Waltz: Streamlining Cross-Border U.S. Real Estate Investment for Global Citizens

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

16 Dec 2024

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Born from personal frustration with international property investment, Yuval Golan is building what he calls the “Amazon checkout plus Klarna for real estate.” As founder and CEO of Waltz, Golan aims to transform how global investors access U.S. real estate markets by eliminating the traditional friction points of cross-border transactions.

“Every place I moved to, I started again from zero – getting banking, wanting to rent a house, always treated as a foreigner,” explains Golan, who has lived across Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, China, Brazil, and Thailand. This firsthand experience with the challenges of international real estate investment sparked the idea for Waltz during the peak of COVID-19.

When attempting to invest in properties across multiple countries during the pandemic, Golan encountered a series of roadblocks: loan rejection in Israel, no foreigner financing in Thailand and Brazil, and an eight-month closing process in New York – supposedly the world’s most global city. These challenges led to a deeper investigation into the fundamental barriers of cross-border real estate investment.

“We needed to solve for anti-money laundering, identity verification, and cross-border payments,” Golan notes. “Once banks and regulators are satisfied with our processes, we can serve our clients, because at the end, they’re the ones suffering from this process. The only thing they wanted to do is build their financial wealth through real estate.”

The result is a comprehensive platform that transforms a traditionally complex process into a streamlined experience. Waltz handles everything from identity verification and U.S. entity creation to setting up FDIC-insured bank accounts, currency exchange, financing, and property management connections. The platform allows investors to purchase individual properties – not fractional shares – and maintain full control over their investments.

The company’s target market consists of experienced investors, typically aged late 20s to early 50s, who understand the value of their time and are willing to pay for convenience. “We’re the consumers who usually bought a home before or have some stocks,” Golan explains. “No one in their right mind will invest in another country without understanding a bit what it is or understanding what investment is.”

Investment patterns through the platform reflect traditional foreign investment preferences in U.S. real estate. Florida consistently attracts 20-25% of all foreign real estate investments, followed by New York, California, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, and the Carolinas. While some investors seek short-term rental properties in major cities or tourist destinations, the majority focus on long-term rentals in strategic locations.

Founded three years ago and backed by two rounds of funding, Waltz has grown to a team of nearly 30 people across the U.S., Europe, and Israel. Golan views the current high-interest rate environment pragmatically: “When rates go up, people say, ‘Let’s wait for rates to go down.’ But wealthy people come and say, ‘Let’s buy now. I have less competition, and I can refinance later.'”

Looking ahead, Golan aims to establish Waltz as the standard for foreign real estate transactions in the United States. He sees the potential market as vast, noting that the U.S. real estate market is valued at $50 trillion, with foreign investors who succeed in their purchases typically investing around $100 billion annually.

While several companies have attempted to solve the challenges of cross-border real estate investment, Golan emphasizes that the complexity of legal work, compliance regulations, and cross-border complications has proven to be a significant barrier. However, he welcomes competition in the space: “It’s not a winner-takes-all market. The more companies that can help grow this market and show people how easy it can be, the more demand there will be. There’s room for multiple successful platforms helping global citizens build wealth through U.S. real estate investment.”