Foreign National Homebuyers typically purchase properties both Second Homes and Investment Properties in Vacation and Resort areas.
With the Florida real estate market being on a downswing but still chock full of new development, Foreign Nationals are finding now to be a great time to purchase their vacation homes in Florida. The weak dollar versus the Euro and British Pound makes this a great time for Europeans!
During the purchase transaction, most lenders require funds equivalent to closing costs plus six (6) to twelve (12) months of PITI (Principle Interest Taxes and Insurance) payments to be placed in a US bank account. The lender will require verification of the deposits for loan approval.
Based on the findings of some of my Realtor partners, some small local banks have some issues accepting and translating or exchanging checks from International Accounts.
To get around this hurdle, I suggest to Foreign Nationals that they choose to start an account in their home country with a large international bank, preferably with branches in the area near where they want to purchase.
Several banks come to mind that have International branches such as:
When the Foreign National is in the loan process, monies can easily be transferred and verified at these banks. They may even create US based accounts for automatic monthly payment options.
High Net Worth Clients can also use the Private Wealth Management departments of these three International banks to get their accounts set up and verified.
Read more about Foreign National Mortgage Planning in my previous posts:
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Hey David. Nice topic. Remember when we first met that Iasked if you do foreign national loans? We have a lot of foreign investor clients who have money in national banks and they still have problems because of lack of social security numbers, or simply for their foreign status.
Do you know if it makes a difference for a FN to have US companies where they appear as president and directors of those companies?