Qualifying For an FHA-Insured Loan if You Are Not a U.S. Citizen
Currently I'm working with a client from Poland who has been in the country for a few years. He's been working hard in the country to save up enough money to buy a home and move his family out here. This is a very touching endeavor of the American Dream in my book. So when a lender informed us that citizenship was required for a FHA loan, it discouraged my client and myself a bit since he has just enough for his 3.5% down and closing. So to fully understand the requirements and limitations of FHA loans regarding citizenship I did some research and this is what I found:
"Citizenship of the United States is not required for eligibility"
That's right. Citizenship of the United States is NOT required for eligibility.
For those borrowers with lawful permanent resident alien status, FHA will insure the mortgage under the same terms and conditions as U.S. citizens. The lender must document the mortgage file with evidence of permanent residency and indicate on the Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) that the borrower is a lawful permanent resident alien. FHA will also insure a mortgage to a non-permanent resident alien as long as the property being purchased will be the borrower's principal residence, the borrower has a valid Social Security number, and is eligible to work in the U.S. But non-U.S. citizens with no lawful residency in the U.S. are not eligible for FHA-insured mortgages.
My client is eligible to work and has his SSN, so he does qualify. But had I not done my own research, I may have lost the opportunity to sell my client a house, and worse, my client may had discontinued his search for a home for his family, or used a more costly loan.
Todd & Devona Garrigus / REALTOR
Certified Foreclosure Agent & Short Sale Specialists
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters Associates
951-490-3698 Direct for Todd
951-490-3683 Direct for Devona
GarrigusRealEstate@yahoo.com
Check out our website for useful information and helpful tools!---> www.GarrigusRealEstate.com
DRE License #'s - 01844441, 01844442
Comments (4)Subscribe to CommentsComment