When international buyers look to invest in U.S. real estate, they’re often met with a maze of paperwork, slow-moving banks, and outdated processes. That friction is what led Yuval Golan to start Waltz, a platform built to cut through the complexity and make cross-border property investment easier.
Now, the Miami-based startup has raised a total of $50 million in equity and debt to ramp up its presence across Latin America and scale to support up to $1 billion in loan volume. The latest financing includes a $25 million line of credit from Setpoint Capital, which Waltz will use to originate more loans for foreign nationals buying residential property in the U.S.
“The demand from Latin America was immediate and that is not surprising – U.S. real estate is a blue chip investment for foreign nationals,” said Golan.
“The stability, rooted in the historical strength of the U.S. economy, facilitates wealth creation from financing options, the potential for passive income streams, and property value appreciation,” he continued. “When paired with customer-centric digital solutions, it becomes clear why digital platforms like Waltz resonate with today’s global Investors.”
Waltz offers just that. The company, which currently has 36 employees, acts as a full-stack platform, letting foreign investors do everything from forming an LLC and opening a U.S. bank account to securing a mortgage and closing remotely, all from their phone or computer. The startup has already processed more than $300 million in loan applications since launching in July 2024.
Setpoint Capital saw the opportunity early. “With Waltz’s full-service approach, they are streamlining investment opportunities and making it easier for individuals across the globe to invest in income-producing residential properties in the U.S.,” commented Kendall Ranjbaran, Managing Director of Investments at Setpoint. “Setpoint is proud to provide a tailored credit solution as they continue to scale.”
Latin America is a natural next step. According to industry data, nearly a third of foreign buyers of U.S. residential real estate come from Latin America, with Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia leading the charge. Waltz has already onboarded clients across four continents, but the company says it’s now doubling down on LATAM, rolling out localized support in Spanish and Portuguese and strengthening its regional sales team.
They’re also building tech infrastructure specifically for the region such as new capabilities for foreign exchange and quick cross-border transfers, starting with Mexico and Brazil.
Much of Waltz’s growth so far has come through partnerships with major brokerages like RE/MAX and eXp Realty, and it sells loans to institutional buyers such as Acra Lending (a BlackRock subsidiary) and Atlas SP (backed by Apollo). The use of AI throughout the platform from onboarding to underwriting is a key piece of the pitch. It’s also what enables Waltz to move quickly in a space that’s still bogged down by paperwork and manual processes.
Golan told Refresh Miami that South Florida, and especially Miami, has been instrumental to Waltz’s growth.
“It has an extensive tech, real estate, and finance ecosystem and access to top talent,” he said. “With over 20% of foreign real estate investors’ activity directed toward Florida, building local partnerships and on-the-ground insight remains key, which is why we continue to grow our multilingual sales team that is based in Miami.”
With fresh capital and an underserved but high-potential customer base in Latin America, Waltz is aiming for a big number: $1 billion in total loan volume.
