What the hell?  I agree with Kenneth J. Jones.  Lets not blow this thing up into making it something that it is not.

Every foreign national, visitor or immigrant buyer that I have worked with always have their own attorney or tax accountant, as they all should.

Eve

Hi Gita Bantwal, I have several buyers with same questions, I've advised them to speak with an attorney as it's a legal question I can not answer. I do have a letter from an Immigration attorney one of my clients forwarded over to me, basically telling them not to leave the US at this time and speak with an attorney with any questions they might have.

Hi Gita --- here is the verbiage directly from Fannie Mae's and HuD's selling guide: The short answer is buyers with an H1 Visa are fine to purchase ---- it is made much easier when they're buying a primary residence and they have a social security number.  The recent Executive actions should have no effect on lenders and the funding of loans for foreign workers, green card holders, or others looking to buy.

Non–U.S. Citizen Borrower Eligibility Requirements

Fannie Mae purchases and securitizes mortgages made to non–U.S. citizens who are lawful permanent or non-permanent residents of the United States under the same terms that are available to U.S. citizens. Fannie Mae does not specify the precise documentation the lender must obtain to verify that a non–U.S. citizen borrower is legally present in the United States. The lender must make a determination of the non–U.S. citizen’s status based on the circumstances of the individual case, using documentation it deems appropriate.

FHA 4000.1

(b) Non-Permanent Resident Aliens

A Borrower who is a non-permanent resident alien may be eligible for FHA insured

financing provided:

· the Property will be the Borrower’s Principal Residence;

· the Borrower has a valid SSN, except for those employed by the

World Bank, a foreign embassy, or equivalent employer identified by

HUD;

· the Borrower is eligible to work in the United States, as evidenced by

the Employment Authorization Document issued by the USCIS; and

· the Borrower satisfies the same requirements, terms and conditions as

those for U.S. citizens

The Employment Authorization Document is required to substantiate work

status. If the Employment Authorization Document will expire within one

year and a prior history of residency status renewals exists, the Mortgagee

may assume that continuation will be granted. If there are no prior renewals,

the Mortgagee must determine the likelihood of renewal based on information

from the USCIS.

A Borrower residing in the U.S. by virtue of refugee or asylee status granted

by the USCIS is automatically eligible to work in this country. The

Employment Authorization Document is not required, but documentation

substantiating the refugee or asylee status must be obtained.

Hi Gita... I'm not sure this is so much a lender question as an attorney question for one specializing in immigration issues. Let us know what you find out.

Personally, I wouldn't want to own property in a country I didn't have permanent residence in.  Managing a rental in another state is bad enough, can you imagine doing so from another country!

Great answers especially Kenneth J. Jones ..not a new problem..seek an attorney's advice.

      Hi, Gita. 

      You know that my wife is from India.  I have helped her friends and relatives buy and sell real estate in America.  I also work with friends from China who buy, sell, or lease from time to time. 

      My first international transaction was in the 1980's.  I have always used a Title Attorney Law Firm.  Those lawyers give the legal advice, they prepare the deeds and do the closings. 

I'll be interested to see what's said. Perhaps John Meussner , Gene Mundt, IL/WI Mortgage Originator - FHA/VA/Conv/Jumbo/Portfolio/Refi or George Souto will weigh in

Gita Bantwal These are scary times for all.  Thanks for asking the question. I will watch for answers.

As Beth Atalay wrote. Ultimately, the loan underwriters will be the deciding parties.

Many lenders will not do them,but the minimum requirements are the following:

• 2 years residency (common)
• 2 years of credit history (common)
• 2 years of employment (common)
• Must have a Social Security Number
• Must Have an EAD
• Min. down 10% but normally 20-30%
• Find a lender can be very difficult,due to the possibility of property vacancy......I hope this helps.

This is a good question at this uncertain time.

I can understand their concerns, it may be a while before anyone knows what is going on with this type of thing.

If they invest in $1,000,000 in urban or $500,000 in rural they are eligible to stay. In our area, a termite infested condo 2 br 1 ba start at $1.05M in Sunnyvale or $1.6M for a fix-upper entry level home in not good part of Silicon Valley.  Want to try something closer to Google double that....   

Show me your wallet and quit worrying about your legal status. Money $$ talks.

Have not run into this issue, so interesting reading the comments.

This may not be a question that can be answered by loan officers.

John Meussner nailed this one!

I learned something today from the question and answers.  Thanks!

Gita Bantwal - I have come across this situation in past - and it was okay.

Now things are a bit different!

I had the same thing happen last year with a buyer - first time ever!  The lender will have to make the determination as to whether or not they can/should move forward and counsel them accordingly.  

Wait for things to settle down.

Can always rent it out worse case and then return to it in time...No lose here

Will have to see the answer coming in.

Speak with local attorney

I don't know

Great question and I would advice them to speak with an attorney.

They should have second thoughts....

We don't have this visa in our great nation.

this is just so damaging on so many levels....