Startup company Waltz, which develops a platform for foreign investors to purchase real estate in the U.S., has raised $12.5 million in a Series A round led by Aleph. The company previously raised a Seed round of $11.5 million about two years ago, led by TLV Partners. More than 40 prominent angels and private investors participated in these rounds, including Ofir Ehrlich, David Krell, Talmon Marco, and Eyal Lifshitz.
Waltz’s platform provides non-U.S. investors with a comprehensive solution to the foreign investment and purchase process in U.S. real estate. Investors start by finding their ideal property through a real estate agent, mortgage broker, or turnkey provider. Waltz then provides them with an investor kit that includes everything necessary to begin their journey. Investors are provided with identity verification, their own Limited Liability Company (LLC) with an Employee Identification Number (EIN), assigned agent and pre-approval letter. Investors are then set up with a U.S. digital bank account to receive rental income, pay property taxes, and to reduce withholding.
In a conversation with Calcalist, Yuval Golan, founder and CEO of Waltz, said, “I have been making cross-border investments for many years. I was looking for a way to connect everyone involved in the remote real estate purchase process into an easy experience. I spare my clients all the difficulties of this challenging process. Each state in the United States is a different world, and we are looking for states that are friendly to foreign investors. The main state for investments is Florida, where 25% of the investments are from foreigners.”
The volume of real estate purchases in the U.S. by non-US citizens is estimated at more than $53 billion per year. Waltz has 24 employees, with a development center in Tel Aviv, a business center in Miami, Florida, and additional employees in Europe and the USA.
Currently, buying real estate through Waltz is possible in the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and soon Arizona, with plans for future expansion. So far, the company has received requests amounting to over $100 million from private investors worldwide who received early access to the platform and closed transactions amounting to millions of dollars for customers from Israel, Chile, Colombia, Portugal, and more.
