BreakThru Realty

Foreign National Mortgages: Financing a Florida Home Without United States Credit

What these loans ask for, why, and how to be ready before you make an offer

A buyer without a United States credit history is not shut out of financing. A category of loans exists for exactly that buyer, judged on income, assets and banking records from the home country rather than on a credit score here. The trade is a larger down payment, more documents and more time. This page describes how these loans work in outline, what lenders ask for and what to arrange before you make an offer. The rate and the terms are the lender's to state, so consult a mortgage lender who writes these programs before you set a budget.

BreakThru Realty · Founder and Broker of Record: Tyson E. Sam, Florida License 3565210

Published October 24, 2026 · Reviewed by Tyson E. Sam, Founder and Broker of Record

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad

Find My Florida Home

Your first step: BreakThru International Buyer Plan

Buying in Florida From Another Country? Settle the Rules, the Money and the Paperwork Before You Choose a Home

Foreign citizens buy South Florida homes every day, and the ones who do it well settle three things first: which rules reach them, how the money will arrive and what they can sign from home. The plan starts with a consultation in your language about how you will use the home and how you will pay, and ends with a shortlist, a carrying cost review in United States dollars, and a closing you can complete without a second flight.

What you receive

  • A consultation in English or Spanish, with an interpreter arranged for Portuguese or French, about how you will use the home and how you will pay
  • A plain summary of the rules that reach a buyer from your country: the Florida ownership law, the tax identification you will need, and FIRPTA when you sell
  • A shortlist of homes and buildings whose rules allow your plans, including seasonal use and renting it out
  • A carrying cost review in United States dollars: property tax without homestead, insurance, flood, association dues and the services that run while you are away
  • Introductions to the professionals a foreign buyer needs: a lender who writes foreign national loans, a cross border tax adviser, an attorney and a title company that closes with buyers abroad
  • A tour and closing plan: live video tours now, one visit scheduled around the finalists, and the signing arranged for where you live

What happens next

  1. Tell us where you live, where you are looking, your budget in United States dollars, how you expect to pay and the language you prefer.
  2. A BreakThru agent replies within one business day to schedule your consultation.
  3. After the consultation, your agent prepares the rules summary, the shortlist and the carrying cost review, and introduces the professionals you need.
  4. You tour by video or in person when you are ready, and the closing is arranged around where you are.

Free and without obligation. Nothing you tell us is shared with a seller, and you sign a buyer agreement only when you are ready to tour.

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad · Find My Florida Home

Can a foreigner get a mortgage in Florida? Yes, through loan programs for foreign nationals that judge income and assets documented in the home country rather than a United States credit score. Expect a larger down payment, reserves held before closing, translated documents and a longer timeline. Consult a mortgage lender who writes these loans; the rate and terms are theirs to state.

What a Foreign National Loan Is

It is a mortgage written for a borrower who lives outside the United States and has no credit file here. Instead of a credit score, the lender reads your income and assets as documented in your own country: bank statements, tax returns or their equivalent, employment or business records, and often a reference letter from your bank. Because the lender cannot verify you the way it verifies a resident, it protects itself with a larger down payment and with reserves, money left in an account after closing to cover a number of months of payments. These loans are offered by specialist lenders and by some banks with international arms, not by every lender on the corner.

The Down Payment and the Reserves

Expect to put down a larger share of the price than a resident borrower would, and expect the lender to ask that the funds sit in a bank account, often a United States account, for a period before closing so their source is clear. Reserves are separate: a number of months of principal, interest, taxes, insurance and association dues held in an account the lender can see. The exact figures vary by lender and by the kind of home, with condominiums and investment properties generally asking more. We do not quote them here because they change and because they are the lender's to state; consult a mortgage lender and ask for the requirements in writing.

The Documents You Will Be Asked For

Plan on a passport and visa page, proof of your address at home, bank statements covering several months, evidence of income in the form your country uses, and a letter from your bank confirming the relationship. Documents in another language are usually translated by a certified translator, and some lenders ask for an apostille on official records. You will also need a United States bank account for the payments and, for most programs, a taxpayer identification number from the IRS, which takes time to obtain. Start the file before you start touring; a buyer who arrives with the documents ready can write an offer with a real financing date.

The Kind of Home Changes the Loan

A single family house is the simplest case for a lender. A condominium adds the building to the review: the lender looks at the association's budget, its reserves, the share of units owned by investors and any litigation or pending assessment, and some buildings do not qualify at all. A home you will rent out is underwritten as an investment property, with its own requirements. Newly built condominiums and those under Florida's 2022 inspection and reserve rules can take longer to clear. Your agent asks a lender about a specific building before you fall in love with a unit in it.

Rate, Term and the Cost of the Loan

Foreign national loans generally carry a higher rate than a resident with strong credit would receive, and some are adjustable or written for a shorter term with a balance due at the end. Closing costs include the lender's fees, title insurance for the lender, and Florida's documentary stamp and intangible taxes on the mortgage, which are set by statute and collected at closing. We state none of these figures here, because they belong to the lender and the title company for your specific loan. Ask for a loan estimate in writing and have a tax adviser look at how the interest and the costs are treated at home.

Cash Buyers and the Reasons Many Choose It

A large share of international buyers pay cash, and the reasons are practical rather than financial. A cash offer closes faster, carries no financing contingency and is often preferred by a seller with more than one offer. It also avoids the document file, the appraisal and the reserve requirement. The trade is the money tied up in the home and the currency moved all at once; some buyers close in cash and arrange financing afterward, which some lenders offer. Whether that makes sense is a question for your bank and your tax adviser, who can weigh the exchange rate, the cost of money at home and how the home will be used.

How the Timeline Works With Your Offer

A financed purchase in Florida carries a financing contingency: a date by which the loan must be approved or the buyer may withdraw with the deposit returned. Foreign national loans take longer than domestic ones, because documents cross a border and translations and apostilles take days, so that date has to be realistic or the deposit is at risk. Your agent writes the contract with the lender's stated timeline in mind, keeps the appraisal and the association review moving, and tells you plainly when a building or a timeline will not work. The plan starts with the lender conversation for that reason.

Questions you may be asking

Can a foreigner even buy property in Florida?
Yes. Citizenship and residency are not required to own real estate in the United States, and a foreign owner has the same property rights as anyone else. One Florida law restricts purchases by people domiciled in a short list of countries, and the plan tells you plainly whether it reaches you.
We do not have United States credit or a bank account.
Most international buyers start that way. Lenders who write foreign national loans work from documents in your home country rather than a United States credit file, and a bank account and a taxpayer identification number can be opened as part of the process. Consult a mortgage lender early; many buyers simply pay cash instead.
We cannot travel for every step.
You should not have to. Your agent tours homes on live video, attends the inspection with you on the line, and the closing documents can be signed abroad before a notary, at a United States consulate, by remote online notarization where the title company allows it, or by a power of attorney.
What about taxes when we sell one day?
FIRPTA requires the buyer of a home from a foreign seller to withhold a share of the price for the IRS, as a deposit against the tax on the gain. There are exceptions and a certificate that can reduce it. The plan explains it in outline; a tax adviser who handles nonresident owners plans it with you before you buy.
We would rather do this in our own language.
Then we will. Spanish speaking agents are on staff, and for Portuguese or French an interpreter joins the consultation and the tours. The contracts are in English, as Florida law and the title company require, and your attorney explains them in your language.

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad

Tell us where you live, where in South Florida you are looking, how you expect to pay and the language you prefer. A BreakThru agent replies within one business day to schedule your consultation, in English or Spanish, with an interpreter arranged for Portuguese or French.

Call or email the brokerage directly: (786) 914-1017 · sales@breakthrurealty.com

Questions International Buyers Ask

Can a foreigner get a mortgage in Florida?
Yes, through loan programs written for foreign nationals. They are judged on income and assets documented in your home country rather than on a United States credit score, and they ask for a larger down payment, reserves on deposit and translated documents. Consult a mortgage lender who offers these programs; the rate and the terms are theirs to state.
How much do I need to put down?
More than a resident borrower, and the figure depends on the lender, the kind of home and whether you will live in it or rent it out. Condominiums and investment properties generally ask for more. We do not quote figures because they change and belong to the lender; ask for the requirements in writing before you set a budget.
Do I need a United States bank account or tax number?
For most programs, both. The lender wants the payments to come from a United States account and asks for a taxpayer identification number on the application, and the title company prefers to receive funds from an account it can verify. Both take time to arrange, so start before you tour rather than after you find the home.
Will a lender finance any condominium?
No. The lender reviews the building as well as the borrower: the association's budget and reserves, the share of units owned by investors, litigation and pending assessments. Some buildings do not qualify. Your agent asks a lender about a specific building before you commit to a unit in it.
Is it better to pay cash?
Many international buyers do, because a cash offer closes faster, carries no financing contingency and is often preferred by sellers. The trade is the money tied up and the currency moved at once. Whether cash or a loan makes sense is a question for your bank and your tax adviser, weighing the exchange rate and the cost of money at home.

The Service

Rules, Taxes and Money

Buying From Your Country

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