Lender · Sanford, NC · Member since 2024 · 351 posts · 117 votes
As a lender, I've been getting more inquiries lately from foreign nationals looking for financing to get into fix & flips in the U.S. market.
It got me thinking about those who've already been through the process.
For foreign nationals who've been flipping in the US for years, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced when getting started? Was it finding the right financing, navigating the process from overseas, building a reliable team, or something else?
And for those who've figured it out, what advice would you give someone looking to do their first flip in the US?
I think hearing from investors who've actually been through it could really help others who are looking to get started.
Financing is rarely the first failure point on a remote first flip. The local execution stack is.
What usually breaks first:
1. A GC or project manager who actually reports with photos on a schedule you can trust from overseas
2. Title and entity setup that both the lender and title company accept, sorted before chasing a rate quote
3. A holding-cost plan if the exit slips 30–60 days (permits, appraisal, buyer financing)
For a first flip: underwrite the exit with a conservative ARV and a real days-on-market assumption, hire a fee PM for the first project, and don't stretch LTC so thin that one change order strands the draw schedule. Lenders can price risk; they can't remote-manage a bad contractor.