What a foreign national loan is
A foreign national loan is a mortgage made to a borrower who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, secured by property in the United States. The borrower may live abroad and buy an investment property, a vacation home or a future residence; may hold a work or investor visa and live here without permanent status; or may have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number rather than a Social Security number. What the borrowers share is that the conventional mortgage system, built around U.S. credit files, U.S. tax returns and U.S. employment, does not read them.
The lenders that do are the same ones that serve self-employed and investor borrowers: DSCR lenders that qualify on the property’s rent, hard money lenders that qualify on the asset, and bank and non-QM programs built for international clients. This page explains the options, the documents, the differences from a standard mortgage and the exits, and states plainly where a Loan Goat program is the published route and where the answer is per file.
Types of loans available
- Conforming. Available to permanent residents and to some visa holders with U.S. credit and income; not available to a borrower living abroad with no U.S. file.
- Jumbo and non-QM. Portfolio and non-QM lenders with foreign national programs, underwritten on international income and assets with larger down payments and reserves.
- Bank portfolio. International private banking relationships that lend against assets on deposit, at a price and with a minimum relationship.
- DSCR. The investor’s loan, qualified on the property’s rent with the borrower’s income left out. Loan Goat’s rental DSCR loan publishes the parameters that matter to a foreign investor: DTI not calculated, large deposits do not need to be sourced and first time investor OK.
- Hard money bridge. The fastest route to a closing, underwritten on the property, the equity and the exit. Loan Goat’s bridge loan publishes a close in 5-7 days, no borrower experience required and no prepayment penalties.
Who qualifies
A foreign buyer with a verifiable down payment and reserves, a plan for the property (rent, hold or occupy) and the documents below is a candidate for the DSCR and bridge programs; a foreign buyer who wants to occupy the property is asking for a consumer purpose loan with its own rules. Whether a specific borrower qualifies for a Loan Goat program, and at what leverage and reserves, is confirmed per file; the DSCR and bridge cards print the published ceilings, and foreign national files are commonly written below them.
Documents
Passport and visa or entry record. Proof of funds for the down payment, closing costs and reserves, seasoned in accounts the lender can verify, whether in the U.S. or abroad. Income evidence where the program needs it, or the property’s rent where it does not. International credit references or bank reference letters for a borrower with no U.S. credit history. The entity documents where the property is vested in an LLC. A U.S. bank account for payments is usually required, and a taxpayer identification number is needed for reporting.
Differences from a traditional mortgage
Down payments. Larger. A foreign national program typically requires more equity than a domestic one, and reserves of several months of payments; the exact figures are set per program and per file.
Rates and pricing. Higher than conforming, in line with non-QM pricing, reflecting the smaller pool of lenders and the underwriting effort. Rates and pricing are subject to change without notice and are not a commitment to lend; the pricing guide explains the factors.
Prepayment penalties. Common on foreign national term loans from many lenders; Loan Goat’s rental DSCR and bridge cards publish no prepayment penalty.
Closing costs. Standard, plus the cost of document translation, apostilles and international wires where they apply.
No U.S. credit history. Handled by reference letters, international credit reports where they exist, or by a program that qualifies on the property. A hard money bridge and a DSCR loan both reduce the weight of the borrower’s file.
ITIN mortgages. Borrowers with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number and U.S. income are served by ITIN programs in the non-QM market; a borrower with an ITIN and a rental property is served by the DSCR loan.
Broker or direct lender. A direct lender with published programs decides on its own criteria; a broker shops a foreign national file across lenders. Loan Goat publishes its programs on this site.
Investment property loans
Most foreign national borrowers are investors, and the investment property path is the clearest. The DSCR loan qualifies on the rent: 5, 7, 30 and 40 year fixed terms, LTV up to 80%, rates from 6.50% on the Non-QM tier, a minimum credit score of 620 on the published card (how a borrower with no U.S. score is evaluated is set per file), on non owner occupied SFR, condo or townhome and 2-4 unit property, with short term rental income permitted for a vacation rental. The bridge closes the purchase when speed decides it, and the DSCR loan takes the bridge out once the property is rented. For a multi-family purchase, the commercial and bridge programs apply on the same logic: the property carries the file.
Exit strategies
A foreign national bridge exits into a DSCR loan on a rented property, into a sale, or, for a borrower who later builds U.S. credit and income, into a conventional loan. A DSCR loan is a thirty-year instrument and is its own exit; it is refinanced when rates or the portfolio call for it, and the no prepayment penalty benefit means the timing is the borrower’s.
Where foreign national borrowers fit
- Rental property loans for the DSCR loan that qualifies on the rent.
- Bridge loans for the fast purchase before the long-term loan.
- Multi-family hard money loans for the apartment building bought from abroad.
- Vacation rental for the coastal property that will rent by the night between visits.
A foreign buyer is underwritten on the property and the equity, not on a credit file that does not exist here. Send the property, the plan and the proof of funds, and the answer on which program fits will be direct.
