NONRESIDENT INVESTOR
Meet John Pastre
Hello, I am John, co-founder of Nonresident Investor — a full-cycle agency for US mortgages, opening US LLCs, offshore tax planning and US tax filings. Here is my story.
Early Life and Schooling
I was born in sunny southern California. I spent my early teenage years in the Washington, DC area, and when it came time for high school, I shipped off to St. Edwards School, Oxford. There, I graduated with an International Baccalaureate diploma. I was a competitive rower, something I am extremely proud of.
My international experience in the UK broadened my horizons beyond the American point of view and helped me develop ambitions with a worldly perspective. I became friends with citizens of the world, learned about different cultures, visited new places, created lasting friendships, and established a passion for exploration. To this day, I travel internationally at least 4-5 times a year. Often, these travels are centered around visiting my school friends but more often than not, this travel is to attend their weddings.
After high school, I was lucky and worked hard enough to get accepted into the University of Virginia, a prestigious university founded by Thomas Jefferson. There, I studied computer science and philosophy.
At university, my family had a house that made me fall in love with real estate. During university, my parents sold this home, and blah blah blah
Starting as a Mortgage Broker
After university, my first office job was in US politics. Working on Capitol Hill taught me valuable life lessons and created important relationships. Between researching legislation and learning the process of appropriation, I realized politics is not for me.
I got my first job and license as a mortgage loan officer at CityWorth Mortgage. While there, I originated FHA and VA loans for people with low credit scores and down payments. These are hard-to-fund loans, and most of my time was spent in advising clients on credit building, learning about the intricacies of government-sponsored mortgages and their underwriting guidelines.
My First Loan
My first mortgage client was a US Army veteran, Olly. He was trying to buy a home in Georgia and wanted to finance it with the popular VA loan (mortgages designed for US veterans with no down payment). It was a long process. First, we worked on his credit profile, and I coached him on how to improve his credit in the short term. We talked about what he could afford to spend on housing payments. As a father of three daughters, Olly’s monthly budget was tight, to say the least, and I needed to help him understand not just about the cost of financing a home but also about the cost of buying and owning one.
The entire process of compliance, qualification, and closing my first loan showed me a lot about the amount of patience, work, and dedication it takes to truly help a client. Ultimately, months of work all felt worth it when Olly called to thank me while sitting on the couch in his new home. He didn’t think it was possible.
Working For Paramount Residential Mortgage Group
At the beginning of the pandemic, I started my own mortgage branch at one of the biggest national lenders, Paramount Residential Mortgage Group. There, I grew a team from zero to seven mortgage loan officers and grew my experience in DSCR, conventional, and jumbo mortgages. At PRMG, I started funding millions of dollars a month, thanks in part to the new technology in the mortgage world, but especially because of the low rates brought on by the pandemic.
Approaching the end of the pandemic, there was a big shift in real estate investment resulting in DSCR mortgages gaining popularity with lenders and investors alike. PRMG was one of the first national lenders to offer a DSCR program, the program allowing investors to qualify for financing based on the income a property can generate, but the documentation requirements were nothing like the low documentation required in today’s DSCR loans.
In other words, it was still a pain to write these types of loans. One of the most common questions investors I worked with at PRMG asked was “Why do you need my tax returns?”. In contrast to today, I write DSCR mortgages with one month’s worth of bank statements showing proof of funds to close and for foreign nationals, not even a credit report.
- More about the process of buying the house
- Number of transactions
- Number of states (licensed in 13)
- Real estate & financial guru
- International American
Brokering Mortgages – The Best Option for Clients
In my pursuit to help my clients get the best rates, I realized that brokering loans instead of funding them at PRMG was way better for them. By becoming a mortgage broker, I could sell mortgages at wholesale rates, saving investors money on origination costs. Additionally, instead of offering just one document-heavy loan structure, as a broker, I am able to offer hundreds of different loan structures specifically designed for investors.
Moving to Florida and Dealing With International Clients
My switch to working with international clients came as a result of moving to Florida. Due to the state’s diverse population, heavy tourist traffic, and property values doubling seemingly overnight during the pandemic, I started working with clients from all around the world looking to take advantage of the market.
I regularly helped people from Canada, Mexico, China, India, Brazil, and the UK, with all of these investors looking for the same thing — to buy a piece of the American dream. The best part was that these investors were not doing this once every five years; they were buying property five times a year. This high volume of foreign investors in Florida allowed me to quickly develop my skills in dealing with a diverse range of mortgage scenarios for international buyers. It also led to me funding over $81 million worth of loans.
Meeting Luka and Founding NRI
My specialization in US mortgages for foreigners was quickly noticed by my colleagues in the industry. Because 99% of mortgage brokers don’t know what they’re doing with international clients, I became the broker other brokers would recommend to their foreign citizen referrals. This is precisely how I met my business partner, Luka.
One of my broker contacts got in touch with me and told me this entrepreneur from Montenegro, Luka, is looking for a mortgage and wants to learn about the process in general and is interested in having a meeting with me.
During our meeting, his ambition and desire to learn were obvious. On top of that, our meeting was at midnight his time, so I knew this man was a hard worker. Luka had a lot of questions because, at the time, he owned four units in Wisconsin and was in the process of buying four more. When I asked him for documentation, he already had everything ready and organized into a single file.
That happens once in a blue moon in the mortgage business, and so automatically, I assumed he was working with other lenders. Nope. Long story short, it turns out he didn’t even want financing. He just wanted an underwriter to approve his entity structure so he could advise his business colleague on a structure for his investment.
Soon after our meeting, I became the go-to mortgage broker for Luka and his foreign clients. After closing deals with Luka first as referrals, I realized these perfectly organized purchase files Luka made for his investor clients represented more than just a mortgage opportunity. As our clients began to depend on me as much as Luka for advice, we formed a business to do it together after forming a strong bond in NYC. From there, I officially bought into the Nonresident Investor business plan.
Meet Luka Malkovich
Luka Malkovich is a serial entrepreneur from Europe. He began his career at 19, when he started his first business. In his ten-plus years of experience, he has managed to create and successfully grow several companies. His most successful project to date was Addria.com, a software development company, which employs people from all over Europe. Over the years, Luka’s company provided software development services to clients all around the world. He personally led teams of developers on more than 100 projects for clients in 15 different countries.
Need help getting a US mortgage as a foreigner? I’d like to hear from you
Thank you for your interest in our story. My success in the mortgage industry has not happened overnight, and I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to get to know my story. I would love to hear from you and talk about how we can start working together. If you need help reaching your goals in investing in US real estate or want to leverage the US financial system for your international business, feel free to get in touch.
Get in touch
Whether you’re an international investor ready to unlock the U.S. market or you simply have questions about financing your American dream, I’m here to help. With active mortgage licenses in California, Florida, Virginia, and Texas, and over $81 million funded in loans at my peak year (2023), I blend deep local know-how with a truly global perspective. Let’s talk strategy, explore your options, and get you one step closer to owning property in the States.