Note: This is an illustrative deal profile representing a composite of transactions of this type. Figures are modeled, not drawn from a single closed file.
An investor in Sydney wanted U.S. rental exposure. Australian residential yields in her market were running near 3%; Atlanta was showing 7%+ on the properties she was looking at. She had capital, no U.S. credit history, no Social Security number, and had never set foot in Georgia.
Eighteen days from application to funded. Here's the whole thing.
The property
- 3-bed / 2-bath single family, Atlanta metro
- Purchase price: $285,000
- Market rent (Rentcast comps): $2,180/mo
- Tenanted at close, lease in place through the following year
The loan
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Loan amount | $199,500 (70% LTV) |
| Down payment | $85,500 |
| Structure | 30-year fixed, 5 years interest-only |
| DSCR | 1.36x |
| Prepay | 5-year step-down |
| Vesting | Delaware LLC |
Note the 70% LTV. Foreign national programs typically cap leverage below the domestic equivalent — that's the trade for no credit file. It also produced a very comfortable coverage ratio, which helped the pricing.
The DSCR math
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Market rent | $2,180 |
| Interest-only payment @ ~8.4% | $1,397 |
| Taxes (monthly) | $238 |
| Insurance (monthly) | $125 |
| PITIA | $1,760 |
| DSCR | 1.24x |
At 70% LTV with IO, coverage was never in question. The property qualified itself on the first pass.
The 18-day timeline
Days −45 to 0 — Prep (done before the clock started). This is the part that made 18 days possible. Delaware LLC formed (3 days). EIN obtained via faxed SS-4 (4 business days). W-7 filed for the ITIN in parallel — still pending at closing, which was fine, because the passport was accepted. U.S. business account opened remotely with a fintech provider supporting foreign-owned LLCs (11 days).
Day 1. Address dropped into the quote tool. Term sheet in under a minute. Application submitted the same day.
Day 2. Documents in: passport, articles of organization, operating agreement, EIN letter, three months of Australian bank statements showing reserves. Appraisal ordered. Title ordered in parallel.
Days 3–9. Appraisal completed and delivered at $291,000 — above contract. Underwriting reviewed the lease and the reserve statements. No income documents requested at any point.
Days 10–12. Conditional approval. Conditions: insurance binder naming the LLC with lender as mortgagee, Delaware certificate of good standing, and source-of-funds documentation on the down payment wire.
Days 13–15. Conditions cleared. Closing documents prepared. Remote online notarization scheduled — done from Sydney, allowing for the time difference.
Days 16–17. Documents signed remotely. Down payment wired from Australia. This was the only genuinely tense part: the AUD→USD wire took two business days, and her bank's daily transfer limit required splitting it across two transactions. Both were arranged in advance because we asked about limits on day two.
Day 18. Funded and recorded.
Full cost breakdown
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Delaware LLC formation | $320 |
| Registered agent (year 1) | $199 |
| EIN | $0 (self-filed via fax) |
| ITIN via Certifying Acceptance Agent | $295 |
| Down payment | $85,500 |
| Origination + lender fees | $4,988 |
| Appraisal | $650 |
| Title, escrow, recording | $2,410 |
| Insurance (year 1, prepaid) | $1,500 |
| International wire fees + FX spread | ~$1,850 |
| Total cash to close | ~$97,712 |
The FX spread is the line investors consistently underestimate. Retail bank FX on a $90,000 transfer commonly costs 1.5–2.5% versus the mid-market rate — $1,350 to $2,250 — on top of the stated wire fee. A specialist FX provider would have saved most of that. Worth arranging before you're two days from closing.
What made it work
The prep happened before the property. Entity, EIN, and bank account were done 45 days ahead. If she'd started them at contract, this would have been a 10-week close and she'd have lost the property.
The passport was enough. The ITIN was still in process at funding. It's preferred, not required.
Reserves were documented in AUD and accepted as-is. No requirement to move money into a U.S. account first.
Nothing on the critical path needed her physical presence. Remote online notarization is accepted in Georgia. Where it isn't, a consulate or apostilled notarization works — but that adds days, so it's worth confirming early.
What would have broken it
- Starting LLC formation after going under contract.
- Not knowing her bank's daily wire limit.
- A vacant property, requiring a market rent schedule from the appraiser instead of an executed lease.
- No U.S. bank account — funding a purchase directly from an offshore account raises source-of-funds and AML review that adds time.
The pattern is consistent across every foreign national file that closes fast: the entity and banking infrastructure gets built before the property is chosen, not after.
No W2