Foreign National Commercial Real Estate Loans

Who these loans are for

The typical borrower is a foreign investor, family office, or operating company buying a multifamily building, retail center, industrial property, hotel, or other commercial asset in the United States. The loan is made for business purposes, secured by property held for investment or used in a business, and closed in the name of a US entity. Capital Partners does not arrange owner-occupied consumer home mortgages for foreign nationals or anyone else.

Lenders are far more comfortable when the sponsor already has a footprint in the country. Equity held in a US bank account, existing US real estate, and a US property manager or operating partner all shorten diligence and widen the group of lenders willing to quote.

Entity structure and ownership documentation

Most lenders require the borrower to be a US limited liability company or limited partnership formed to own the property. When ownership runs through offshore holding companies or trusts, the lender needs the full chain traced to every individual who owns or controls the borrower. Expect the lender's counsel to review each layer.

Tax and estate planning often drive how foreign investors hold US property, and those structures can add layers the lender has to clear. Settling the holding structure with your US tax counsel before the loan application avoids reorganizing the borrower in the middle of underwriting.

• Formation documents, operating agreement, and good standing for the US borrowing entity
• An organizational chart showing every layer of ownership up to the ultimate beneficial owners
• Formation and authority documents for any foreign parent company or trust
• An employer identification number for the borrowing entity
• Passports and secondary government identification for each principal and guarantor
• Bank and brokerage statements, in English or with certified translations, supporting the stated liquidity

KYC, source of funds, and sanctions screening

US lenders operate under anti-money-laundering and sanctions rules, so every foreign national file goes through identity verification, beneficial ownership certification, and screening against government sanctions lists. Lenders will ask where the equity came from and how it reached the United States. Wire records from a recognized bank, with statements showing the funds have been in place for a period of time, answer most of those questions early.

Borrowers connected to sanctioned or high-risk jurisdictions face a much smaller lender pool, and some files cannot be financed at all. Disclosing jurisdiction and ownership details at the start avoids a late-stage surprise after a term sheet is signed. Politically exposed persons in the ownership chain trigger enhanced review as well, and lenders expect that disclosure up front.

Credit history and guarantor alternatives

Most foreign nationals have no US credit score, so lenders look for substitutes: a reference letter or credit report from the home-country bank, US account history, verified global net worth and liquidity, and the sponsor's record owning similar assets. Liquidity held in the United States counts for more, since assets abroad are harder to reach if a guarantee is ever enforced.

Guarantor structure follows the same logic, and lenders weigh it most heavily on recourse and construction loans. Nonrecourse carve-out guarantees are standard on many commercial loans, and some lenders want a US-resident co-guarantor or a guarantor with meaningful US assets. Where nobody in the ownership group fits that profile, lenders typically offset the risk with lower proceeds, larger reserves, or cash held in a pledged account.

Lender types active on foreign national deals

Debt funds, private lenders, and banks with established international client groups are the most active on foreign national commercial loans. CMBS lenders can quote well-documented sponsors on stabilized income, while construction and heavy value-add projects usually go to private capital. The lender set narrows further for land, hospitality, and first-time US investors. Recourse, reserves, and loan-to-value terms vary more across lenders on these files than on domestic deals, so comparing term sheets side by side matters.

Stabilized income widens the options, so size the request with the loan sizing calculator before you submit the deal. A principal reviews the ownership structure and the US asset profile before any lender sees the file.

Common questions