As we noted earlier, the limited documentation DSCR Loan is the popular choice for Foreign National buyers. However, if you have established credit, income and assets with institutional lenders in your home country then you may want to use a full document loan program as this can mean a lower down payment (usually 20% down instead of 25%-30%) and a better interest rate.
A full documentation loan will look at all of your monthly debt and your monthly income in order to determine your debt to income ratio ("dti"). The debt to income ratio cannot be higher than 50 in most cases and is determined by taking your current monthly debt PLUS your proposed mortgage payment and dividing it by your monthly income. The proposed mortgage payment number will include Principal, Interest, Property Taxes, Homeowner's Insurance and any Condominium/Association fees. ("PITIA")
Below we will take a look at the required documentation necessary to satisfy the criteria of a full document loan program. First let's start with some characteristics that are common to Foreign National Programs:
ELIGIBLE PROPERTY TYPES
- 1-4 Unit Properties
- 5-8 Unit Properties
- Condominiums (Both warrantable and non-warrantable)
- Townhouses/Planned Unit Developments
MINIMUM DOWN PAYMENT
Your minimum down payment will depend on your credit score as follows:
- 700 or above = 20% down
- 680 - 699 = 25% down
- 620 - 679 = 30% down
- Foreign Credit = 30% down
ELIGIBLE PARTIES
- All parties (borrowers, banks and property sellers) involved on the transaction must be screened through exclusionary lists, and must be cleared through OFAC's SDN list.
- Borrowers from OFAC sanctioned countries including Russia and Belarus are ineligible. Access the link below for a list of sanctioned countries: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx
- Individuals with diplomatic immunity are not eligible.
CLOSING REQUIREMENTS
- Any loan made to a Foreign National must have an ACH agreement signed at the closing table. The ACH account must be set to draw from a US bank account. The Borrower shall provide proof that a US bank account is opened in their name (or in the name of the LLC which owns the property, if applicable) and that the account is funded with the first month’s payment.
DOCUMENTS
- All documentation provided that has or will be translated to English must have a Certified Translator Stamp
- Documents signed outside of the United States must be notarized by a U.S. embassy or consular official. The certificate of acknowledgment must meet the standard notarial requirements and must include the embassy or consular seal.