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As a Certified International Property Specialist, I have learned a lot about doing business with foreign buyers of Arizona real estate. To increase my knowledge of the Canadian consumer, this summer I became a member of the Canadian Snowbird Association (“CSA”). CSA is a nonprofit advocacy group which represents the interests of Canadians traveling to the United States.

Most members of CSA are mature adults with the disposable income to travel to the U.S. and often buy real estate in Arizona. Maybe that explains why after joining I felt an overwhelming urge to drive slowly in the outside lane for miles with my left turn signal on.

Becoming a CSA member means the following CSA materials have been added to the library of international real estate resources available to SimplySOLD friends and clients:

Travel Information Guide, an 84-page guide covering more than 44 related topics concerning the type of issues travelers from Canada (and other English speaking countries) may encounter here;

Travelers Checklist, a 24-page list of those things you shouldn’t forget in your travels to the U.S., Canada or anywhere else.

For Canadians that travel to the U.S., CSA has many services available, including a currency exchange program, travel insurance, an auto club, and auto/home insurance plans that accommodate vehicles heading south and spending extended time away from a Canadian home. All of this and more is only $40.00 a year.

I can see no reason why a Canadian traveling here would want to miss out on all the Canadian Snowbird Association has to offer. If you want to join, go to www.snowbirds.org, or to pay in US dollars, call them in my hometown of Toronto at 416 391-9000.

If you would like to know more about the CSA, we also have the CSA Member Handbook: Benefits and Services. To learn more about Canadians and their travel to the U.S., read the CSA Travel Information Guide.

Some of the other global resources available in the SimplySOLD library include:

Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than Sixty Countries, by Terri Morrison and Wayne Conaway. The gold standard of how to do business with foreign nationals.

Guide to US Real Estate Investing, Published by Association of Foreign Investors of Real Estate. A sophisticated guide to institutional investment in the US.

South of 49, The Canadian Guide to Buying Residential Real Estate in the U.S., Philip McKernan. Useful to any crown colony member seeking to invest here, it uses a story type format to illustrate its points, with buying a home in Arizona one of its subjects.

International Research Materials, Prepared by SimplySOLD, it contains is a variety of information pertaining to international transactions, including reports such as the 2012 Profile of International Home Buying Activity, sections on Canada and Mexico and more. Take the “Client” binder version.

NAR’s Certified International Property Specialist Global Perspectives, a periodical published for Certified International Property Specialists, which I have placed in a 3-ring binder. It contains lots of information on foreign investors, their countries and US resources, often with one country featured per periodical.

Who’s Who in International Real Estate, a directory of Certified International Property Specialist members world wide.

Arizona Real Estate and You, Published by the Arizona Department of Real Estate, with Appendix that lists due diligence sources. A good guide to a number of Arizona transactional issues and concepts.

If you would like to borrow any of these materials for a read, let me know at mark@simplysoldaz.com and we would be happy to lend them to you.