Foreign National Mortgages Are Easy To Qualify For In The US

If you're one of many foreign nationals looking to pick up residential properties in the United States dirt cheap you are more than likely going to need a foreign national mortgage to help you purchase those US properties. The good news is that it is fairly easy for a foreign national to get approved for a foreign national mortgage in the US. Lenders will usually only go up to a loan to value of 65% on foreign national mortgages, so you will have to put a large down payment on the property. That means if the home is selling for $200,000, you would need a $70,000 down payment. If you have US credit and verifiable work income in the US the loan to value could be higher because you may be able to qualify for a Fannie Mae conventional mortgage although most foreign nationals use the stated income program at 65% LTV. A stated income foreign national mortgage means that they will not verify your income. They will also not verify your assets if this is the only property that you own in the US.

Interest rates on a foreign national mortgage are going to be a little higher than a Fannie Mae mortgage because it is a riskier loan for the lender to make. Think about it, you reside in a different country. The mortgage lenders offer 30 yr fixed rates and 3 & 5 yr adjustable rate mortgages if you think that you will not be holding onto the property that long.

If you are a foreign national and you purchase a home for cash in the US, you will have to wait at least a year to refinance and take out any equity that you may have. That is why foreign nationals are better off purchasing the homes with a foreign national mortgage instead of paying cash. I receive calls all the time from foreign nationals that paid cash for a US property a couple of months ago and now want to get that cash back out. I have to say, sorry, we can't do it. You'll have to wait a year from the date that you purchased the US property to pull out any cash.

It will take about 2 to 3 weeks to close on your foreign national mortgage once you submit your information to a mortgage broker so be sure and fax your signed sales contract to your mortgage broker as soon as you get it otherwise you could delay the closing.