European investors who try US banks first usually meet the same wall: no US credit score, no US tax returns, no Social Security number. A business-purpose lender does not start from those documents. It lends to your US LLC, secured by the property, and asks whether the deal works.
Passy Capital was founded in Switzerland to finance exactly this borrower, and focuses on loans from $1M to $5M with a term sheet in 24 to 48 hours and closing in about two weeks on a clean file.
What $1M to $5M finances
Examples are arithmetic at the published maximums; the actual figure depends on the appraisal, the plan and your experience.
| Loan | Maximum leverage | Example at the maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge | Up to 80% LTV | $2.5M purchase, $2.0M loan |
| Fix and flip | Up to 90% LTC | $1.8M purchase plus $400K works, $1.98M loan |
| Ground-up construction | Up to 85% LTC | $4M land and build, $3.4M loan |
| DSCR (rental) | Up to 80% LTV | $1.5M rental, $1.2M loan |
What you bring instead of US credit
European bank statements and documents can be used; translations may be requested for key documents. The documents entry lists the file in full.
- A US LLC with its EIN and a funded US bank account
- Passport and proof of address, and proof of where the equity comes from, for KYC
- Your track record: properties bought, renovated or built, in Europe or the US
- The deal: contract, budget and timeline for works, and the exit or the rent
Points European investors raise most often
- Currency: the loan is in US dollars and the equity is converted from euros, pounds or francs. Convert before the deposit is due, not on closing day
- Tax at home: your country's treatment of a US LLC varies; take advice before forming it
- Closing from abroad: documents can generally be signed in Europe; see closing without traveling
- Rate: no foreign-national premium; see what foreign nationals pay
Business-purpose only
The property must be an investment: a rental, a renovation or a build for sale. A holiday home for your family is outside business-purpose lending. Larger deals, and commercial assets, are placed through our capital-partner network.
Country-specific pages cover European investors in general and individual nationalities, and the foreign national loans page sets out the structure.
Why US banks decline and business-purpose lenders do not
A US bank's process is built around a US credit report, US tax returns and US pay stubs. A European investor with a strong balance sheet still fails it on the first page, because the documents it reads do not exist. A business-purpose lender reads a different file: the property, the plan, the equity and the investor's track record. Those exist for a European investor exactly as they do for an American one, which is why the terms can be the same.
The trade-off is that the loan is for investment property only, and it is made to a US LLC rather than to you personally.
The sequence from Europe
- Form the US LLC and obtain its EIN by phone, fax or mail; see the EIN guide
- Open the LLC's US bank account and transfer the equity in US dollars
- Send the deal for a term sheet, back in 24 to 48 hours
- Appraisal, title and loan documents in parallel; sign from Europe
- Close in about two weeks on a clean file, with funds wired to the closing agent