Real Estate by Fania — Stefania Riverin
(786) 828-0091

Foreign National Mortgages in Miami

A buyer with no US credit history, no Social Security number and no US employment can still finance a Miami property - through a foreign national loan, which is a portfolio product rather than a conventional mortgage. The trade is a larger down payment and a heavier document file.

Published

A buyer with no US credit history, no Social Security number and no US employment can still finance a Miami property. The product is a foreign national loan — a non-QM portfolio mortgage the lender keeps on its own books rather than selling to Fannie Mae — and the trade is a substantially larger down payment plus a heavier documentation file.

Most of what is written on this subject is a lender advertisement with a rate attached. I am not going to quote you a rate, and I would treat anyone who does in writing with some caution — foreign national pricing moves constantly and varies by borrower profile, property type and program. What is stable enough to be useful is the structure: how these loans differ from a conventional one, what the down payment bands look like, and which documents decide the file.

Why this is not a normal mortgage

A conventional mortgage works because the lender can sell it. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy loans that meet their published standards, which frees the lender's capital to write the next one. Those standards assume a borrower with a US credit file, US income documentation and a Social Security number.

A foreign national borrower fails that test on its face. So the loan does not get sold — it is held in the lender's own portfolio. That single fact drives everything else about the product. The lender carries the entire risk for the life of the loan, so it compensates with equity: a bigger down payment is the cushion that makes the loan work without a US credit history behind it.

This also means there is no single rulebook. Conventional requirements are published by Fannie Mae. Foreign national requirements are set by each lender individually, and they differ meaningfully. Comparing two lenders is not comparison shopping on rate — it is comparison shopping on whether you qualify at all.

Down payment: the bands that actually apply

Requirements vary by borrower category, and the category matters more than most buyers expect. One Florida lender publishing its 2026 program terms, 1st Florida Lending, sets out these typical ranges:

The lender notes minimums vary by program, credit strength and property. Treat those as one lender's published bands, not a market standard — but the shape is consistent across the sector, and the shape is the point.

Notice the gap between the first two lines. A visa holder resident in the US may qualify for something close to a mainstream down payment, while a buyer living abroad is looking at 25–40% on the same property. Many people who assume they are “foreign buyers” are in fact visa holders, and are quoting themselves out of a much better structure. Establish which category you are in before you build a budget around it.

For context on loan sizing: the same lender cites a 2026 conforming loan limit of $832,750 in most Florida counties, above which foreign national jumbo options apply.

You do not need a Social Security number. You may need an ITIN.

An ITIN is a nine-digit number the IRS issues to people who need a US taxpayer identification number for federal tax purposes but are not eligible for a Social Security number. Resident and nonresident aliens filing a US tax return are among those who need one.

Be clear about what it is not. The IRS states plainly that an ITIN does not qualify you for Social Security benefits or the Earned Income Tax Credit, does not provide or change immigration status, does not authorize you to work in the US, and does not serve as identification outside the federal tax system. It is a tax number. Nothing more.

Two practical points catch people out. You apply on Form W-7, by mail or in person, and the application package normally includes your tax return. And processing takes roughly seven weeks — nine to eleven during filing season. If your purchase timeline assumes an ITIN arrives in a fortnight, rebuild the timeline. ITINs also expire and require renewal if you need to file.

Not every foreign national program requires an ITIN. Some accept a passport and foreign documentation alone. Ask the lender directly which of its programs you are being placed into, because that determines whether the IRS processing clock is on your critical path.

What goes in the file instead of a credit score

With no US credit report, the lender substitutes other evidence. Expect to provide some combination of:

The recurring theme is translation and verification. Foreign income and assets are usable, but they have to be rendered into a form a US underwriter can sign off on, and that takes calendar time. Start assembling this before you are under contract, not after.

The Miami-specific complication: the building

Here is the thing I most often see missed, and it is worth more than any rate quote.

Foreign national loans are portfolio products, so the lender sets its own project standards — and many lenders apply condo project requirements at least as strict as Fannie Mae's, because they are keeping the risk. In practice a Miami condo purchase has two approvals running in parallel: yours, and the building's. Reserve funding, pending litigation, single-entity ownership concentration and the share of commercial space can each stop a loan that has nothing to do with your finances.

Property types accepted differ too. The Florida lender above lists investment properties of one to four units, vacation and second homes, condos, condotels and short-term rental properties. Condotels are the one to flag — a substantial amount of Miami inventory is condotel or has hotel-style operations, and most conventional lenders will not touch it, while some foreign national portfolio lenders will. That is one of the few places where a foreign national program is genuinely more flexible than a conventional one.

What I would do in what order

  1. Identify your category first — true foreign national, visa holder, or ITIN borrower. It moves the down payment more than anything else you can control.
  2. Start the ITIN application early if a program requires one. Seven weeks minimum, longer in season.
  3. Get a written term sheet from two or three portfolio lenders, not just one. Requirements are lender-specific, and the spread on down payment between lenders can exceed anything you would gain haggling over rate.
  4. Have the building screened before the offer, not after. Ask what condo project standards the lender applies and get the target building checked during the inspection period.
  5. Plan for FIRPTA at the far end. If you later sell as a foreign person, withholding applies at closing. It is not a financing issue, but it is the same file of documents, and it is much easier to keep than to reconstruct years later.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy property in Miami without being a US citizen or resident?

Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement to own real property in Florida. The complications are financing, tax reporting and, on eventual sale, FIRPTA withholding — not ownership itself.

Do I need a Social Security number to get a mortgage?

Not for a foreign national program. Many Florida lenders publish programs requiring no US credit history and no SSN. Some programs use an ITIN instead, obtained from the IRS on Form W-7.

How much do I actually need to put down?

It depends on category. One Florida lender's published 2026 bands run 25–40% for a true foreign national living abroad, 15–25% for an ITIN borrower, 20–30% for DSCR investment loans, and 3–5% for a visa holder. Other lenders differ. Get written terms from more than one.

Why will nobody quote me a rate on this page?

Because foreign national pricing is set per lender and per borrower profile and changes constantly. A rate published in an article is out of date almost immediately, and quoting one would mislead you about what you will actually be offered. Get a written term sheet.

How long does an ITIN take?

The IRS states roughly seven weeks, extending to nine to eleven weeks during filing season. Apply on Form W-7 by mail or in person; the package normally includes your tax return.

Can I finance a condotel?

Some foreign national portfolio lenders do lend on condotels and short-term rental properties, where most conventional lenders will not. This is one area where the portfolio product is more flexible. Confirm with the specific lender for the specific building.

Is this tax or lending advice?

No. I am a licensed real estate sales associate, not a lender, a mortgage broker, an attorney or a tax adviser. Program terms cited here are one lender's published figures as of the date shown and are not offers. For cross-border tax questions, work with a US tax professional experienced with nonresident filers.

Work with Stefania

Buying from abroad, the sequencing is what costs people deals — a document that takes seven weeks started in week six. I will map your purchase timeline against the ITIN and underwriting clocks before you write an offer, introduce you to portfolio lenders who actually write foreign national paper in Miami-Dade, and have the target building screened against the lender's project standards during your inspection period rather than after the appraisal.

Stefania Riverin · NB Elite Realty · (786) 828-0091 · WhatsApp · Call

Stefania Riverin, Licensed Real Estate Sales Associate · FL SL3620067 · Brokered by NB Elite Realty · 1101 Brickell Ave, Miami, FL 33131 · Equal Housing Opportunity

Work with Stefania

Question about a specific building?

Send the building or the unit and Stefania will come back with the real numbers — the fee, the reserve position, and what comparable units actually traded at.

CallTextWhatsAppMessage