How family offices globally, in Singapore, Geneva, Zurich, London, Hong Kong, Dubai, New York, and across every major wealth management centre, can unlock the equity in US real estate holdings through a specialist equity release facility that works with the offshore structures, the complex income profiles, and the investment management mandates that define family office portfolio construction
The family office is the most sophisticated form of private wealth management in the world. A well-constructed family office investment mandate, managing the wealth of a single ultra-high-net-worth family or a cohort of high-net-worth families across multiple asset classes, multiple geographies, multiple currencies, and multiple generations, represents the pinnacle of integrated wealth management sophistication.
It is also, when it comes to US real estate equity release, one of the most consistently underserved institutional client categories in the global financial system.
Family offices that hold US real estate, directly or through the offshore structures that are standard components of family office portfolio architecture, face the same equity release barrier that affects every international high-net-worth owner of American property: the US mortgage system was not built for them, their home country private bank imposes AUM conditions they are unwilling to accept, and the conventional cross-border property finance market has no product that works efficiently with the investment mandates, the holding structures, and the capital management frameworks that define family office operations.
Global Mortgage Group exists to close this gap. Our equity release programme is purpose-built for the specific requirements of family office US real estate finance, the offshore structures, the investment committee process, the complex beneficial ownership frameworks, the multi-currency income profiles, and the institutional-quality documentation and reporting that family office investment directors require from their specialist financing partners.
This is the Unlocked in America: Family Offices guide, part of the Unlocked in America series by Global Mortgage Group and America Mortgages, the only US mortgage lender focused exclusively on overseas borrowers.
The Family Office and US Real Estate: A Consistent and Growing Allocation
US real estate has been a consistent and growing component of family office investment mandates globally for several decades. The combination of characteristics that makes US real estate attractive to family offices, transparency of pricing and
transaction, depth of the secondary market, strong long-term appreciation, dollar denomination, the legal protection of English common law property rights, and the diversification benefit of a geographically distinct asset market, maps directly onto the investment criteria that family office mandates typically specify for alternative and real asset allocations.
The family office US real estate allocation takes several distinct forms across the global family office community:
Direct trophy residential ownership: The founding family maintains direct residential positions in premium US markets: Manhattan, Beverly Hills, Aspen, Miami, as lifestyle assets that are also expected to deliver long-term capital appreciation. These positions are typically held through offshore structures for estate planning and asset protection purposes and have in many cases been held for decades with significant unrealised appreciation.
Investment property portfolios: The family office holds US real estate as part of a managed investment mandate, multifamily apartment buildings, commercial property, office, retail, industrial, or a diversified portfolio, with the expectation of rental income and capital appreciation. These portfolios are typically held through US LLCs with offshore parent structures.
Branded residence and resort property: Ultra-high-net-worth families frequently hold branded residence positions, in Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Aman, Rosewood, and comparable developments, as lifestyle investments that combine personal use with rental programme income and capital appreciation.
Co-investment alongside institutional funds: Family offices increasingly co-invest alongside institutional real estate funds and developers in US real estate projects, acquiring minority stakes in developments or single properties alongside fund sponsors. These co-investment positions are held through LP or LLC structures that may have specific equity release lending complexity.
Education property: Many family office principals have purchased residential property near elite US universities: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, for family members' educational years and have retained those properties as investment assets following graduation. These properties have in many cases appreciated dramatically from their original educational-purpose purchase prices.
Why the Conventional US Equity Release Market Cannot Serve Family Offices
Family offices face a compounded version of the standard international high-net-worth equity release barrier, the standard barriers compounded by the specific investment management and structural characteristics of family office portfolio construction.
Offshore holding structures of institutional complexity
Family office US real estate holdings are almost universally held through offshore structures, BVI companies, Cayman LPs, Jersey trusts, Liechtenstein foundations, Luxembourg SOPARFIs, Singapore variable capital companies, and Hong Kong limited companies, that are standard components of institutionally constructed international real estate portfolios. These structures serve legitimate and important purposes: tax efficiency, estate planning, asset protection, investment mandate compliance, and the separation of investment assets from personal liability exposure.
The conventional US equity release market's refusal to lend against these structures is the single most consistent barrier that family office investment directors encounter when seeking to release equity from US real estate holdings. GMG's equity release programme is specifically designed to accommodate the full range of offshore holding structures used in family office portfolio construction.
Multi-layer beneficial ownership and investment committee governance
Family office beneficial ownership structures frequently involve multiple layer, the ultimate family principals, the family holding company, the family trust, the investment committee, and the family office entity itself, with governance processes that require investment committee approval, trustee consent, and in some cases protector or advisory committee sign-off before any security can be granted over a portfolio asset.
GMG's equity release process is designed to accommodate institutional governance requirements. We provide indicative term sheets that can be taken to investment committees for approval. We engage with trustees and their legal counsel on the trust deed review required for trust-held properties. And our legal panel is experienced in the documentation requirements for offshore structures of institutional complexity.
Complex multi-currency investment income
Family office income, whether from the family's operating businesses, their investment portfolio, their real estate holdings, or the combination of all of these, is multi-currency, multi-jurisdictional, and structured through corporate and trust entities in ways that conventional US mortgage underwriters cannot assess. GMG's asset-led equity release assessment does not require family office income to conform to US mortgage documentation standards.
The AUM condition from private banking relationships
Family offices that maintain relationships with Swiss, British, or Asian private banks, for custodial services, lending facilities, or investment execution, frequently encounter the AUM condition when those private banks are asked to extend cross-border lending against US real estate. The family office, which has its own investment management framework and is not looking for a wealth management relationship with a bank, rejects the AUM condition. GMG provides the same facility without any AUM condition or requirement to maintain a banking relationship.
Institutional reporting and documentation requirements
Family office investment directors operate within institutional frameworks that require formal documentation, detailed reporting, and professional counterparty relationships that conform to the standards expected of institutional-quality advisors. GMG's equity release process provides the institutional-quality documentation, formal term sheets, credit approval letters, legal opinions from qualified US counsel, independent valuation reports, and loan documentation, that family office investment committees require.
The Most Common Family Office Equity Release Scenarios
Portfolio rebalancing without liquidating US real estate positions
The family office investment mandate has become over-allocated to US real estate, either because US property has appreciated dramatically or because new capital has been deployed into other asset classes, altering the portfolio's target allocation ratios. Selling US real estate to rebalance would trigger capital gains tax events and transaction costs and would permanently exit positions that may have long-term strategic value. Equity release from US real estate provides the rebalancing capital without requiring a disposal.
Capital deployment opportunity with a short closing window
The family office investment committee has identified a co-investment opportunity, a private credit transaction, a direct lending mandate, or a real estate acquisition in another market that requires capital deployment within three to four weeks. The family's US real estate equity is the most efficient capital source, but the conventional US equity release process cannot be completed within the required timeline. GMG's 24 to 48 hour term sheet and 10 to 20 business day drawdown timeline makes US real estate equity available within investment closing windows.
Liquidity during generational wealth transfer
The family office is managing the generational transition of family wealth, restructuring holding structures, implementing estate planning provisions, distributing assets among the next generation, and establishing new family governance frameworks. The US real estate portfolio, which may include assets held in trust structures and offshore vehicles established by the previous generation, needs to remain intact during the transition while providing liquidity to meet estate obligations, legal fees, tax provisions, and the capital needs of beneficiaries during the transition period.
Completion funding for development or acquisition projects
The family office has committed capital to a US real estate development or acquisition project, a branded residence purchase, a commercial property acquisition, or a
development co-investment, and the completion payment or acquisition capital is required within a specific timeline. Equity release from an existing US portfolio asset provides the completion funding without requiring a disposal of existing holdings.
Refinancing offshore-structure holdings onto permanent financing
Family office US real estate holdings that were acquired without mortgage finance, entirely from offshore capital, can be refinanced onto long-term mortgage facilities through America Mortgages' Foreign National or DSCR mortgage products. GMG's equity release facility provides the bridge during the documentation and credit assessment period for the long-term mortgage.
The "forgotten asset" within the family office mandate
Family offices that have managed multi-generational family wealth occasionally identify US real estate positions, acquired by the previous generation for educational, lifestyle, or investment purposes, that have been under-managed and whose equity release potential has never been assessed. A Manhattan pied-a-terre purchased in 1995, an Aspen ski chalet acquired in 2002, a Hawaii resort property bought in 1988, these assets may represent significant unrealised equity that has never been treated as an accessible capital resource within the family office's overall portfolio management framework.
GMG as a Family Office Specialist Partner
GMG positions itself as a specialist financing partner within the family office's broader ecosystem of advisors and service providers, occupying the specific and defined role of US property finance specialist, complementing rather than competing with the family office's investment advisors, custodian banks, tax advisors, legal counsel, and real estate investment managers.
Our engagement with family office clients is designed to meet institutional standards:
Institutional-quality documentation: GMG provides formal credit approval letters, detailed term sheets with all pricing and conditions clearly stated, legal opinions from qualified US counsel, independent valuation reports from RICS-qualified or MAI-certified US appraisers, and loan documentation prepared by specialist US real estate legal counsel.
Investment committee presentation support: GMG is available to prepare presentation materials for family office investment committee review, including analysis of the equity release opportunity, comparison of equity release versus sale economics, exit strategy assessment, and risk analysis.
Trustee and legal counsel engagement: For trust-held properties, GMG engages directly with the trustee and their legal counsel to review the trust deed, confirm the trustee's authority to grant security, and manage the legal documentation process efficiently.
Confidentiality and discretion: Family office principals expect absolute discretion from their specialist advisors. GMG operates with the confidentiality standards that ultra-high-net-worth clients require, we do not discuss client transactions, we do not publicise client relationships, and we do not use family office client introductions as marketing material.
Referral fee for family office introducer relationships: Where a family office introduces a related family's US real estate equity release requirement to GMG, or where a multi-family office introduces a client family, GMG pays a competitive referral fee on drawdown, consistent with the referral fee arrangements available to all GMG professional intermediary partners.
The GMG Equity Release Product for Family Offices
Senior secured equity release against US residential and commercial real estate:
- Loan size: USD 500,000 to USD 20,000,000+ — larger facilities considered on a case-by-case basis for multi-property portfolios
- Term: 6 to 24 months
- LTV: Up to 65–70% of independently appraised US market value for residential; up to 60–65% for commercial and specialist assets
- Interest: Retained or rolled up — no monthly payment obligation — no income serviceability requirement
- No AUM condition — no requirement to maintain a banking relationship with GMG or any affiliated institution
- No US credit history required for family or family office principals
- Multi-currency income assessment: USD, CHF, EUR, GBP, SGD, HKD, AED, JPY, AUD, and all major currencies considered within asset-led assessment
- Offshore holding structures: BVI companies, Cayman LPs and exempted companies, Jersey trusts and companies, Guernsey trusts, Liechtenstein Anstalts and Stiftungs, Luxembourg SOPARFIs and SCSps, Singapore VCCs and private limited companies, Hong Kong limited companies, and all other qualifying international structures, subject to beneficial ownership due diligence
- Investment committee governance: GMG provides formal documentation suitable for investment committee review and approval
- Timeline: Indicative term sheet 24–48 hours; drawdown 10–20 business days for standard structures; 20–35 business days for complex trust and foundation structures
America Mortgages long-term products for family offices seeking permanent US financing:
- Foreign National Mortgage: Long-term US mortgage for non-US national family principals assessed on foreign income
- DSCR Mortgage: Investment property mortgage assessed on US rental income — ideal for family office investment property portfolios
Available across all 50 US states, including all major family office US real estate markets
Singapore Family Offices: GMG's Home Market
Singapore has emerged as the most significant family office hub in Asia and one of the most important globally, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reporting extraordinary growth in registered family offices under the Section 13O and 13U tax incentive schemes over the past five years.
Singapore-based family offices, whether established by Singaporean principals, Chinese high-net-worth families, Indonesian business dynasties, Indian technology founders, or globally mobile ultra-high-net-worth families from any origin, are among GMG's most natural and most proximate referral partners for US real estate equity release.
GMG is headquartered in Singapore. Our team is available for in-person meetings with Singapore family office investment directors and their principals. We understand the Singapore family office regulatory framework, the MAS licensing requirements, the VCC structure, the Section 13O and 13U incentive schemes, and the compliance obligations that Singapore-based family offices operate under. And we understand the Singapore-based family's international portfolio, including the US real estate component that is increasingly a standard allocation within Singapore family office investment mandates.
Singapore family offices seeking to discuss US real estate equity release are invited to contact Donald Klip directly for an in-person meeting at GMG's Singapore office.
Establishing a Family Office Partnership with GMG
If you are a family office investment director, a chief investment officer, a family office principal, or an advisor to a family office who manages US real estate positions and wants to discuss how GMG's equity release programme can address the family office's US property finance needs, contact Donald Klip directly.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +65 9773-0273
Website: gmg.asia
America Mortgages: americamortgages.com
For family offices or multi-family offices interested in a formal referral partner relationship, for introducing related families or client families with US real estate equity release needs, GMG's Referral Partner Agreement is available on request.
To discuss a specific portfolio situation or a specific US property equity release requirement on a confidential basis, contact Donald Klip directly. GMG provides preliminary feasibility assessments and indicative pricing for specific situations without requiring formal client identification at the initial stage.
GMG is headquartered in Singapore and operates across 23 jurisdictions. In-person meetings are available in Singapore and across the Asia-Pacific region, and by video conference for family offices in Geneva, Zurich, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, New York, and beyond.
