A foreign investor financing a US investment property is asked for a different list than a US homeowner would be. The loan is a business-purpose loan made to a US LLC and underwritten on the property and the deal, so the documents describe the company, the money and the asset rather than a personal US borrowing history.
The list itself is short. What slows files down is rarely a missing document about you: it is the entity, the EIN and the bank account being started too late.
1. The entity
- A US LLC that will hold the property and take the loan, with its formation documents
- The LLC's EIN, its federal tax ID, which a non-resident obtains without a Social Security number using IRS Form SS-4
- A simple operating agreement
- A US bank account in the LLC's name, funded, with a recent statement showing it
2. You, as the owner
These are standard KYC and anti-money-laundering checks, and they apply to every borrower. Financing is available to investors from eligible countries only, and never from sanctioned countries. Assembling the source-of-funds file early costs nothing and runs in parallel with the EIN.
- Identity documents for each owner of the LLC
- Proof of source of funds: documents that trace where the money for the purchase comes from
3. Your ability to service the loan
- A recent bank statement showing the means to service the loan
- For a DSCR loan on a rental: the lease or the projected rent, since the property's income does most of the qualifying
- For a bridge, fix and flip or renovation loan: the plan and the exit, a sale or a refinance within the term
4. The property
- The address and the property type
- The signed purchase contract and price, or the current value for a refinance
- For a rental, the lease or a projected rent; for works, the budget and scope
- Access for the appraiser, which is the most common cause of a closing slipping
What you do not need
- A US credit score or a US credit history
- US tax returns or US pay stubs
- A Social Security number
- An existing relationship with a US bank
Which document takes the longest
The EIN. A non-resident applies by fax or mail rather than through the online tool, and it can take from a few days to a few weeks. The LLC's bank account can only be opened once the EIN exists, so it inherits every day of delay.
The financing itself is not the constraint: a term sheet comes back in 24 to 48 hours and a clean file closes in about two weeks. If you sign a purchase contract, form the LLC and file for the EIN the same week.