Foreign national mortgages. Buy US property without US credit.
A foreign national mortgage is a US mortgage for a buyer who is not a US citizen or permanent resident and has no US credit file. You qualify either on your own income, documented with bank statements or a profit and loss statement prepared by an accountant, or on the rental income of the property you are buying. Leverage runs to 80% of value on select programs, with loan amounts to $2.5M.
The usual obstacle is not the money, it is the paperwork the US system expects and you do not have: a credit file, a domestic pay stub, a years-long US banking trail. This page sets out the two routes lenders in our network use instead, and exactly what you need to have in hand for each.
Who it's for
A fit if you're…
Buying a US home or investment property from abroad
No US credit file, and no interest in building one first
Self-employed or a business owner in your home country
Buying in Florida or Texas, in your own name or through a US LLC
Turned away by a bank that could not work without a US credit score
No US credit file needed
On select programs. Other programs use a score and look for 680 or better.
No visa required
On select programs. Requirements vary by lender.
Two ways to qualify
Your own income, or the property's rental income.
Loan amounts to $2.5M
On select programs, with leverage to 80% of value.
No credit reference letters
Letters from banks in your home country are not required.
40+ lender network
Requirements differ sharply between lenders here, so shopping the file matters.
What a foreign national mortgage is
It is a US mortgage for a buyer who is not a US citizen and not a permanent resident, and who has no US credit history. Everything else about it is ordinary: a US lender, a US property, a US closing, a monthly payment in dollars. What changes is the evidence. A US buyer hands over a credit report and a pay stub, and the lender reads a system it already knows. You do not have that file, so the lender substitutes other proof: statements from your own bank, an accountant's summary of what your business earns, or the rent the property itself will collect. The loan is fully documented. It is documented differently.
For buyers who are not US citizens or permanent residents
No US credit file required on select programs
Available on a home for your own use, a second home or investment property
Foreign national mortgage programs come in two shapes, and the difference is simply what they read as income.
Path one qualifies you on your own income. You provide bank statements, or a profit and loss statement prepared by an accountant, and the lender uses that to establish what you earn. This is the path that reaches the higher leverage, to 80% of the property value on select programs, so it is usually the first one to test.
Path two ignores your income entirely and looks at the property instead. If you are buying a rental, the rent it collects is measured against the monthly payment, and where the rent covers the payment the loan can go to 75% of value. This is a DSCR loan, and one difference matters: on this path the rent needs to cover the payment at a ratio of 1.00 or better. The domestic programs that carry no minimum ratio at all are not part of this path.
Path one: bank statements or a CPA-prepared profit and loss statement, to 80% LTV on select programs
Path two: the property's rental income, to 75% LTV on select programs
Path two needs the rent to cover the payment at 1.00 or better
We test both against the network and show you which one gives you more
This is a fully documented loan. Nothing is skipped; the documents are simply different from the ones a US borrower brings. Expect to provide identification, income evidence on one of the two paths, and proof that the money to close is sitting in a US account.
A valid passport, and the identification the lender requires alongside it
Income evidence on path one: bank statements, or a profit and loss statement prepared by an accountant
Or on path two: evidence of the property's rent, such as a lease or the market rent in the appraisal
Funds for the down payment, closing costs and reserves held in a US account
Entity documents, including formation papers and the operating agreement, if you are closing in an LLC
Reserves, with the number of months varying by lender, leverage and property
We are licensed in Florida and Texas, so a foreign national mortgage in Florida and one in Texas are both arranged here. Florida draws a large share of international buyers, and its insurance and flood costs move the monthly payment more than most buyers expect, which is covered in Florida DSCR loans. In Texas, property taxes play that role, set out in Texas DSCR loans. If you are buying a short-term rental, the income evidence works differently again, and that is on short-term rental loans.
We are mortgage brokers. Nothing on this page is tax, immigration or legal advice, and we do not give it. Please take questions about visas or residency, US tax on rental income, withholding when you sell, estate matters or ownership structure to your own tax, legal and immigration advisors before you buy.
Pricing is typically higher than on a standard US mortgage, and leverage is typically lower.
Nothing on this page is tax, immigration or legal advice. Consult your own advisors on residency, US tax treatment, withholding on a future sale and ownership structure.
Every requirement here, including credit, visa, leverage, loan size and reserves, varies by lender and by file.
Funds must be in a US account to close, even where no seasoning is required.
Programs that require a 680 score exist alongside the no-US-credit programs, and may price better. We compare both.
Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
FAQ
Questions buyers actually ask
Do I need a visa to get a US mortgage?+
Not on select programs. Several lenders in our network finance foreign nationals without requiring a visa. Documentation requirements vary by lender. Questions about visas, residency or immigration status themselves are outside what a mortgage broker can advise on, so please raise those with your own immigration or legal advisor.
Do I need US credit history?+
Not on select programs, which are built for buyers with no US credit file at all. Other programs in the network do use a credit score and look for 680 or better. Credit reference letters from banks in your home country are not required on the no-US-credit programs.
How much down payment do foreign nationals need?+
Leverage runs to 80% of the property value on select programs, which means a down payment of 20% or more, plus closing costs and reserves. On the path that qualifies using the property's rental income, leverage runs to 75%, so at least 25% down. The exact figure depends on the program, the property and the file.
Can I buy an investment property?+
Yes. Investment property is one of the most common uses of these programs, and it is also what makes the rental-income path available to you.
Can I close in an LLC?+
Yes, holding title in a US LLC is usually available, and the lender will ask for the entity's formation documents and operating agreement. Whether an LLC is the right structure for you is a question for your own tax and legal advisors.
Do I need a US bank account?+
You will need the funds for your down payment, closing costs and reserves held in a US account at closing. On select programs those funds do not need to have been sitting there for any set period, and the deposits do not need to be traced back to their origin.
Can I qualify using the property's rental income?+
Yes. That is the second qualifying path: the property's rent is measured against the payment, and where it covers the payment at a ratio of 1.00 or better the loan can go to 75% of value. On this path your own income is not the qualifying figure.
Can a foreign national get a mortgage in Florida?+
Yes. Florida is one of the two states we are licensed in, and it is where most international buyers we work with are purchasing. The programs are the same ones described here: no US credit file required on select programs, leverage to 80% of value, or to 75% where you qualify on the property's rental income. Florida insurance and flood costs affect the monthly payment more than most buyers expect, so we quote those before anything else.
What are foreign national mortgage requirements?+
A passport and the identification the lender asks for alongside it, income evidence on one of the two paths (bank statements or an accountant-prepared profit and loss statement, or the property's rental income), and the funds for your down payment, closing costs and reserves held in a US account. On select programs there is no requirement for US credit history, a visa, credit reference letters, or third-party verification of your address abroad. Requirements vary by lender and by file.
What is the maximum loan amount?+
Loan amounts run to $2.5M on select programs. Higher amounts may be possible on other programs depending on the property and the file.
Do my assets need to be in the US for a period of time first?+
On select programs, no. Funds held in a US account do not need seasoning, meaning there is no minimum time they must have been on deposit, and the deposits themselves do not need sourcing. Requirements vary by lender.
Let's see which path fits.
A 3-minute application. No credit pull to start. A rate estimate from a broker shopping 40+ lenders for you.
