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Foreign National Loans for Miami Condos

August 3rd, 2010 · View Comments
Foreign Loan

It's no secret that the majority of condo purchases that are being made in the Miami area are by foreign nationals. Most of these foreign nationals pay cash, but there are many more foreign buyers who would like to obtain a loan to help with their purchase. Unfortunately there are not many loan options available to foreign nationals right now that would enable them to purchase a new or resale condo. If you search the Internet, there are companies offering foreign national loans, but I can tell you from experience that many of them will not deliver a loan by your closing date for a variety of reasons.

Most Programs Want 50% Down

If you are seeking a foreign national loan, be prepared to present a down payment equivalent to at least 50% of the purchase price. Also, in most cases, you will need reference letters or documentation from your creditors in your home country.

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Posted in Financing | View Comments


New Fannie Mae Rules Will Help Miami Condo Prices

January 8th, 2010 · View Comments

Wow, that's all I can say! Fannie Mae just released a bulletin detailing a new Special Approval Designation for Florida Condominium Projects. As a result, you can now get financing in many condo buildings where cheap units were previously only available to all cash buyers.

Many existing condominium projects were previously made ineligible for Fannie Mae loans as a result of increasing delinquencies and foreclosures. As a result, prices fell precipitously in those buildings as the universe of potential buyers was drastically reduced. To illustrate, in a building like the Club at Brickell Bay in Downtown Miami / Brickell you could purchase a 1br unit for between $120,000 and $145,000, but it had to be an all cash transaction. On the flip side, to purchase a similar unit in one of the new buildings by the Related Group, you would have to pay almost double the price, but you would be able to get a loan. The quality of the Related Group's buildings is slightly better, but it doesn't justify paying two times the price. The difference is the financing.

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Posted in Distressed Properties, Downtown Miami / Brickell, Financing, Miami Beach | View Comments


FHA Approved Miami Condos

October 22nd, 2009 · View Comments

In today's market, many buyers are using FHA backed mortgages to finance a purchase of a new home or condo. The FHA offers loans with as little as 3.5% down, which is very attractive, especially considering the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. According to a recent survey of home builders by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, the FHA has backed a staggering 62% of new home loans given in South Florida.

So, its no surprise that I have been working with many condo buyers lately looking to get FHA backed loans.  This has not been an easy task.  There are not many FHA approved buildings in the greater downtown Miami area.  If you want to see if a particular condo is FHA approved, I suggest CheckFHAApproval.com. I've compiled a short list below of the 10 or so buildings that I would consider showing to clients.

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Posted in Downtown Miami / Brickell, Financing | View Comments


How Much Can I Afford to Pay for this Property?

August 6th, 2009 · View Comments

I've been working on finding an FHA approved condo for a client of mine and it's taken a little longer than expected because there are several moving pieces to the deal.  Usually when you look for a home and are preapproved for a mortgage, you know exactly how much home you can afford.  If you can afford (and are preapproved for) $150,000,  you would look at condos at or under that price.

However, when your lender thinks about how much home you can afford they think differently, and they look at your total monthly housing expenses relative to your income.  For a condo, monthly housing expenses would include maintenance fees, taxes, as well as your mortgage payment.  For each property, maintenance fees and taxes are fixed,  what the lender figures out is how much of a monthly mortgage payment you can make.  From the mortgage payment, the lender is able to calculate the mortgage amount, and when added to your down payment produces how much house you can afford.  What you need to keep in mind is that the more your maintenance fees and/or taxes are, the less house you can afford.

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Posted in Financing | View Comments


Why the Market for Luxury Condos is Broken

July 13th, 2009 · View Comments

I happen to live in a nice area of Miami Beach commonly known as "South of Fifth or SoFi".  It's full of some of the nicest condo towers you can find anywhere in Miami offering wonderful amenities and offering great views of Biscayne Bay, Government Cut, and the Atlantic Ocean. In SoFi, you'll find a high concentration of luxury condos, and when I say luxury, I mean those priced over 1 million dollars.  The following exclusive SoFi properties are available and have been for a while:

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Posted in Financing, Stats and Trends | View Comments


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