Miami-based startup Waltz Inc. launched on Wednesday to serve international investors in U.S. real estate with a fast, digital mortgage process. The company is initially working in nine states with plans to expand.
“Investing in anything nowadays takes just a few clicks, unless you’re a foreign citizen investing in U.S. property,” Yuval Golan, founder and CEO of Waltz, said in a statement. “From my experiences investing globally and in the U.S., I wanted to make the process for non-citizens as straightforward and simple as possible.”
Waltz aims to support international buyers with a “comprehensive” solution that covers the compliance, legal, banking and regulatory processes to close the purchase process within 30 days. It is currently available in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.
Investors can partner with a real estate agent, mortgage broker or turnkey provider to locate a property of their choice. Waltz then provides the buyer with a preapproval letter, identify verification services, an employer identification number (EIN) and a limited liability company (LLC). A digital U.S. bank account is also created to help the investor manage the property remotely, including through fast currency exchange capabilities.
Waltz has an office in Israel and has reportedly received $24 million in a pair of funding rounds led by Israeli venture capital firms TLV Partners and Aleph. Its other business partners include Regent Bank, payments platform Synctera and Visa-backed currency exchange Currencycloud.
“Waltz fundamentally reshapes the investment experience in residential real estate for foreign nationals,” Tomer Diara, general partner at Aleph, said in a statement. “Foreign capital is a major driver for real estate development around the world, but the US is still ill-equipped to deal with foreign investors.
“Waltz removes key pain points from the process and streamlines the financial, legal and regulatory processes to enable competitive access to this blue-chip asset class. We are proud to support this exceptional multinational team in its vision and look forward to watching Waltz emerge as a category leader in the financial services industry.”
Foreign investors can purchase or refinance property through Waltz for a loan-to-value ratio of up to 70%. Loans are asset based and rely on the cash flow of the property rather than the borrower’s personal income.
Closing tasks such as appraisal, inspection, title insurance and homeowners insurance are done remotely. Buyers can also use Waltz to connect with a property manager or tax adviser.
The company’s launch comes at a time when demand among international buyers for U.S. residential real estate is low. According to a report released this week by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), foreign buyers purchased the fewest number of existing U.S. homes for any year on record since 2009. From April 2023 through March 2024, they accounted for only 2% of the $2.1 trillion in existing-home sales, NAR reported.
