Thomas Druck PA — Miami real estate
NON-RESIDENT BUYER GUIDE -> INTERNATIONAL BUYERS

Foreign National Mortgages in Miami

For non-US buyers financing a Miami condo rather than paying cash. Down payment math, building warrantability, AML and ITIN timing, and how the lender choice shapes the unit shortlist -- not the other way around.

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German-speaking buyer financing a Miami condo? See Miami Realtor for German-Speaking Buyers -> for the language-specific guide -- this article keeps the lender mechanics in English.

Most foreign buyers who reach out about a Miami condo think the first question is “how much can I borrow.” The actually-first question is “which buildings will the lender approve.” Foreign national mortgages exist — they are not unicorns, every major US-condo-friendly lender runs the program — but the building has to pass a project review the buyer rarely sees. A foreign buyer who shortlists units before screening the buildings against the lender’s project criteria can lose four to six weeks finding out the target building is non-warrantable and the loan won’t fund.

Thomas Druck PA has been a Miami broker since 2006 and works primarily with absentee owners — buyers who do not live near the Miami unit at the moment of purchase. That includes the foreign buyer financing the condo from Frankfurt, São Paulo, Mexico City, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Toronto, or London. Tom is not a mortgage broker and will not pretend to be one. He coordinates the lender choice → building shortlist → AML clock → HOA application → closing as one calendared workflow, and works with whichever foreign-national-friendly lender the buyer chooses. Underwriting questions go to that lender. Tax questions go to the buyer’s CPA or Steuerberater. The real estate side — including the building decisions financing forces — is what this guide covers.

Quick answer Foreign nationals can finance a Miami condo without a US credit history or Social Security number. As of 2026, expect 25 to 40 percent down for most condos, 40 to 50 percent or more for new construction and non-warrantable buildings, and a 6 to 10 week timeline including AML and source-of-funds review. The building decides the loan as much as the buyer does — Fannie Mae’s 2026 condo rule changes (Lender Letter LL-2026-03) have narrowed which Miami buildings still qualify for conventional foreign national programs, pushing more buyers toward portfolio or non-warrantable financing. Thomas Druck PA coordinates the real estate side of that workflow as an absentee specialist since 2006; the loan itself is handled by your mortgage broker, the tax side by your CPA or Steuerberater.

What "foreign national mortgage" actually means in 2026

A foreign national mortgage is a US home loan made to a non-US-citizen, non-permanent-resident borrower against a US property. It is a portfolio product — held on the lender’s balance sheet, not sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac — because the borrower cannot satisfy GSE documentation standards (no US credit score, no W-2, no SSN in many cases). Terms vary widely by lender because each lender writes its own rulebook.

Three related products often get conflated.

 (1) ITIN loans are made to borrowers who have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number but no SSN — sometimes used by foreign nationals, more often by undocumented residents. 

(2) DSCR loans qualify the property’s cash flow, not the borrower — investment-only, foreign buyers with strong rental properties sometimes route here. 

(3) Conventional / Fannie Mae loans are available to non-permanent residents with valid work visas plus US credit plus SSN — this is NOT the foreign national lane. The buyer financing a Miami condo from abroad without US footprint is on the foreign national track, not these others.

The 5 things a foreign buyer should plan for before financing a Miami condo

  1. Down payment by property and building type. Expect 25 to 30 percent down for an established warrantable condo used as primary residence or second home. 30 to 35 percent for investment use. 40 to 50 percent or more for new construction, condotels, and non-warrantable buildings. The number is not negotiable in the way a conventional loan’s down payment can be negotiated — foreign national lenders price the down payment to their portfolio risk model.
  2. Building warrantability is half the decision. Lenders run a project review on the condo association alongside the borrower review. They look at investor concentration, reserve funding, insurance coverage, active litigation, special assessments, and leasing rules. Fannie Mae’s 2026 changes (Lender Letter LL-2026-03) tightened the criteria — see the financing mechanics section below for specifics and what it means for Miami inventory.
  3. AML and source-of-funds documentation is the longest pole. Funds must be both sourced (origin documented — sale of a business, inherited estate, wage income with statements, prior real estate proceeds) AND seasoned (held in a verified account for 60+ days before the wire). International wires trigger a separate 5 to 10 business-day AML review at the receiving US bank, longer for wires from higher-risk jurisdictions. This runs in parallel with underwriting, not after it.
  4. ITIN timing if your lender requires it. Not every foreign national program requires an ITIN, but many do (especially for the closing-side reporting). The IRS issues ITINs in roughly 6 to 10 weeks. If your lender requires it, start the ITIN application the week you start the mortgage application, not after.
  5. The rate is not the headline cost. Foreign national rates run above conforming — the margin shifts with the rate cycle, so any specific number here would be stale within a quarter. The real carry cost is the property tax (1.5 to 2.0% of assessed value annually, billed separately by Miami-Dade — NOT included in the HOA), the HOA itself, the Florida insurance line (windstorm, flood, master policy carve-outs), and the reserve assessment exposure. Buyers modeling the deal on rate alone consistently underestimate the annual carry by $20K to $40K on a $1M to $1.5M unit.

How Thomas Druck PA works with foreign buyers who finance

  1. Discovery call. 30 minutes, no obligation. We map the target neighborhoods, the budget against a realistic down payment range (not the headline LTV), the use case (primary, second home, investment), and whether you are already speaking with a foreign-national-friendly lender. The use case changes the lender shortlist; the lender shortlist changes the building shortlist.
  2. Lender category recommendation, not lender name. Tom does not refer to specific lenders by name — that is FREC exposure territory and creates an appearance of kickback. He will tell you what category of lender fits your profile (US portfolio foreign national program, international private bank with US lending arm, or DSCR if pure investment) and what to ask each one. Your final lender choice is yours; underwriting questions stay with that lender.
  3. Pre-purchase Net + Risk Review. Before any offer goes in: a written breakdown of acquisition cost at the realistic down payment (not the marketing number), HOA exposure, Milestone status for shortlist buildings, reserve adequacy against the 2026 Fannie Mae 15% threshold, FL insurance climate exposure, and a flag on any building likely to be non-warrantable under the new rules. Scoped to Miami real estate mechanics — tax questions go to your CPA, underwriting questions go to your lender.
  4. Building shortlist and showings. In-person Miami showings when you can fly down, live video walkthroughs when you cannot. Both routes produce the same shortlist and the same notes — this is the absentee workflow Tom has run since 2006. Building shortlist is pre-screened against your lender’s warrantability criteria before showings, not after.
  5. Closing coordination on the calendared workflow. Title company, escrow, HOA application (running in parallel with the lender’s project review), AML wire timing, RON and Power of Attorney stack for buyers who cannot fly to closing. Tom runs this workflow as default, not exception.

The financing mechanics (the actually-hard parts)

Down payment by property type

The “30 to 40 percent” number that circulates online is a midpoint, not a rule. In 2026 the actual ranges run: established warrantable condo, primary or second home — 25 to 30 percent. Established warrantable condo, investment use — 30 to 35 percent. New construction (developer sale, pre-completion or recent completion) — 35 to 50 percent. Non-warrantable condo (building fails project review) — 40 to 50 percent or more if a portfolio lender will write it at all. Condotel — 50 percent and a smaller pool of lenders. The down payment is set by the lender’s portfolio risk model on the BUILDING, not negotiated with the borrower. Read the down payment as a property-type tax, not a credit-quality lever.

Building warrantability and the 2026 Fannie Mae rule change

A condo is “warrantable” when its association meets Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac project standards — investor concentration below the threshold, reserves funded, no active structural litigation, insurance coverage in place, leasing rules within bounds. Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03 (issued March 18, 2026) made two changes that hit Miami inventory hard. (1) The Limited Review process for established projects is retired effective for applications dated on or after August 3, 2026 — every condo now runs the full project review. (2) Minimum reserve funding rises from 10 percent to 15 percent of annual budgeted assessment income effective January 4, 2027. The practical effect on Miami: older South Beach and 1970s Brickell stock with undercapitalized reserves loses warrantable status. Buildings mid-Milestone-inspection with active special assessments face the same drop. Foreign national lenders piggyback on Fannie Mae’s project review for warrantability assessment even though they don’t sell to the GSEs — so the warrantability ripple hits foreign national approvals in the same buildings. Tom pre-screens buildings against this on the shortlist, not after the offer goes in.

AML, source of funds, seasoning

Every US lender operates under the Bank Secrecy Act with FinCEN reporting and OFAC sanctions screening. Foreign national underwriting takes this further. Funds must be sourced (paper trail showing where the money came from — business sale proceeds, inheritance, salary, prior real estate sale) and seasoned (held in a verified account for at least 60 days before wiring). The wire itself triggers a separate AML review at the receiving US bank that takes 5 to 10 business days, extending to 15 or more for wires from higher-risk jurisdictions. Documentation requirements: 12 to 24 months of complete bank statements (every page including blank ones), passport, visa (if applicable), foreign credit reference or CPA letter, tax returns from the home country, source-of-funds trail with SWIFT confirmations and originating bank statements. Plan the wire calendar around the AML window, not against it.

ITIN, alternatives, and timing

Not every foreign national program requires an ITIN, but many do — especially for closing-side reporting and any future US tax filing on the property. The IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number takes roughly 6 to 10 weeks to issue. If your lender requires one and the application starts after the contract is signed, ITIN timing alone can push the closing past the contract date. The fix is to start the ITIN application the same week you start the mortgage application — concurrently with lender pre-screen, not after. ITIN setup mechanics, doc requirements, and the W-7 form get a dedicated article in this hub — see ITIN Setup for Foreign Buyers in the Related Resources section below

International private bank lending — the HNW pathway

Buyers who already maintain a private banking relationship in their home country sometimes have a third option beyond US foreign national programs and DSCR loans: a US-property mortgage written by their existing private bank’s US lending arm or a US correspondent bank. Major Swiss, Brazilian, Mexican, UK, and Israeli private banks all operate this pathway for HNW clients. The structure typically requires the buyer to maintain or move a significant assets-under-management balance with the bank, in exchange for relationship-priced rates that can come in tighter than US foreign national portfolio rates, plus more flexible documentation. The trade-off is concentration risk on the bank side and the AUM commitment on the buyer side. Tom does not name specific private banks (same FREC scope discipline as the US lender side); the buyer evaluates this category with their existing private banker. Where it fits: a buyer who already has the AUM relationship and wants to lever the US condo without breaking the AUM allocation runs this pathway. A buyer with no existing private banking footprint typically gets better terms from a US foreign national program than from cold-starting a private bank relationship for one mortgage.

Common mistakes foreign buyers make with Miami financing

  1. Shortlisting units before screening buildings. The most expensive mistake in the foreign national lane. A buyer picks three target units, gets emotional about one, makes an offer, and finds out four weeks later the building is non-warrantable for their lender’s program. The fix is upstream: lender category first, project-review pre-screen on candidate buildings second, shortlist third, offer fourth.
  2. Wiring unseasoned funds. A buyer who sells a business, deposits the proceeds, and wires them to a US escrow account 30 days later will trigger an AML escalation. The 60-day seasoning rule is not optional — it is a portfolio-lender underwriting requirement designed to satisfy FinCEN. Wire timing is part of the buyer’s pre-purchase planning, not a closing-week scramble.
  3. Modeling annual carry on rate plus HOA only. The rate is the visible cost. The hidden cost is the Miami-Dade property tax (1.5 to 2.0 percent of assessed value, billed separately by the county and not in the HOA), the Florida insurance climate exposure (windstorm, flood, master-policy carve-outs that fall on the unit owner), and the reserve assessment surge that can hit a building mid-Milestone-inspection. A buyer financing $1M at a foreign national rate without modeling these lines is understating annual carry by 25 to 40 percent.
  4. Treating the rate quote as the deal. Foreign national lenders compete on rate, fees, points, prepayment terms, reserve requirements, and project-review flexibility — five dimensions, not one. The lender with the best headline rate may require 90 days of seasoning and reject the building. The lender with a rate 50 bps higher may close in 45 days. Compare the package, not the headline.
  5. Buying into a building mid-Milestone or mid-special-assessment without lender pre-screen. Florida SB 4-D requires structural inspections on buildings 30+ years old. A building that fails or is mid-inspection often has reserves below the 2026 Fannie Mae 15% threshold and an active special assessment levy — both flag the building as non-warrantable for most foreign national programs. The Milestone report and the reserve study are pre-screen documents, not closing-week documents.

What this article does not cover

This article covers the Miami real estate side of foreign national financing — building selection, warrantability, AML wire timing as it interacts with closing, and the workflow Thomas Druck PA runs with foreign buyers. It does not cover: lender selection by name (FREC exposure), specific rate quotes (rate-cycle dependent, your mortgage broker quotes you), underwriting questions on your specific income or asset documentation (your lender), home-country tax treatment of the US mortgage interest deduction or the eventual sale (your CPA or Steuerberater), or FATCA / FBAR reporting obligations (your tax advisor). The realtor handles the real estate; the lender handles the loan; the CPA handles the tax. Three roles, three scopes, one calendared workflow.

Disclaimer: Thomas Druck PA is a licensed Florida real estate broker (FREC, BK3172203). Nothing on this page is mortgage, tax, or legal advice. For loan underwriting consult a licensed mortgage broker or lender. For US tax matters consult a US-licensed CPA. For home-country tax treatment consult a tax advisor licensed in your jurisdiction.

Quick answers for foreign buyers

Can a non-US citizen get a mortgage on a Miami condo without US credit history?

Yes. Foreign national mortgage programs are designed for borrowers without US credit, US tax returns, or a Social Security number. The lender substitutes a foreign credit reference, CPA letter, or bank reference, plus 12 to 24 months of complete bank statements and documented source of funds. Down payment runs higher than a conventional loan — typically 25 to 40 percent — to offset the documentation gap.

How much down payment is required for a foreign national mortgage in Miami in 2026?

Expect 25 to 30 percent down for an established warrantable condo used as primary residence or second home, 30 to 35 percent for investment use, and 40 to 50 percent or more for new construction, condotels, and non-warrantable buildings. The down payment is set by the lender’s portfolio model against the property type, not negotiated with the borrower.

How long does a foreign national mortgage take to close on a Miami condo?

Plan 6 to 10 weeks from application to closing. The longest poles are AML and source-of-funds review (5 to 10 business days on the wire alone, longer from higher-risk jurisdictions), the lender’s building project review (parallel with HOA application, can take 2 to 4 weeks), and ITIN issuance if required (6 to 10 weeks — start it the same week you start the mortgage application).

Does the building affect whether I can get a foreign national mortgage?

Yes, more than most buyers expect. The lender runs a project review on the condo association — investor concentration, reserves, insurance, leasing rules, active litigation, special assessments. Fannie Mae’s 2026 rule changes (Lender Letter LL-2026-03) raised the reserve threshold from 10 percent to 15 percent of annual budgeted assessments effective January 4, 2027. Foreign national lenders piggyback on Fannie Mae’s project standards even when they don’t sell to the GSEs, so the warrantability ripple hits foreign national approvals in the same buildings. Pre-screen the building against the lender’s criteria before you offer.

Do I need an ITIN to get a foreign national mortgage in Miami?

Not always, but often. Some foreign national programs accept passport plus foreign documentation without an ITIN. Others require ITIN for closing-side reporting and any future US tax filing on the property. The IRS issues ITINs in roughly 6 to 10 weeks. If your lender requires one, start the ITIN application the same week you start the mortgage application, not after.

Can I finance the Miami condo through my home-country private bank?

Sometimes, if you already have a private banking relationship and the bank operates a US lending arm or US correspondent. Major Swiss, Brazilian, Mexican, UK, and Israeli private banks all run this pathway for high-net-worth clients. Pricing can come in tighter than US foreign national portfolio rates, but the bank typically requires an assets-under-management commitment and the structure favors buyers who already have the AUM relationship. Buyers with no existing private bank footprint usually get better terms from a US foreign national program.

Related resources

  1. Miami Realtor for German-Speaking Buyers -- language-specific guide for DACH-region foreign buyers (German, Austrian, Swiss) on the foreign national track.
  2. ITIN Setup for Foreign Buyers -- IRS W-7, doc requirements, 6 to 10 week timeline.
  3. FIRPTA For Future Sellers how today's purchase structure decides tomorrow's FIRPTA exposure when you eventually sell.
  4. Investment Condo Buildings In Miami -- building shortlist with warrantability and investor-concentration profiles.
  5. Pre-Construction Financing Options -- financing pathway for buyers committing to a new tower before completion.
  6. Non-Resident Buyers hub -- the full overview of the 16-article series.

Financing a Miami condo from abroad?

Start with a Pre-Purchase Net + Risk Review. Written breakdown of realistic acquisition cost at your down-payment band, building warrantability against 2026 Fannie Mae criteria, Milestone status, HOA reserve exposure, AML and ITIN timing layered on the closing calendar. No obligation. Underwriting questions go to your mortgage broker; tax questions go to your CPA or Steuerberater — the Net + Risk Review covers the Miami real estate mechanics.