Foreign Investment in U.S. Real Estate

[Jarod]

This would be in Delaware.

Situation: I am a french citizen, my wife is a US citizen and we have been living for a while in France. We're planning to move to the USA.
Real estate investment is our goal. My father is successful and has a decent borrowing power that he would like to let us use. He does not care about making profits, just letting us use his borrowing ability.
The question: What would be some montage for him to borrow in France, and us in the USA to invest, and own the results of these investments?


So far my research leads me to think this would be through a LLC of course, but the details allowing us to own the investments elude me.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks !

[Taxing Matters]

This would be in Delaware.

Is that where you and your wife will be living and buying the investment properties? If not, then Delaware may not be your best choice for forming any business entity that you would use for this.

The question: What would be some montage for him to borrow in France, and us in the USA to invest, and own the results of these investments?

Perhaps the French meaning of the word montage is different than the English use of it because as an English use it doesn’t make much sense. I’ll assume that you meant to ask what would be some methods for him to borrow in France and then allow you to invest in real estate here. The most straightforward way, of course, would be for him to simply loan you the money and then you and your wife buy the properties that you wish to use for investment.

So far my research leads me to think this would be through a LLC of course, but the details allowing us to own the investments elude me.

You and your wife could use a LLC or LLP to own the properties. Whether there is any benefit to doing that depends on the details of the properties you plan to buy, how you plan to do these investments, and the law of the state where you buying these properties.

You and your wife may want to consult a business or real estate attorney in the state where you plan to do the investment for advice.

[adjusterjack]

A "montage" is an art form comprised of many pictures in a composition or a rapid succession of different shots in a movie. What does that have to do with borrowing money and investing in real estate?

Anyway, you don't necessarily need an LLC to buy real estate in the US.

How is this going to work? Will your father borrow the money and hand it to you with an agreement that you pay him back? Or will he recommend you to his bank so that you can borrow the money yourself or will he co-sign, guaranteeing your loan?

Then you come to the US and use the money to invest in real estate?

How much money are you thinking about (US dollars)?

As for the details allowing you to own investments in the US, I'm not sure what you are concerned about. A foreign national residing in the US can own property in the US, no problem.

From a practical standpoint, I suggest that you and your wife relocate to the US, buy yourself a house to live in and spend a year or two studying real estate investment before you jump into it.