What is an ITIN Mortgage?

An ITIN mortgage is a mortgage loan available to foreign nationals who have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). An ITIN is issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to individuals who aren't eligible for a Social Security Number (SSN).

ITIN mortgages are mostly available through NonQM lenders, bank portfolio lenders, and hard money lenders. First Capital Trust Deeds (FCTD) originates loans for foreign investors acquiring or refinancing properties in the United States through these lenders. Most of the time, we’ll do a 12-month hard money bridge loan to help the person acquire the property. After they’ve taken the steps necessary to qualify for a 30-year amortizing mortgage, we'll refinance them into a long-term mortgage. They can qualify with an ITIN program or by establishing U.S. credit to refinance into another type of foreign national mortgage program. 

ITIN Mortgage Requirements

• You must be a foreign national.
• You must have a valid ITIN – no SSN required.
• You must have a steady source of income.
• You must have sufficient assets to cover your down payment, closing costs and other standard home-buying expenses.
• You must document an ability-to-repay (ATR) through your income, assets or cashflow from the property you're buying. 

Benefits of an ITIN Mortgage:

• You can get a mortgage even if you don’t have an SSN.
• You can use debt to leverage your purchase rather than pay all in cash.

Drawbacks of ITIN Mortgages:

• You'll most likely pay a higher interest rate and upfront fees than a United States citizen would for a traditional mortgage.
• You'll most likely need to provide more documentation than a U.S. citizen.
• The approval process will probably take longer than that for a U.S. citizen. 

Expect the ITIN mortgage application process to take between 30-60 days because there can be delays when working with two countries and often two different languages. In some situations, lenders will send the foreign documents, like bank statements and investment account statements, to a translation service. The full translation makes it easier for the underwriter to verify qualifying information. In some cases, this can take a few extra days. Despite the delays, an ITIN mortgage can be a great option for a foreign national investing in U.S. real estate.