one way or the other. But they’re, they’re playing on it to make it seem like you’re getting real estate as an asset and you’re not. It’s not possible. So unless you’re creating a business with that real estate asset, , like maybe a self-storage or something like that. So, but then you also still need to create the jobs. So there’s multiple other, , visas available. It’s just a matter of figuring out which one makes the most sense for you. Which country are you from? Because not everybody can qualify for an E2. If you’re, like, I have a prospect- prospective client from Peru.

Lauren:
There’s no E2, so we have to find a different path for them. , But the most common ways are franchises, businesses, expanding your business, buying a new business, investing in an, an existing business, or, , through real estate with our program.

Charles:
Yeah. I, with the EB-5, I would speak to other, , investment firms and they would tell me how they would market. It’s heavily marketed outside the country. And as I understand it, Trump doubled it. I think it’s like a million dollars. And then it –

Lauren:
No, no. It actually was before him. It’s 800,000 now and 1.05 million. Don’t ask where the 0.05 comes from. But there, it’s in a state of flux right now. And I, I, , it’s not high on my list of recommendations, let’s say. Because, and then there, everybody’s talking about the, the gold card and, you know, the Trump card and all this stuff. So it’s confusing.

Charles:
No, no. I just, there’s so many different, , like you, you went through some of the caveats. It’s, , about how many jobs it has to have done and if it’s, I know there’s different between if it’s urban versus they call it rural and all, all this type of stuff that they put in there. , And I remember reading about it years back, maybe three or four years ago in New England, they had this ski resort somewhere that they were doing of EB5 and turn into a scam. It turned into a scam, right? Was it?

Lauren:
Yes. Mm-Hmm.

Charles:
<Laugh> So it’s just like, you have to be extremely careful with these programs. And if you’re not, like you said, you’re coming in almost as like an LP, so you don’t have control over it versus if you were doing something and you’re, , utilizing your streamlined process. Correct. , You actually have – You have control.

Lauren:
Yeah. That’s right. Which

Charles:
Is extremely important to someone, especially coming from a foreign country. Do you have money sitting in the stock market and you’re worried about it? Or worse, you have money sitting at the bank, not keeping up with inflation? My name is Charles Carillo, founder and managing partner of Harborside Partners. And since 2006, I’ve been investing my money and my family’s money into income producing properties. These are real assets, real properties with real addresses that produce real cash flow. At Harborside Partners, we provide passive investors who love real estate with a turnkey investing solution. If you wanna put your money to work in real estate, but can’t find deals, don’t have the time to get funding, and the last thing that Productive People wanna do is manage real estate. We find the deals. We fund the deals and we manage the tenants, the termites, and the properties.

Charles:
Partner with us at investwithharborside.com. That’s investwithharborside.com. Go to investwithharborside.com. If you love real estate, you like the idea of passive income and believe that income producing properties will appreciate over time, go to investwithharborside.com. That’s investwithharborside.com. So what would say some of the common mistakes you see foreign investors make when they’re looking to the United States to invest? Would it be something, , on your list whether they wanna relocate or whether they’re just trying to make their first investment?

Lauren:
I would say that that has shifted. , About three years ago, a lot of people were trying to invest. Now more people are trying to relocate. So it pro – it used to be about 75, 25. Now it’s about 90, 10. So I’m saying that it was 25% just investing, but now it’s, it’s down to 10. ,

Charles:
That’s changed, it’s changed. What are the things that you think people really, the number one thing that they should be, other than speaking to someone that’s a professional like yourself in this specific space, is there any other major mistakes that people make, , when they’re making decision? They speak

Lauren:
To the wrong people. They speak to a CPA or a C – or, you know, somebody in the US, a tax professional that doesn’t understand what’s gonna happen to them in their home country, let’s say Canada. You need to speak with cross-border professionals. People that really understand both sides of whatever it is. People that understand the tax implications and the legal implications of doing something in another country, because it’s not one size fits all. And what you do in this country is going to impact you in your home country one way or the other. So we take clients on this journey. We have 25 steps in our process. And they’re not always const – you know, one after the other. Sometimes they, they happen concurrently. It just really depends on where you are and how quickly you wanna move through it. But you have to check all those boxes and go through those steps or you’re gonna miss.

Lauren:
And, you know, the first step we do after we choose the business and develop the business model and business structure is we bring in our cross-border tax team. So what most, what I would say is one of the biggest mistakes is, is twofold. Two, two for one. One is not speaking to cross-border or international experts and just getting advice in, in one silo. And the other is piecemealing. And thinking that you’re going to save money by doing things with a bunch of different service providers instead of having somebody that’s overseeing the process that’s been there and done that and will move you through the finish line, not just successfully, but prosperously. And that’s important. No,

Charles:
That’s a lot of great information there. , Even just not having specialized help. I was moving accountants a year or two ago and the amount of interviews I did in most, , most accountants aren’t familiar with more complicated or investment structure, stuff like this. So especially when you’re going and you have a very unique, you need a very specialized person, not a generalized person that’s going to assist you. And that could be for an attorney, , or for your CPA, your tax professional, wherever it is, that can work on both sides of the border. It’s interesting. Yeah,

Lauren:
For sure. I was on a, in a meeting this morning and a woman said, “Would you go to a GP for heart surgery?” I mean, it’s the same concept, right? , It’s funny because I always think of this. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. There, they, there’s this analogy about fixing a ship. So this ship had a hole. And the hole was, you know, the water was coming in the ship and blah, blah, blah. The ship was about to sink. So they kept bringing in these professionals and paying them X, whatever it was, $100 an hour, $1,000 an hour. And nobody could find the leak. Nobody could figure it out. So they found this guy and he charged $10,000 an hour. And they, they, they were desperate. So they brought the guy in and he did it and it was $10,000. And the whole point of that is that they, they almost allowed the ship to sink because they weren’t willing to get the expert to come in.

Lauren:
They wanted to. Instead, they spent all this time, money and effort wasted on people that were not qualified to plug the hole that saved the ship and all the people on it. So. Lauren,

Charles:
A lot of great information. As we’re, as we’re wrapping up here, one thing I like to ask is, what would you say in your life has been something, it could be professionally or, , personally, that has compounded the most for you over your whole, , your whole journey, your whole career?

Lauren:
So it’s hard to pinpoint one thing. I would definitely say the, my, that my ex-husband’s deportation definitely was the catalyst to me doing what I do because, you know, you can’t make that stuff up. And, , being a single mom. So as a single mom, , I don’t leave stones unturned and I will find ways and paths where others will fail. You know, I was told I couldn’t have kids. I had a foster child and three months later I was pregnant and he’s 15. So, , I don’t believe in the word no. So, you know, I was watching this movie. I, I’m, , you know Blackberry, of course, right? So I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but I remember having that first Blackberry. And I remember sitting, it was like I was a new, , lawyer at the time. I remember sitting in a boardroom and using that thing, thinking it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Lauren:
And then I had an interview to work for them because they were an hour outside of Toronto in Waterloo. So I went to the interview and something told me, as their lawyer, I was gonna be one of their lawyers, right? This is obviously before the SEC and all this stuff. So something told me not the best idea. But I was so excited because I was like, oh my God, like, this is huge, right? Do you know that they had 45% of the smartphone market and then the iPhone came and they didn’t pay any attention? They didn’t believe in apps. They didn’t believe. They didn’t, they, they didn’t adjust to the times. And the point of that is that they, they were stuck in whatever they were doing. It’s like AI. If you’re not gonna embrace it, you’re going to hit the wall because AI is in our life, in our lives, and we have to embrace it.

Lauren:
And the point is that there is always a way. And you have to persevere until you find the way because there is no such thing as no.

Charles:
Well, thank you so much for coming on. How can our listeners learn more about you and your business? Sure.

Lauren:
Everything we do is branded around investing across borders, although we do have a new brand we’re about to launch called Plan B Pathways because it’s all about a Plan B. But you can find us on Investing Across Borders on YouTube, on Instagram, on Facebook, on, on everything. And, , very happy to connect with you. My, our email is hello@investingacrossborders.net. And, , everything we do, again, is branded around that. And, , our toll-free number is 866-724-0085. And I’m just down the street here in Boca Raton from Palm Beach Gardens. So maybe we’ll have lunch one day soon.

Charles:
Definitely. Sounds great. Well, thank you so much for coming back on the show. Thank you. It’s a pleasure. We’ll put that information into the show notes and, , looking forward to connecting with you here in the near future. Thank you.

Links and Contact Information Mentioned In The Episode:

• INVESTING ACROSS BORDERS

About Lauren Cohen

International Lawyer, Realtor & Investment Strategist Lauren Cohen is also a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and globally-acclaimed business advisor. Lauren’s passion for driving her clients’ success shines through in all aspects of the services that she and her team provide, and she is committed to going above and beyond to navigate a successful path for clients to invest, live, work, and play—across borders!

A graduate of York University and Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada, Lauren is now a dual citizen. She has been featured in Inc., Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Working Mother, TV, hundreds of interviews, podcasts, radio shows and other media. Lauren also has her own Investing Across Borders podcast.

After her then-husband was deported on the return trip from their honeymoon, Lauren was devastated and felt compelled to find solutions for others facing immigration challenges. Confident that she could make a difference, she turned her attention to the ever-changing world of international law.

Lauren has helped hundreds of clients to achieve their American Dreams since that time, and is recognized as an expert authority in international business. As a result, recognizing the limitations of expanding businesses globally, Lauren also launched a fractional C-Suite service business, determined to offer businesses seeking to expand their global footprint the opportunity to access expert guidance without having to hire multiple C-Level team members.

If you’re looking to invest in real estate, expand or scale your business, ensure legal compliance, or relocate to the U.S. or globally, you’ve come to the right place! Lauren’s mission is to help globally-minded entrepreneurs and investors navigate the complex world of business strategy, real estate investment and immigration.

Lauren is particularly adept at guiding clients in their cross-border pursuits, applying her unique, harmonized approach to guide all types of business owners and investors on an international scale.

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