How a European Investor Finances a $2M US Rental Property

A European investor can finance a $2M US rental property the same way a US investor does: form a US LLC, qualify the loan on the property's rental cash flow rather than personal income, put roughly 20% to 25% down, and close in about two weeks. No US credit score is required. No US income documentation is required. And the rate and leverage are the same as they would be for a domestic borrower. There is no foreigner penalty on the terms.

The instinct most European buyers arrive with, that they will have to pay all cash because no US bank will lend to a foreigner, is simply wrong. It is true that retail US banks rarely lend to non-residents. But the institutional and private capital that funds investment property does, through a loan product built for exactly this profile. What follows is the step-by-step path, written for a European investor buying a $2M buy-and-hold rental, with the numbers and timeline that actually apply. For the wider context on this strategy, see our overview for European investors financing US property.

Step 1: Form a US LLC to Hold the Property

The loan is business-purpose financing made to a US entity, not to you personally. So the first move is to form a US LLC that will own the property and be the borrower. This is standard, not a workaround. Almost every serious foreign investor holds US real estate in an LLC for liability, tax, and estate-planning reasons, and lenders expect it.

Forming the entity is fast and inexpensive. You do not need to travel to the US to do it. The practical pieces are:

• The LLC itself. Filed in the state where you buy, or in a holding-friendly state, with a registered agent. Set up in days.
• An EIN. The federal tax ID for the LLC. Foreign owners obtain one without a US Social Security number.
• A US bank account in the LLC's name. The loan funds, rent, and debt service flow through it. Several US banks open accounts for foreign-owned LLCs remotely.

We walk through the entity mechanics in detail in our guide to the US LLC for foreign investors. If you have not bought yet, set this up in parallel with your property search so the entity is ready when you go under contract.

Step 2: The Documents You Actually Need

This is where the European investor is pleasantly surprised. Because the loan is underwritten against the property, not your personal US profile, the document list is short and contains nothing you cannot produce from Europe:

• A valid passport. Your identity document. No US visa or residency is required.
• The LLC formation documents and EIN. Proof the borrowing entity exists.
• Proof of funds for the down payment and reserves. A recent bank statement, in your home country and currency, is fine.
• The lease or projected market rent for the property. This is what the loan qualifies against.
• A reference from your existing bank, in some cases, to evidence a clean banking history.

Notice what is not on the list: no US credit score, no US tax returns, no US pay stubs, no US employment verification. That is the entire point of this loan type. We explain it further in the guide to getting a US investment loan with no US credit.

Step 3: Choose DSCR for a Buy-and-Hold Rental

For a $2M property you intend to rent out and hold, the right product is a DSCR loan. DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio, and the name tells you how it works: the lender compares the property's rental income to its loan payment. If the rent covers the payment, the loan qualifies. Your personal income never enters the calculation.

For our core residential book, DSCR loans are 30-year fixed, priced around 6% to 6.5%, in the $1M to $3M range (and up to $5M by exception). The lender will typically want the rent to cover the payment at a ratio that can go as low as 1.0x, meaning the property roughly breaks even on debt service at minimum, with stronger coverage improving your terms. A $2M rental that produces healthy market rent clears this comfortably. For the full mechanics, see our DSCR loan page and the deeper explainer on DSCR rental financing.

Step 4: The Down Payment and Leverage Math

On a $2M purchase, expect to bring roughly 20% to 25% of your own capital. DSCR financing goes up to 80% LTV on a purchase, which on a $2M property means a loan of up to $1.6M and a down payment of $400,000 plus closing costs and reserves. Conservative structures land closer to 75% leverage. A worked example:

• Purchase price: $2,000,000
• Loan at 75% LTV: $1,500,000
• Down payment: $500,000
• Plus closing costs and reserves, budgeted on top.

If you already own US property and want to free up capital, a DSCR cash-out refinance is available up to 75% LTV, letting you pull equity out tax-efficiently to fund the next acquisition. The leverage you receive is the same a US borrower would get on the same asset. Being European does not degrade your LTV.

Step 5: The Term Sheet to Close Timeline

Speed is where this process beats the cash-only assumption most decisively. The path looks like this:

• Term sheet in 24 to 48 hours. Once we have the property details and your basic information, we issue indicative terms within a day or two.
• Underwriting on the property. Appraisal, title, and rent verification run in parallel, not after, your personal review.
• Close in about two weeks. From a clean file, the full cycle to funding is roughly two weeks, comparable to a well-prepared US borrower.

Because we run a brokerage, you are matched to the right capital partner rather than queued behind one bank's single set of rules. Our fee is a 1% to 2% origination, and we earn it by getting you to the best terms quickly.

Same Terms as a US Borrower

It bears repeating because it is the single most important fact for a European buyer: you are funded on the same terms as a US investor. Same rate band, same leverage, same product. The wedge we bring is not a special foreigner loan at a worse price, it is a European partner who already knows the US process and removes the friction that makes most foreigners give up and pay cash. That is what our foreign national loan program exists to do.

Ready to Finance Your US Rental?

If you are a European investor eyeing a $2M (or $1M to $5M) US rental, the path is clear: form the LLC, gather a passport and proof of funds, and let the property's cash flow carry the loan. For a complete end-to-end view, read our walkthrough on combining a foreign national US LLC with a DSCR loan. When you are ready, submit your deal and we will return indicative terms within 24 to 48 hours.