BiggerPockets

Will: is your buyer a foreign national? Not a legal resident here with green card? I know several foreign nationals here in SB with very large mortgage loans. They just went to the banks like Wells Fargo, or in one case one of our local banks. They are all very wealthy and have lots of assets that can be verified and they had large downs (30% or more). You know, like rich people. :)

Has your buyer looked for a lender yet?

If your buyer is a foreign national without a large down, I'm thinking you probably can't get it done very easily without a private lender. I'll be very surprised if there are any instit. lenders that will loan to foreign nationals without real skin in the game and without verifiable wealth.

If your buyer has a green card, then he is a legal resident alien. Resident aliens apply for, and are approved for loans, just like any citizen. However, even if your buyer is a legal resident (or soon to be approved), he'll need a local job and credit history, which he may be lacking.

Is it possible that you don't have a better buyer? Or do you really just like this guy a lot?

50 to 60% , 5 to 10 year money for foreign nationals is no problem, DEPENDING on which state the property is in?

Perhaps some of you could assist?
@Dion DePaoli
@Jon Holdman
@Chris Clothier

Originally posted by Dean Letfus

50 to 60% , 5 to 10 year money for foreign nationals is no problem, DEPENDING on which state the property is in?

Property is in CA, Sherman Oaks to be specific.

Update, borrower is not a foreign national (no green card/visa) and large bank (Chase) stated they dont do loans without that.

@Chris Clothier - Awesome, you rock. PM on the way.

Looks like I am down to finding private money for this borrower so lets take the topic down that road.

He is a she, she is not an American citizen nor does she have a visa, thus just a "visitor" from another country. No, she is not an illegal alien as she comes here legally for visits and with her passport.

Originally posted by K. Marie Poe

Your buyer IS a foreign national. She is not a resident alien. I think it will help you when looking for funding if you say you are looking for financing for a foreign national. That's the correct term and lenders understand it.

I see. Perhaps I misunderstood, but from what I was told, a foreign national actually resides here and a lender would ask some questions to the borrower (test to see if they live here in the US). Is that NOT correct? This particular buyer/borrower resides and lives in another country (in Europe) and only visits here from time to time. Does that still qualify for a foreign national?

Thanks for the clarification. I have not gone to WF but did ask Chase and their answer was no, only IF the FN could prove they lived here a majority of the time. Not sure if this person qualifies for that, but perhaps other banks besides Chase would go down this road.

Overpriced, not anymore. First problem was that it was listed just before the Holidays/Election and Nov-Dec (and Oct.) were three of the slowest months in recent history in this area. I have dropped the price over $300k (bye bye profits) and now with the new price and after Holidays/election, we are getting plenty of traffic now.

The main problem is that this home has approx. 50 steps from street to front door which kills a ton of the buyer pool. I do have another interested party recently and will be meeting them at the property later this week. Until then, this was my only buyer who is dying to get the home. Yes, it is beautiful, and has to die for views, stairs are the issue.

Sorry, took a moment to respond to the summons.

The borrower is a Foreign National as opposed to a Resident Alien. Foreign National underwriting is pretty standard across the board in institutional loans but has become less available since the crash.

Max LTV = 65%
Income & Asset Verification will come from home country.
Subject Property Designation is limited to either (a) Second Home or (b) Investment Property.

Usually with an investment property designation, they will want to underwrite a management contract. That is a lender specific overlay.

Credit underwriting will use alternative source as most other countries do not participate in the same credit bureau credit reporting we use in the US. Typically, they will seek standard alternative credit documents such as other loan performance and higher balance credit such as auto and credit cards.

The general view on these types of borrowers is boarder line stated documentation. As some borrower support is difficult to verify. This is what drives the LTV requirement.

Foreign income is income a borrower receives from a foreign
corporation or foreign government and paid in foreign currency.
All borrowers using foreign income to qualify must document their income with:

1. Copies of two years signed federal income tax returns, and
2. Standard income documentation (e.g., year-to-date (YTD) paystub and W-2 forms for prior years). All income must be
translated to U.S. dollars.

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac no long buy foreign national loans. As such many of the mainstream commercial banks longer offer any program. The loan will have to be originated by a portfolio lender, whether private or public. Many banks in Florida still do these types of loans due to the amount of borrowers in the market.

There is a specific program for Canadian residents only. Fannie and Freddie will still purchase those. Other countries, no dice.

Some commercial banks that still might have a program might include RBC, HSBC and RBS. Outside of that its a toss up and you would have to shop around.

There is no grace given to "live here most of the time". Foreign Nationals are here on Visa (in most cases an H-1 Visa either B or C) and have permission to be in the country from 1 month to 6 months at a time. At the end of that term they must leave the US for a period of time before returning.

If your borrower has applied for a Resident Alien Card (Green Card), you might see how long their attorney thinks the approval will take. You might get a portfolio lender to bend a little on the underwriting.

Hope that helps.