Foreign national clients are a vital and growing segment in the mortgage market. These clients can be expatriates, international investors, temporary residents, or individuals looking for a second home overseas. Their reasons for seeking a mortgage in a foreign country are as diverse as their backgrounds. Some people want to invest, others want to move to a new country, and some are looking for educational or work opportunities.

Frequently, foreign nationals encounter difficulties when approaching local banks to finance their mortgages. Financing for foreigners is an underserved and largely unexplored market due to its complexity. This is where Dot Mortgage Company comes in. Dot Mortgage Company is a leading company in the US market specializing in providing and structuring the best financing solutions for foreigners.

Business Fortune sat down with Renato F. Oliveira, the Founder and CEO of Dot Mortgage Company. The following excerpts have been taken from the wide-ranging conversation that ensued.

Q. What is Dot Mortgage Company’s story? Why did you decide to start a company financing real estate loans for foreigners in North America?

I started Dot because I saw a need for a company that offers real estate loans for foreigners. For a few years now, I have been a real estate investor in the United States. I looked for information on real estate financing and found that the mortgage companies I came across were not experienced in providing this service for foreign investors.

I found an opportunity in the North American market and decided to diversify my investment portfolio by creating a new company called Dot Mortgage Company. I dove into real estate financing for foreigners, sought out the best professionals, the best systems, and associated myself with the best banks in the market, and today we are certainly the primary foreigner real estate loan financing specialists in Florida.

Due to our extensive network built over three decades, we now specialize in luxury real estate and foreign investments. Initially, Dot successfully attracted significant investors to the US real estate market. Presently, our company is sought after for its exceptional quality rather than just our networking capabilities.

Q. How has Dot Mortgage Company grown since its founding? Did you realize how big the real estate loan market for foreigners was when you started the company?

Since the beginning, our initial objective was to be a “facilitator” for the process of financing real estate for foreigners. Therefore, we focused on this market and specialized. This is who we are, and that is why we’re recognized!

I chose Florida to start a mortgage company for foreigners because of the large foreign investment in the market. Florida’s economy relies on several strong and diverse sectors, but the real estate market stands out for its safety and profitability. Foreign investment in Miami’s real estate market reached $5.1 billion in 2023.

To understand the significant growth of our company, it is important to understand the power of Florida’s real estate market. Despite the pandemic’s impact on the global economy and various markets, the real estate business in Florida grew by more than 20%.

Florida’s cities continue to grow, and according to Forbes magazine, six of the ten fastest-growing cities in the United States are in Florida, with Orlando in second place. Orlando’s vacation homes, for instance, contribute around $27 billion annually to Florida’s public funds. While the United States works to return to pre-pandemic economic levels, Florida is already stronger economically than before COVID.

Our headquarters is in Florida, but we finance real estate throughout North America.

Q. How does Dot Mortgage Company simplify investing in the North American market for its customers?

Financial operations worldwide are naturally bureaucratic, but since the beginning, our mission has been to reduce this bureaucracy to make it easier for foreigners to invest in American real estate. To do this, we follow a few fundamental directives:

1. We have a team of specialists that speak Portuguese, English, and Spanish to provide comfort and safety to our clients, 75% of whom are Brazilians.

2. We partner with different banks to offer a variety of investment programs that suit different types of buyers.

3. Close relationships with all of our partner banks so that our processes are as quick as possible.

4. Relationships with developing enterprises, so they can be confident in our company. The confidence we have gained has already positioned us as the preferred lender for many businesses.

5. Partnerships with realtors so that we can give comfort and security to buyers.

Q. What are the different types of services and loans offered by Dot Mortgage Company?

We have a diverse array of financing options and are always looking for more. Our service is excellent. We have highly skilled professionals who are available 24/7. We also offer pre-approval in less than 24 hours. As a Brazilian entrepreneur, most of our clients, about 75%, are Brazilian investors due to the network I built during my years of business in Brazil.

Standing out in the financial services market is hard, but Dot quickly became a point of reference in Florida. We are sought after by investors, builders, and real estate brokers. The quality of our services is recognized by all of these groups. Thanks to this, Dot has surpassed its revenue goals every year since its founding. In 2023, we had 46% growth, and in 2024, we had the best quarter in the company’s history. He concludes, “When they tell me that I was lucky I answer that luck found me working.”

Q. What were some of the most memorable challenges you and the team at Dot Mortgage Company have overcome? How did the company learn from these challenges?

Obviously, the greatest challenge that faced not only Dot but the whole world was the pandemic. During the pandemic, closed borders meant that Brazilians (our primary group of clients) couldn’t come to the United States.

The market didn’t stop; it continued to thrive. Many investors found great opportunities and continued to purchase real estate.

We decided to approach the market when we saw how it was still active despite the chaos caused by the pandemic. We opened offices in Brazil to provide even more security to our clients. In the United States, we also began implementing the option to work from home. This helps us save money in certain situations.

Q. Would you like us to highlight something important happening in your company that we may have missed asking about?

Our company is based in Florida, but we provide real estate financing all over North America. We have helped finance properties in New York, Texas, Colorado, and California. These states are popular among foreign investors, particularly those from Brazil.

We, as an American company, also serve the local buyer’s market. We have dedicated teams that work with different loan categories in North America. Our success in the complex foreign loan market also led to us standing out with financing for Americans. It was a natural consequence.

Realtors play a crucial role in our business. They generate the most business for Dot by bringing in their clients. They trust us and understand the importance of our work in helping their clients acquire real estate. We are available 24/7 to help real estate agents because we know that not being available could make them lose a sale. Not only are we committed to the success of investors and buyers, but we are also committed to the success of realtors.

Meet the Founder and CEO

Renato F. Oliveira is the Founder and CEO of Dot Mortgage Company. Renato is a successul entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in Brazil, investing in gastronomy, and real estate. An investor in the real estate market in the United States for over 10 years, Renato is leader in his field.

Renato F. Oliveira is an example of success and boldness in business.

When asked to give a few words of wisdom for up and coming entrepreneurs, Renato quips, “To be an entrepreneur you must have boldness, courage, and responsibility as well as an understanding of how to balance these three characteristics, because an imbalance can lead to failure.”

“A personal experience drove me to dive into the foreign national loans market, found DOT Mortgage, and grow the company to be one of the major players in the Florida market.”