Our client is a clinical research director at a top university in Singapore for the past 12 years, and his kids are all studying in the U.S. Being abroad for an extended period of time, he no longer had any credit history in the U.S. or FICO score.
How We Helped
He no longer had any credit history in the U.S. or FICO score. Although he tried with several local and international banks, he was unable to get a loan due to the lack of credit. As we see similar situations often, we knew what loan program would work best for our client. He was able to get a great loan and begin to reestablish his U.S. credit again. Something vital to him when he retires back in New York.
For those who are new to investing in real estate, the common question is, what is bridge financing? A better question is, what is bridge financing, and how does it benefit commercial Real Estate investors?
For investors that are well versed in bridge financing, you understand the importance of having access to reliable and reputable bridge lenders. Bridge financing is short-term financing, sometimes referred to as private money, smart money, or hard money. Private individuals and not banks typically make bridge loans, so the interest rates on bridge loans are higher than bank loans. International bridge lending allows non-U.S. citizen / Foreign Nationals to invest in the U.S. or other global Real Estate projects by quickly and efficiently providing the needed capital.
Many commercial real estate investors who were able to purchase distressed commercial properties in recent years made out very well. To act on multiple opportunities simultaneously, many real estate investors have turned to bridge financing.
BRIDGE FINANCING BENEFITS INVESTORS IN 3 IMPORTANT WAYS:
– Bridge financing allows investors to make their money go further. For example, if two properties come together at the same time, an investor can purchase both properties using a bridge loan on each purchase.
– Bridge financing removes partners or family members from a deal. Investing with family members or business partners can be tricky. Bridge loans can remove other partners from the equation, allowing an investor more freedom and flexibility with a newly acquired asset.
– Bridge loans fund faster than bank loans. If an opportunity is good, it won’t last long. Bridge loans have fewer requirements than bank loans and thus close quicker. Bridge financing allows investors can grab a fleeting opportunity before another investor snatches it up.
INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE FINANCING FOR GLOBAL / INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE PROJECTS?
America Mortgages’ extensive network offers numerous options for Bridge Financing regardless of your citizenship. Whether for a hotel project in Spain, land in Thailand, or a dairy farm in India, America Mortgages is your solution for reliable capital sourcing.
OUR CAPITAL NETWORK AND EXPERIENCE FOR INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE LENDING EXPANDS BORDERS.
With over 70 combined years of experience in the mortgage and investment banking industry, and with access to funds worldwide, America Mortgages will consider most international bridge funding requests. Currently, we offer bridge lending on international and foreign borrowers with a minimum loan amount of US$3mm with no maximum with a maximum of 50% LTV/LTC.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about the structures and options of bridge financing solutions at [email protected].
Our client is a lawyer for a U.S. internet company in their Singapore office. They saw our flyer at the American Club and reached out to learn more.
How We Helped
The only thing we had to say is that we offer the same programs as you would find in the U.S., and that there’s a good chance we could even find something lower.
The fact that he could meet us in person already convinced him to use our services.
An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) refers to a mortgage with variable interest rates, which change regularly after an initial period. It fluctuates with the market interest rates, offering either a financial gain or loss to the borrowers. This is in direct contrast with the fixed-rate mortgage rules that impose a fixed interest rate for the entire repayment period.
Each ARM loan has an introductory period from 3 to 10 years where the interest rate stays lower than that of any fixed-rate mortgage. It’s possible to save a lump sum of money if you can settle the loan within that primary window.
After the initial fixed-rate period, an ARM’s interest rate will depend on the current market rates, meaning the rates can rise or fall over the mortgage’s remaining course. The lender will revise the rate at regular intervals, possibly once a year, and adjust it to the current market rate until the end of the term. To avoid paying extra money in rising interest, you can either sell the house or refinance the loan.
America Mortgages offers standard 5 and 7-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) that you can qualify easily without going through much paperwork. You can also refinance if your home’s market price is at least $150,000 or pull out cash of the home equity.
An ARM might be the right choice if you can pay the loan off during the initial cap or don’t plan to live in the same house for your entire life. Ask the lender about the loan’s margin, the factors related to rate changes, and the intervals of rate changes to see if you can afford the calculated monthly installments.
A fixed-rate mortgage keeps the interest rate fixed throughout the loan term. This is the direct opposite of an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) that changes the interest rate regularly.
America Mortgages offers various fixed mortgage loans ranging from 15 to 30 years. Regardless of the length, the rate in all of them remains the same for the entire period.
In the case of a fixed-rate mortgage, if you purchase a home with a 15-year loan and your monthly payment is set at $1,500 in a fixed interest rate, you will be paying exactly this amount throughout the entirety of the loan.
People with a budget who do not want to deal with the sudden surge in interest rates will find this mortgage type ideal for them. However, these borrowers will not be able to take advantage of a drop in the interest rate unless they choose to refinance to modify their terms. A fixed-rate mortgage is also a good option for people who intend to live in the same house for the rest of their life. By paying a small monthly amount, they can eventually own the house when the mortgage period is over.
America Mortgages (www.americamortgages.com) is Asia’s only overseas mortgage company with Direct Bank Programs for Foreign Nationals and Overseas Expat to purchase or refinance residential property in the U.S.
I am a Hong Kong citizen and what’s happening now is heart-breaking to watch unfold. Hong Kong’s cultural identity, fortitude, and integrity are all being tested, and regardless of whose side you are on, one thing cannot be disputed – Hong Kong is not the same as it once was.
Previous Migration Trends
Hong Kong is no stranger to phases of migration. Starting in 1967 and lasting almost 10 years, social instability was wide-spread, with riots all over the small island city. Many Hong Kong citizens moved to South East Asia, South Africa, and even as far away as South Africa. Towards the end of 1984, when the “Handover” to China from the U.K. was officially signed, it was the beginning of the largest outbound migration Hong Kong has ever seen. At the time, the U.K. government did not offer passports to those born in Hong Kong as it once did. Then just a few years after, in 1989, the Tiananmen Square event happened, and Hong Kong citizens migrated en-masse, primarily to Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and, to a lesser extent, the U.S.
The Numbers Were Staggering!
Some estimate total emigration was up to 1 million during this period, with the peak between 1988 – 1994 at 330,000. That is about 20% of the entire population of Hong Kong in the 90s! Other research shows that an estimated US$4.2billion of outbound investment flowed to Canada during this period.
Why Is This Time Different?
What is different this time around is that back then, the “Handover” was relatively uneventful, and most Hong Kong-born emigrants returned home, a phenomenon known as “香港回流潮” or Hong Kong Returning Tidal Flow.
Fast-forward 20 years to today, and the landscape is very different. Every conversation with friends, colleagues, and family, Every news channel, Every newspaper – it all revolves around the protests. Hong Kong is emotional, it’s tense, and its energy is visceral. We now have a small glimpse into what the future may be like, and it’s different from the landscape during the Handover.
Folks Are Looking To Move!
Hong Kong has the most expensive property prices globally, and the market has increased consistently for 30 years with a few pullbacks – Asian Currency Crisis 1997, SARS 2003, G.F.C. 2008, to name a few. Meanwhile, the H.K.D. is pegged to the USD, so being able to cash out your Hong Kong property to purchase homes in the U.S. is starting to make a lot of sense. It’s already happening.
Year
Number of P.R.’s Issued to H.K. Citizens
2016
1,360
2017
1,360
2018
1,525
Other Destinations
Canada issued permanent residency for Hong Kong Citizens:
– San Francisco: home prices fall first time in 7 years
– Manhattan: Slowest 1Q sales since 2008
– Vancouver: down 9.6% from its peak in June 2018
– London: down 20% from its peak in 2014
– Sydney: down 15% from the peak in July 2017
Case Study: U.S.A.
The reasons why the U.S. attracts the most Foreign Purchases of Investment Property:
– Education – “Something for Everyone” Most universities in the world. The U.S. has approximately 5,300 colleges and universities in the world vs. 2,600 globally. That is a staggering 20% of all colleges and universities in the world!
– Evidence Supported Top Foreign Buyers in the U.S. in 2019: China $13.4bn Top Destination (more below): Florida (20%); California (12%); Texas (10%), Arizona (5%), New Jersey (4%)
Here is just a small sample in (no particular order):
Location
Rental Yield
Home Value Increase
Arlington, Texas
7.5%
10.3%
Columbus, Ohio
7.9%
9.2%
Las Vegas, Nevada
5.3%
15.9%
San Antonio, Texas
6.4%
8%
Orlando, Florida
5.7%
10.7%
** Did you know Orlando is the most searched city in America for Chinese real estate investors?
Since June 15, 2019, America Mortgages has seen a steady increase in loan inquiries from Hong Kong, with about 70% of them in the process of an actual home purchase!
Location
Enquiries
Loan Processing
U.S.
12
10
U.K.
8
5
Canada
8
7
Australia
6
3
Japan
6
4
Hong Kong is an amazing city, and it has provided so much, for so many, for so long.
However, Hong Kong, just like any other country, is not immune to domestic turmoil, and you have to wonder if this current Migration Wave is different from the others?
“There is nothing wrong with being prudent and diversifying your investments aboard.”America Mortgages Partners
America Mortgages has bank loan programs that are easy to qualify for. We can close loans in 30 days with many loan programs not requiring any income proof or the need to leave Hong Kong. Overseas Expats and Foreign Nationals to Purchase or Refinance.
Principal refers to the initial mortgage amount taken against the property you mortgaged. When you obtain a mortgage, it comes in two parts — principal and interest. The principal is the amount that you borrow from the lender, and the interest is a percentage of that principal amount charged by the lender as the cost of borrowing that money. When repaying, you have to pay both the principal and the interest.
For example: if you borrow $300,000 from a lender to buy a house, the principal of your loan is $300,000. At a 3% of annual interest rate, it will add $750 of interest balance per month to the principal balance. If you repay $10,000 as a monthly installment, the lender will cut off $750 as interest, and the rest $9,250 will pay off the principal balance. So, after one month, your loan principal will be 290,750. With each monthly installment, the principal balance will be reduced.
If you find it difficult to calculate the balance principal, interest percentage, and other fees, check the loan’s monthly statement. Our lenders will provide you a breakdown of all the numbers. It will show how much of the monthly installment goes toward paying off the principal balance and interest.
A bigger loan comes with a bigger interest rate. One way to avoid paying extra money is to pay off the loan faster by making additional payments with every monthly installment. Doing so in the case of adjustable-rate mortgages will save you plenty of money.
With America Mortgages, you can get anything between $150,000 and $5,000,000 and a choice from various paying off options.
A pre-approval denotes an official letter from the mortgage lender outlining the maximum mortgage amount they are willing to lend you. It’s not a commitment but only a rough estimate of the loan that you may borrow from that organization, the possible interest rate, and the monthly installment figure.
You can get the pre-approval document by filling up a loan application. The lender will ask you to submit some paperwork, including pay stubs, credit check, bank account statements, tax returns, and W-2 statements. An officer will look into the information provided and give you a written statement detailing the mortgage amount you are qualified to borrow.
A pre-approval does not guarantee the approval of a loan. It just means that the lending company has looked into your assets and other aspects of finances and chalked out the sum of a loan against that credit history.
At America Mortgages, we approve over 97% of all applications. Some of our loan programs don’t even require verifying the applicant’s income! Mortgage pre-approvals have an expiry duration, ranging between 30 and 90 days, depending on the lending company. Meaning, you will need to find a home and apply for the loan within that expiry window. Upon the pre-approval document’s expiration, you will need to apply for a new one that may affect your credit score a bit.
A pre-approval solidifies your financial stability and seriousness to the house seller. You can stand ahead of other potential buyers in a competitive market. This will particularly help first-time homebuyers to convince the seller that they are ready to put in an offer. Some people confuse between pre-approval and prequalification. However, the latter does not have much credibility since it does not involve a thorough investigation into your incomes and credit score.
An existing client referred this client, and he reached out to us to enquire about our U.S. citizen mortgage programs as he thought we only offer Foreign National mortgages.
How We Helped
How surprised he was to hear that U.S. Expat loans are half of our business. Since we are Expats ourselves, we know the exact issues our clients face and have a roadmap on dealing with them – Non-U.S. income, weak FICO score, and so on.
Loan Details
Nationality
Property Value
Loan Amount
LTV
Rate
U.S. Citizen
$1,280,000
$550,000
43%
2.75%
Term
State
Property Type
Purpose
Loan Type
30 year fixed
Charleston, South Carolina
Single-Family Home
Purchase
Residential
America Mortgages Inc. is a mortgage broker focusing only on U.S. Expats and Foreign Nationals living overseas. We offer over 150 U.S. bank and lender programs direct to our international clients. America Mortgages is wholly-owned by Global Mortgage Group Pte. Ltd. an international mortgage specialist based in Singapore.
