I’ve talked to a lot of Canadians recently who are seeking to purchase real estate in the Arizona market. I do want to clarify that the program which they qualify under is officially called the foreign nationals program and is not restricted to Canadians.
You are able to use this loan program as long as you have the ability to travel back and forth between your home country and the United States without any major visa requirements and added paperwork. In other words your home country must be one of the countries listed in the Visa Waiver Program as defined by the US Immigration and Citizenship Services. You can visit their website for more details but the countries eligible are as follows:
Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Citizens of these countries are admitted to the United States for 90 days or less as non-immigrant visitors for business or pleasure without first obtaining a non-immigrant visa. If you are from a country not listed on this list but have long term visas which enables you to travel back and forth then we can certainly take a look at your situation on a case by case situation.
The second major condition of the foreign nationals program is that you must be able to transfer bank funds into the United States. In other words there can not be any currency transfer limits or any kind of restriction in your home country. Be sure to check with your bank to determine rule. But from what I know most of the countries identified in above list have fully convertible floating currencies and there should be no restrictions placed on transferring funds
The final major requirement is that you have a valid passport. And it goes without saying for everyone except Canadians that since you’re flying into the United States you’ll have a valid passport. For those Canadians who like to drive to Arizona, we can certainly use just your drivers license but it may not be a bad idea to have your passport on hand.
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on Mar 14th, 2008 at 3:21 am
Hi Shailesh,
Considering the criteria of the Foreign Nationals Program, I think it’s worth going for. Especially the fact that it includes a number or countries as the home country of the borrower. But what about the borrower’s credit? does he need to rebuild credit in the US or would he be able to secure the loan with the help of past credit records in his home country?
Regards,
Jessica
on Mar 14th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Jessica,
We don’t do a credit check on foreign nationals. The LTV is limited to 70% so that is how we limit our risk and such. It’s actually easier to do loans for foreign nationals if you really think about it.
on Mar 25th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Do you only do Arizona or do you do other states for foreign nationals? Also is there a loan minimum?
on Apr 25th, 2008 at 6:47 am
I am Canadian Legal Resident and married with a Canadian Citizen. I want to buy a house in Las Vegas
and give 75% as down payment, in a US$200,000 house. It is better to do a mortgage in my name, as
Canadian Resident, or in my husband’s name, as a Canadian Citizen? Much appreciated your response.
on Aug 14th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Is the 70% program you mention above the World program as (now FORMERLY) owned and wholesaled by Wachovia? If so, I think you know it’s gone altogether.
Having said that, do you have any other lenders you can place a 2nd home purchase for here in Houston, 70% LTV, verifiable US funds, $500K loan amount?
THANKS,
Mark
on Oct 28th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
We are foreign nationals citizens of Canada residents of Panama
Have several properties worldwide with three in the US which are unencumbered. Wish to mortgage the US properties to raise USD investment funds. Properties are second residences which we do not rent. Two are in Washington State and One in Las Vegas.
Anyone doing this this kind of lending ?
N Hartvig-Nielsen