A foreign national is a borrower whose primary residence is outside the U.S. They don’t have a Social Security Number, U.S. credit history or employment history and haven’t filed U.S. tax returns. A true foreign national isn’t planning on living permanently in the United States. They’re buying a second home or investment property.

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If this describes you, then investor guidelines and regulations can make the home buying process more complicated. But that’s not the whole picture. There are programs and products that can help you become a homeowner. We offer financing options to non-resident aliens, foreign nationals, and citizens of countries outside of the U.S.

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Down payment requirements are usually higher for foreign national borrowers. The minimum down payment is usually 25% of the total purchase price of the property. This is also referred to as an 75% Loan to Value "LTV" loan.

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We prefer a credit report from the home country, although some will take three credit reference letters from the borrower. The credit report is much like our own in the US but without scores as their scoring systems are different from our own. There are agencies in the US that obtain the data, conform it to US regulations and provide the background checks (verification of employment, verification of an existence of a company for self-employed) and anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, OFAC and red flag rules.