Getting a loan through an Austrian bank

I’ve never even heard of Canada

Alright, I’ll jump in here too. Back in May, I started my own hunt for a mortgage. I went through one of those local brokers here in the States, just like everyone else. Once I had all my paperwork squared away—we’re talking a full-blown mortgage here—the agent tells me I need to meet with some guy who handles the processing over at Goldman Sachs. She practically guaranteed me that everything would be wrapped up within three weeks. Well, when I actually sat down with this guy, the entire story changed. Suddenly, it was going to take way longer, he slashed the loan amount she originally promised me, and to top it off, he wanted me to pay out of pocket for his "appraisal" $667 even though he couldn't even guarantee I’d get approved! I walked away right then and there, and wouldn't you know it? The agent stopped taking my calls entirely. So, I started looking elsewhere. These new people didn't demand any upfront fees, and they told me I had to submit everything within three days because they were rushing to close before the holiday break. And that’s when the absolute nightmare began. They dragged their feet all the way until November. First, they claimed someone at the firm fell ill, so they couldn't process the papers until September. Then, once September rolled around, *someone else* supposedly got sick. Finally, in November, they hit me with the news that it was denied. All that time, I was just sitting there waiting because they kept insisting there was absolutely no reason for it to fail. That’s my experience for you.

Terry Ross11 said:Of course you can. You might expect to shell out 5% of the loan amount just for an appraisal. In our case, the bank only charged us a 2% processing fee, and that was the end of it. I'm not sure how your experience went, but everything was pretty straightforward on our end. After the appraiser finished, a representative from JP Morgan Chase actually came by to personally verify that the valuation matched the actual condition of the property. As for those freezes or pay stubs, I can't say. We just pulled some documents from the IRS and attached them. And no, it’s not like every loan gets approved automatically. That’s just my experience.

Which bank did you use for that loan, and what does their process look like?

Jonathan Ward59 said:We actually went out and pulled a mortgage-backed personal loan through RBA
It’s totally legal—none of that radical activist nonsense here
We put up the house as collateral and secured the loan without any drama
We just headed straight over to the bank in Austria to grab the cash
The interest rate sits at 7.58%—they don't care about your credit score or whatever status you have
All they care about is the mortgage; if you miss a few payments—though you can usually work something out then—they just sell the property
The loans run for 15 years, and honestly, my monthly payment is lower than what I’d end up with here once I sit down to crunch the numbers
I’m perfectly happy with how they handle things, whereas the banks here just brushed me off
The whole process took somewhere between 30 and 45 days
Plus, my lawyer pointed out it’s smarter to pay the installments directly in Austria; otherwise, they’d have to report the loan to the Federal Reserve, which basically flags you as having taken out a loan in America immediately

I'm trying to figure out how to get in touch with a reliable broker for this kind of loan. Would anyone be willing to share some info, a phone number, or an email address?

Samuel Rivera12 said:Alright, I’ll jump in here too. Back in May, I started my own hunt for a mortgage. I went through one of those local brokers here in the States, just like everyone else. Once I had all my paperwork squared away—we’re talking a full-blown mortgage here—the agent tells me I need to meet with some guy who handles the processing over at Goldman Sachs. She practically guaranteed me that everything would be wrapped up within three weeks. Well, when I actually sat down with this guy, the entire story changed. Suddenly, it was going to take way longer, he slashed the loan amount she originally promised me, and to top it off, he wanted me to pay out of pocket for his "appraisal" $667 even though he couldn't even guarantee I’d get approved! I walked away right then and there, and wouldn't you know it? The agent stopped taking my calls entirely. So, I started looking elsewhere. These new people didn't demand any upfront fees, and they told me I had to submit everything within three days because they were rushing to close before the holiday break. And that’s when the absolute nightmare began. They dragged their feet all the way until November. First, they claimed someone at the firm fell ill, so they couldn't process the papers until September. Then, once September rolled around, *someone else* supposedly got sick. Finally, in November, they hit me with the news that it was denied. All that time, I was just sitting there waiting because they kept insisting there was absolutely no reason for it to fail. That’s my experience for you.

The market is a mixed bag—scams and shady deals exist, sure, but so do genuine complications. Having been in this business for a long time, I've seen it all. I've watched banks drag a perfectly good client through the mud for two months over a simple personal loan. Of course the client loses their mind; I would too. I even applied for a loan myself once and waited six weeks for it!
How do you protect yourself from being ripped off? Use common sense. Don't pay outrageous amounts upfront without actual documentation in hand. Even among our partners, you'll find scammers, but those people need to be reported and kicked to the curb immediately.
Then you have the clients. It's a circus. People bring in paperwork for companies that don't even exist, cause scenes at the bank, show up drunk or disheveled, and then try to lecture me and my team...

hollowheron32 said:I'm trying to figure out how to get in touch with a reliable broker for this kind of loan. Would anyone be willing to share some info, a phone number, or an email address?

God, just don't do it if you're talking about Peter. He dragged my friend through the mud. She can't even remember the name of the lawyer handling the loan paperwork in the States😕, he won't pick up his phone, and when he finally does, he’s talking nonsense. To put it mildly, he's unstable. You'll waste your time and you won't see a dime of that money...

I just registered here because I felt the need to weigh in. Regarding the person you mentioned, they aren't the direct holder of the mortgage papers at Goldman Sachs. They’re just one of many people working for the banker over in the US, which is where I work as well. Since we're talking about the same individual, D., I'm actually quite familiar with the whole situation. Based on her income alone, she can't qualify for the loan by herself, so she suggested a co-signer. Everything was moving along fine until the co-signer's last paycheck got hit with a garnishment due to an unpaid housing loan. It was suggested that a letter of intent be submitted to show that the debt will be cleared, but based on that, he isn't eligible to act as either a guarantor or a co-signer. The suggestion now is to find someone else. The process takes about two months; the paperwork was sent over in December, though they were told the office would be closed until January 15th. The files are still active and can be processed once a different co-signer without any wage garnishments is found. This isn't some stalling tactic or a scam. We've successfully closed a lot of loans for them, but everything has to be done with valid documentation...
So, that's the reality regarding your colleague. Just so you know, Ms. D. missed three calls on her cell phone back on February 2nd, and as for the attorneys, we coordinate with them once the contract is finalized, since we work with several different firms.

Jesse Alvarez3, if you care about your friend that much, why don't you just co-sign the loan for her so she can actually get it done?

Walter Martin56 said:I just registered here because I felt the need to weigh in. Regarding the person you mentioned, they aren't the direct holder of the mortgage papers at Goldman Sachs. They’re just one of many people working for the banker over in the US, which is where I work as well. Since we're talking about the same individual, D., I'm actually quite familiar with the whole situation. Based on her income alone, she can't qualify for the loan by herself, so she suggested a co-signer. Everything was moving along fine until the co-signer's last paycheck got hit with a garnishment due to an unpaid housing loan. It was suggested that a letter of intent be submitted to show that the debt will be cleared, but based on that, he isn't eligible to act as either a guarantor or a co-signer. The suggestion now is to find someone else. The process takes about two months; the paperwork was sent over in December, though they were told the office would be closed until January 15th. The files are still active and can be processed once a different co-signer without any wage garnishments is found. This isn't some stalling tactic or a scam. We've successfully closed a lot of loans for them, but everything has to be done with valid documentation...
So, that's the reality regarding your colleague. Just so you know, Ms. D. missed three calls on her cell phone back on February 2nd, and as for the attorneys, we coordinate with them once the contract is finalized, since we work with several different firms.

How kind of you to register just to give me an answer and pour all this effort and energy into it. From what I gather, you couldn't even pick up the phone for a friend to say five coherent sentences. But hey, now you've explained everything beautifully on this forum (thank God for this forum 🙏), so I'll pass it along to her.
So that's one way to handle "healthy" communication. You should have just admitted upfront that you're better at typing than talking 😁.
And I never said it was a scam. I said it's mostly impossible to reach you. I had the chance to hear the conversation my friend had with you, where you just stuttered and gave vague answers to very specific questions. We're talking about someone's property here, not ice cream 🤷.😕 and even so...
Besides, the lawyer hasn't heard of you and has no idea who you are. Everything else you wrote stands. I'd definitely be a guarantor—that's the easy part—but I don't meet the requirements.

Let's not drag this conversation into forums where it doesn't belong. I don't personally manage every single client my associates work with, just as an attorney wouldn't know my team unless they're directly involved. My role is to review all the paperwork; if something isn't right, I don't report it to the clients myself—I go back to whoever submitted the files. If the documentation is incorrect, I simply won't accept it. You'll have your papers mailed back to your address, so you can try to find someone else to sort it out, but without valid documents, you aren't going to get anywhere. There's really no point in debating this here, especially since it isn't your loan to begin with...

I'm with you on that, but my advice? Find people who actually do this for a living. There are plenty of qualified professionals out there looking for work... and they know how to communicate professionally, regardless of whether a loan gets approved or not.
That way, you won't have to deal with all this nonsense through back channels later on 🙂.
If you ever find yourself needing someone who actually wants to work and can handle the job, hit me up.

I don't want to step on anyone's toes here, but I’m looking for some serious guidance on how to secure a larger foreign loan. I have plenty of mortgage collateral to work with, so that shouldn't be an issue. I've been hearing whispers about Swiss or Italian credit options that offer much lower interest rates—does anyone actually know the deal with those? Does anyone have any insight? How can you guys help me out with this??
Thanks, everyone

Has anyone actually heard anything about Igor from San Diego, or maybe Tatiana and Irene over at Verizon?

Terry Ross11 said:That’s exactly how it works. My husband and I both run small businesses, and since we couldn't get traditional domestic financing, we went with RBA in Leibnitz—specifically a mortgage-backed loan. That's all they care about: whether the title is clear and the equity is unencumbered. We send our payments to Leibnitz, not locally.
We didn't overextend ourselves, so even with a five-year term, the monthly payments are manageable. For the most part, we're comfortably ahead of the curve.

Could you please tell me a bit more about getting a loan in Austria? Like, where did you guys actually go and what kind of paperwork do I need to bring along? I'm facing a pretty similar situation to yours. Thanks so much! Best regards.

Richard Brown4 said:Could you please tell me a bit more about getting a loan in Austria? Like, where did you guys actually go and what kind of paperwork do I need to bring along? I'm facing a pretty similar situation to yours. Thanks so much! Best regards.

It looks like the banks in Austria have tweaked their mortgage terms for Americans just a little bit—at least from what I know regarding one big national bank. Here’s how things seem to be looking right now:

- Personal loans can go up to $55,000 max
- The ratio for the mortgage value and the loan amount is roughly 1:3

To get the ball rolling, you'll probably need:
- A valid ID or driver's license
- For business owners or small LLCs—tax returns/balance sheets from 2008 and 2009
- W-2 forms or similar tax docs
- Pay stubs from the last three months
- Bank statements from the last three months
- Property info, like a deed or land registry extract
- Proof of ownership
- Building permits
- Some photos of the property

If you happen to have other debts hanging over you at the moment:
- A copy of those existing loan agreements
- Your current outstanding balance
- A statement confirming if you plan to use this new loan to pay off the old ones

Co-signers are an option too, I think.

The costs involved:
- Variable interest rate, sitting around 7.5% right now
- Appraisal fees and processing costs, which usually run about 3-4%
- Life insurance is recommended, though I don't think it's strictly mandatory

Basically, once you subtract your cost of living—you know, utilities, car payments, groceries—and the monthly loan payment, you should ideally have at least 30% left over.

I guess that covers the basics. Since we're talking about Austria, there might be a tiny bit of wiggle room here and there, but honestly, not much because everything is so easy to track nowadays. One thing is for sure, though—there isn't really a "blacklist" system like some places have.

What exactly are they using as a baseline to calculate the cost of living here? I mean, what's the methodology? Are they looking at utility bills—like, what kind of actual statements would you even need to show to prove those costs? Or is it just guesswork regarding gas, car maintenance, groceries...

Kimberly Nguyen said:What exactly are they using as a baseline to calculate the cost of living here? I mean, what's the methodology? Are they looking at utility bills—like, what kind of actual statements would you even need to show to prove those costs? Or is it just guesswork regarding gas, car maintenance, groceries...

Well, you actually have to list them right there in the application. Most people here are used to having everything set up on autopay through their bank, so it’s pretty easy to see everything on an account statement. As for things like food or clothes, I guess they probably just use some standard internal rate for those... anyway, the items listed in the calculation table are basically:

Housing costs / Rent
AT&T/ Phone expenses
Utilities
TV & Streaming Services
Vehicle expenses
Insurance costs
Loan and lease payments
General living expenses

I’m looking into those loans from Canada too. Anyone here actually dealt with them? If so, please share. 🙂

Regarding JPMorgan Chase—has anyone here had any "business" with Martin, the woman acting as a broker for Wells Fargo here in the US??
She showed up at our office about two weeks ago with some guy. They did an assessment for roughly $200 and asked for all the standard paperwork—everything seemed legitimate enough. They told us we’d know if the loan was approved within a week or two and said it looked like a "yes."

Since then? Nothing. Not a single word from Martin in over a week.
We’re starting to worry this might be a scam... 🤷

If anyone has experience dealing with her, please reach out.

THANKS!!!

Charles Patel

Charles Patel said:I’m looking into those loans from Canada too. Anyone here actually dealt with them? If so, please share. 🙂

Regarding JPMorgan Chase—has anyone here had any "business" with Martin, the woman acting as a broker for Wells Fargo here in the US??
She showed up at our office about two weeks ago with some guy. They did an assessment for roughly $200 and asked for all the standard paperwork—everything seemed legitimate enough. They told us we’d know if the loan was approved within a week or two and said it looked like a "yes."

Since then? Nothing. Not a single word from Martin in over a week.
We’re starting to worry this might be a scam... 🤷

If anyone has experience dealing with her, please reach out.

THANKS!!!

Charles Patel

I don't personally know the lady, but I can tell you there’s one big issue when it comes to those American Express loans.
Basically, the lenders over in America insist that you bring them every single piece of paperwork I mentioned in my earlier posts—and they really prefer you do it in person. A broker doesn't actually perform an appraisal at the start; instead, the bank makes its decision based solely on the documents and photos provided to see if they even want to consider someone for a loan.
If they actually decide to move forward (which usually happens once they gather a handful of potential candidates), then their representative from the bank comes out to look at—well, appraise—the properties, and that's what the bank charges for.

Now, here’s where brokers run into trouble... a lot of people here would love to get that kind of credit (even though, honestly, they probably don't stand a chance), but it takes time and money to gather all the papers, send them off to America, and so on. So, to make up for all that wasted time, they end up selling people these stories about appraisals and stuff.

I guess a decent, honest broker should just be upfront about it: like, "Look, we can apply for this loan, but in my experience, your chances are about this high, and my service fee is this much." It's only fair that someone looking for a loan gets proof that the application was actually submitted to the bank, and after that, nothing is really in the broker's hands anyway.

On the flip side, you have the person looking for the loan, who obviously doesn't want to pay a dime unless they actually get the money, while the brokers are constantly searching for ways to squeeze some cash out of them for the time they spent, and it just goes around in circles.

The reality is that in America, there are "brokers" out there who aren't even dealing with anyone in the US—they're just conning people, charging for these fake appraisals, and trying to upsell them on life insurance along the way, which might be helpful for larger amounts, but isn't always a requirement.

From what I recall, a colleague of mine who used to work with an Austrian firm never charged a dime for an initial assessment. Instead, they’d just wait until they had a handful of clients lined up in the same city. They would look over the paperwork sent beforehand to decide if it was actually worth their time to head out there for a site visit and a preliminary walkthrough...

In the end, those costs were simply rolled into the processing fee. 🤷

As for those people handing over cash for an appraisal without getting a single receipt or a shred of documentation? They shouldn't hold their breath waiting for that loan to go through. They should just take it as another expensive lesson learned.