Foreign National Loans
You do not live here. You can still own here.
No Social Security number, no US credit file, no green card, no US tax return. A foreign national loan finances a second home or an investment property in Florida on the strength of your passport, your funds, and the property itself.
Who this is built for
Buyers who live abroad
You are a citizen and resident of another country, visiting on a visa or not present at all. That is the ordinary case here, not the exception.
Investors buying Florida rentals from overseas
A condo in Brickell, a house in Doral, a short-term rental near the water — bought as an asset, held from another country.
Anyone with money but no American paper trail
You may own several businesses and three homes. If none of it is in the United States, an American bank cannot see any of it. These programs can.
Canadians in particular
Canadian citizens traveling to the United States do not need a nonimmigrant visa, which removes the single most common documentation problem before it starts.
Not sure which document your file needs — a US credit report, or a reference letter from your bank at home? One call settles it, and the answer is usually simpler than people expect.
Talk it throughNo American credit does not cost you leverage here
A missing credit file usually moves you down a tier. On this program it moves you to a different document — and nothing else changes.
Most buyers assume having no American credit will cost them. On this program it does not. The lender publishes two credit rows — one for borrowers with a US score, one for borrowers with foreign credit — and the maximum loan-to-value is identical on both. What changes is the paperwork, not the leverage.
That is unusual and worth saying plainly. On most alternative programs, a missing credit file moves you down a tier. Here it moves you to a different document.
| With a US credit score | Full leverage, per the table below | A 680 score with one tradeline reporting 24 months, or two reporting 12 months |
| With no US credit at all | The same leverage, per the table below | One credit reference letter from a financial institution in your home country |
Alternative credit is subject to the lender’s reference-letter requirements. Representative of one program’s current matrix — a second program’s grid, on its own tab, carries the same parity on its own, stricter terms, and a third prints no-score rows beside every band. Elsewhere in the market, foreign credit is often priced less generously.
How it actually works
Four steps. None of them require you to be standing in Florida.
We confirm you are documented to borrow
A valid unexpired passport plus an unexpired visa — or an I-797 with valid extension dates together with your I-94. Canadian citizens need no visa for this.
Credit comes from wherever you have it
A US score works if you have one. If you do not, a single credit reference letter from a bank in your own country stands in its place.
The property qualifies one of two ways
Either on income you document, or on the rent the property collects — in which case your personal income is never examined at all.
You may not have to fly in to close
Some lenders permit power of attorney and others prohibit it outright, so this is worth settling before you pick one. Where it is allowed, these files close with the buyer in another country all the time.
What you can qualify for
Three programs, and they do not take the same occupancies — each tab is a single program’s own grid, and figures from different programs never combine:
Loan size is what moves the number here, not your credit. The larger the loan, the more of it the lender wants you to fund.
| Loan amount | Purchase or rate-and-term | Cash-out refinance |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $1 million | 75% | 65% |
| $1,000,001 – $1,500,000 | 70% | 60% |
| $1,500,001 – $2,000,000 | 65% | 55% |
| $2,000,001 – $2,500,000 | 60% | Not available |
| $2,500,001 – $3,000,000 | 55% | Not available |
Loans run from $125,000 to $3 million, and twelve months of the housing payment must sit in reserve at every tier. Two-to-four unit properties are eligible on the investment side. Condotels are eligible on investment property, and condotels and non-warrantable condominiums each cost five points of leverage. Florida condominiums above 70% loan-to-value require a full condominium review — in this state, expect that. Short-term rental income is accepted, capped at 70% on a purchase. First-time investors are allowed, which is not true everywhere. And where this grid reads “not available” on a cash-out refinance, read it as this program’s answer rather than the last word — the third tab publishes cash-out to three million dollars, on a different program with its own rules.
Representative of one program’s current matrix. Tiers, caps, reserve and documentation requirements differ by lender and program and change without notice. Figures shown are maximums and are not available in combination with every other maximum. A property in a declining market as identified by the appraiser carries a further five-point reduction. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
A second grid makes this page’s biggest claim twice as safe to plan around: its no-score path carries identical leverage to its 700-score path. Rent-qualified investment property, purchase and rate-and-term only:
| The file | Maximum loan-to-value | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| One unit — purchase | 70% | At a 700 score OR with no score at all — the two paths print the same number |
| Two to four units — purchase | 65% | Both paths again; condominiums cap at 65% throughout |
| Rate-and-term refinance | 60% | To $1.5 million; 65% holds to $1 million |
The box around those numbers is deliberately narrow, and its rules are exactly the ones this page tells you to settle before choosing a program. Investment property only, qualified on the rent at a full 1.00 cover — there is no cash-out here at all. No entities: LLCs, corporations and partnerships are ineligible, where the first program permits them. No power of attorney: a closing signed abroad must be notarised at a US embassy, consulate or military base. And the money has rules of its own — sourced and seasoned for sixty days, then parked in a US account for thirty (ten for Canadians). Credit is documented with a letter of good standing from your bank, or simply two consecutive bank statements. Two programs, two boxes, one shared truth: no American credit file, full published leverage.
Representative of a second program’s foreign national matrix effective 07/23/2026, shown separately because figures from different programs never combine. Business-purpose loans on investment property; a minimum debt service coverage ratio of 1.00 applies, and cash-out refinances are not offered. Maximum loan-to-value, loan amount, unit count and property-type limits are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
A third program extends where the money reaches — and prints a no-credit-score row beside every band, so the no-score file is policy rather than exception:
| The file | Maximum financing | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Second home — purchase | 75% | From a 700 score, to $1.5 million — the first grid’s 75% stops at $1 million; 70% holds to $2.5 million |
| Second home — no credit score | 70% | To $1.5 million, printed — five points inside the scored row, not a case-by-case exception |
| Investment — purchase | 70% | From 700, to $2 million |
| Rent-qualified investment | 70% | To $2 million — with a 700 score or NO score, the same number: full parity on this band |
| Second home — cash-out | 65% | To $2.5 million from a 700 score — where the first grid stops offering cash-out at all |
| Second home — cash-out at the top band | 60% | To $3 million from 700; 55% with no credit score |
| Investment — cash-out | 60% | To $2.5 million from 700; 65% on the rent-qualified band to $2 million |
Second homes are the rare part. Most foreign-national shelves stop at investment property; this one prints a second-home grid to two and a half million dollars, with the no-score column beside it. On the rent-qualified band the parity is exact — scored and unscored files carry the same seventy — and on second homes the unscored file gives up five points rather than the door. The three cash-out rows are the ones worth carrying away from this page. The first grid stops offering a cash-out refinance at all above two million dollars — this one keeps writing it to three, and prints a no-score cash-out row beside it. If you have been told a foreign national cannot take equity out of a US property at that size, that was one lender’s grid and not the market. A sixth program reaches five points further again on a rent-qualified file at a 720 score, at a smaller balance.† Rent-qualified files carry a 1.00 cover and rent-loss insurance equal to six months of the payment; Florida buyers should know four counties — Charlotte, Lee, Hendry and Glades — carry investment-property restrictions on this program.
From a separate program’s published matrices effective 08/03/2026 — the second-home and investment foreign-national grids, purchase, rate-and-term and cash-out columns as stated, including the printed no-credit-score rows. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum financing, loan amount, occupancy and coverage requirements are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
Living and working here with an ITIN instead? That page is here →
† From a sixth program’s published grid effective 08/05/2026, on its foreign-national column specifically: 75% financing to $1,000,000 from a 720 credit score on a rent-qualified investment property, with its own printed no-credit-score row stepping down from there. That program runs six separate coverage columns and only this one is the foreign-national column — its other columns are written for US borrowers and do not apply here. Figures from different programs never combine.
What you actually hand over
Passport and visa
A valid unexpired passport including the photograph page, plus an unexpired visa — or an I-797 Notice of Action showing valid extension dates together with your I-94 arrival and departure record.
Credit, in one form or another
A US credit report if you have one. Otherwise a reference letter from a bank or financial institution in your home country.
Your funds, sourced and seasoned
Sixty days of history on the money. Gift funds are permitted once you have ten percent of your own money in the transaction.
Reserves
Twelve months of the housing payment. On a cash-out refinance, the proceeds themselves can satisfy this.
Income, or a lease — your choice
Either documentation of what you earn, or the rent schedule and lease if the property is qualifying on its own income.
Want the exact list for your file before you ever apply? Build your document checklist — the list changes with your answers, printable and yours to keep.
Where it wins — and when it is not the right loan
The limits are real, and better heard now than after you have made an offer.
No Social Security number, no green card, no US credit file, no US tax return. What you bring is identity, funds and a property.
The lender publishes a row for borrowers with a US score and a row for borrowers without one — and they carry the same leverage. On most programs a missing file moves you down; here it moves you sideways.
Two grids print IDENTICAL leverage with and without a US score, and a third prints its own no-score row beside every band. A no-score file here is policy, not a favor.
This is not an investors-only shelf. A Florida place you use yourself qualifies — the one closed door is a primary residence.
This program finances second homes and investment property — never a primary residence. If you are living and working in the United States and filing taxes, an ITIN loan is the conversation instead — that one does finance a primary residence.
Leverage tightens sharply as the loan grows. Between a million and three million the lender asks you to fund substantially more of the price, and above two million a cash-out refinance is not offered at all.
US sanctions law binds every lender in the country. Citizens and residents of OFAC-sanctioned countries, which currently include Russia and Belarus, are not eligible on this program. This is not the lender’s preference — no US program can do it.
Not eligible on this program. Acreage is capped, and a property meeting the rural definition falls outside it entirely.
These loans are held by specialty programs rather than sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and the pricing reflects that. What you are buying is access to a market that would otherwise be closed to you.
Start from where you actually are
Every one of these files begins with three questions: what country issues your passport, where your funds are held, and whether the property is for your use or for rent. Answer those and the path is usually clear within a single conversation.
Questions people actually ask
Open the full Q&A — the documents, the funds, and the fine points ▾
+Do I need a Social Security number or a green card?
Neither. This program is built for citizens and residents of other countries. What the lender needs is a valid unexpired passport plus an unexpired visa, or an I-797 with valid extension dates together with your I-94.
+I have no American credit at all. Does that disqualify me?
No, and it does not reduce your leverage either. One credit reference letter from a financial institution in your own country takes the place of a credit report, and the maximum loan-to-value is the same as it would be with a US score.
+Can I buy a home to live in?
Not to live in full-time — this program finances second homes and investment property, never a primary residence. A Florida vacation home you visit is exactly what it is for. If you live and work in the United States and file taxes with an ITIN, a different program does finance a primary residence.
+Do I have to travel to the United States to close?
Often not, but confirm it early — this is one of the widest differences between programs. Some permit power of attorney and close the file with you at home; others prohibit it and will require you in person, or a signing at a US embassy or consulate. Worth choosing the lender around this if travel is difficult.
+Can I use the rent to qualify instead of my income?
Yes. On an investment property there is a route that looks only at what the property collects against what it costs to carry. Your personal income is never reviewed. It is the most common structure for overseas investors.
+Can I rent it out short-term on Airbnb?
Yes, and short-term rental income can be used to qualify, though it caps your leverage at 70% on a purchase. Worth confirming the building and the municipality allow it before you write the offer — in South Florida that varies block by block.
+I am Canadian. Is it different for me?
Slightly, and in your favor. Canadian citizens traveling to the United States do not require a nonimmigrant visa, which removes the documentation step that slows most other files down.
+Can I buy through a company instead of my own name?
With most lenders on the investment side, yes — it is normal there rather than an exception. A few prohibit entity vesting entirely and require the loan in your personal name, so it is another thing to settle before choosing where the file goes. Bring the entity documents early either way.
Schedule a Consultation
Loan programs, explained honestly
Foreign national mortgage programs are offered through third-party lenders and are subject to lender approval, full underwriting, and change without notice. Program parameters including loan-to-value tiers, credit and reserve requirements, eligible property types and loan amount limits vary by lender and program and are not available in combination. Figures shown are maximums under stated conditions; not all applicants or properties will qualify. Eligibility is restricted by US sanctions law. This page describes program documentation requirements only and is not immigration, legal, or tax advice. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.