US Mortgage Archives - America Mortgages

With the continued home shortage in the U.S. of more than 3.8M properties, property developers are pulling back on new projects, and despite rising mortgage rates, U.S. property prices are holding strong. For the remainder of 2022 and going into 2023, The Washington Post stated recently, “As mortgage rates rise, prices should moderate, but low inventory will continue to be a problem.” The biggest benefit to this, bidding wars in hot cities where buyers were paying 10-20-30% over the asking price is likely going away. Now may be the time to buy while people are still figuring out the market.

The continued feedback we get from clients is finding the perfect property represented by a vetted realtor that understands non-resident investors, with their interests in mind. This is the missing piece of the puzzle. Furthermore, looking for reputable homeowners insurance once the property is in contract is another problem. This is where America Mortgages comes in. We heard you, and our team now has solutions for both!

If you are looking for a “full-service” solution when investing in U.S. real estate, getting a mortgage is only one step in the process. Recently, America Mortgages launched an option to match your needs with a vetted and trusted realtor. AM Concierge not only gives our clients the best mortgage options available, but they also have a reliable realtor network to choose from regardless of the U.S. state.

Upon being pre-approved for your mortgage, if requested, you will be teamed up with a Certified International Property Specialist to help you with a key step of the transaction – finding the right property! This is not a requirement for a mortgage loan. This is only an “extra tool” to assist if needed. If you already have a realtor you are working with or prefer to find a realtor on your own, please continue to do so.

We believe that as a non-resident real estate investor if you have more resources available, you can make a more informed decision on which investment property you should buy.

AM Concierge offers;

1. A mortgage loan tailored to your needs through a firm that are experts in non-resident, foreign national, and U.S. expat mortgage lending.

2. A trustworthy realtor that will source a property that fits your requirements. A realtor that knows the specific market you’re interested in will show you only properties that meet your requirements, saving you time, effort and money. Often they will find properties you may not know exist. Just as it’s important to find a mortgage company that understands Foreign National and U.S. Expat lending, it is as important for your realtor to have this experience as well. Someone that works well with the mortgage professional and also understands the intricacies and nuances involved when buying from abroad.

They will negotiate the purchase agreement and represent you through the transaction. Keep in mind, in the U.S.; the buyer does not pay for the realtor’s commission. This is paid for by the seller. It costs you nothing to have someone to represent you.

The best part about our AM Concierge service is that there is NO cost to you!

At AM Concierge, we have a vetted and approved network of realtors in all 50 states that can assist you when buying a home as a foreign national, non-resident, or U.S. expat. These agents will work in your time zone and in your language to find a property that fits your requirements. Our agents are friendly, compassionate, and understand the process of international home buying.

2. Foreign Nationals and Expats Home Insurance & Other Insurance products

If you have a mortgage in the U.S., you are required to insure the property for its replacement value, known as homeownership insurance. Living outside of the U.S., often finding a reputable insurance agent takes time and effort. It’s a small step; however, if you’re unfamiliar with the process, it can be confusing and frustrating. Again, we understand, and we are here to help. This is why America Mortgage’s home insurance mortgage solution comes from trusted insurance partners. They will assist you in obtaining a quote for homeowners insurance and other insurance needs you may have. If you’re a property owner, our trusted insurance partner will make it easy to get the coverage you need to be prepared for whatever may come your way. Again, this is a free service we provide to help your journey in U.S. real estate investing.

As a company, America Mortgages‘ only focus is providing U.S. mortgage financing for foreign nationals and U.S. Expats. Getting pre-approved for a purchase or a refinance/cash-out normally takes 72 hours from application and document submission. Once you have your pre-approval, you are ready to begin the search for your dream international property.

If you have any questions regarding mortgages, realtors, or homeowners insurance, please speak with one of our loan officers today.

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As many of you know, America Mortgages offers two main ways to qualify to purchase or refinance investment real estate in the U.S. – either using personal income or using only the properties’ projected or actual rental income. For two main reasons, most of our clients use the latter. One, their income may be extremely complex or documented insufficiently, or two, they plan to move quickly with a streamlined, minimal documentation approach.

Difficult times call for creativity and common sense.

At the beginning of the year, qualifying based on rental income, otherwise known as DSCR was easy. Rates were low, rental yields were stable, and properties cash flowed on paper very easily. Since the beginning of the year, rates have continued to increase. Overall, rates remain historically low when you look at the U.S. mortgage market over the last 20 years. Rental yields have continued to climb to record levels, however, documenting these rental yields through an appraisal, which is how we underwrite these loans, has become increasingly challenging as there is typically a lag in rental comps to support the higher rents.

This presented our team with a problem; In the current environment, in order to qualify for a “standard” DSCR loan, clients were required to put more money down to keep the underwriting numbers in line. In general a DSCR loan requires the rental income listed in the appraisal to be greater than or equal to the mortgage payment. Unfortunately, it’s going to take time for rental appraisals to correlate with the higher rental yields, to where DSCR will be a viable option again. However, we have a solution…

Rejoice Global Investors…Introducing America Mortgages’ No-Ratio Mortgage Loans!

“No-Ratio loans,” have recently been introduced as options to help clients with minimal down payments to leverage a higher LTV without the constraints of waiting for rental yield to catch up. You might ask yourself – why would someone want to go into a loan knowing the property cash flow doesn’t cover the mortgage payment?

It’s a good question! This is common sense underwriting and as mentioned previously, the rental comps mentioned in the home’s appraisal sets the cash flow target. Rental comps are hard to measure; they are dependent on when tenants in your area have renewed their leases, are the renewed leases at market rent, etc. This measurement is often not the rental amount the client is buying the property for. It is very common to review an appraisal and see rental comps being used where rents haven’t been raised in years; this is likely because it’s a stable tenant, the landlord isn’t in need of maximizing the yield and prefers to keep a stable tenant – a problem when trying to get the maximum rental amount on an appraisal and a cash flow loan to work.

Here at America Mortgages, we put a lot of emphasis on figuring out the client’s plan for the property. How do the rental comps in the area look versus what their realtor believes they can rent it for? Are they buying for long-term rentals or short-term rentals? All of these questions plan into the type of mortgage program they will utilize – and now more than ever, it’s the no–ratio loan that allows them to avoid the hassle of counting on rental comps in appraisals and still put minimal down into the mortgage as possible – they also understand the ability to refinance the loan when rates improve in the future – which they will.

Bottom line, America Mortgages’ clients are sophisticated and seasoned U.S. real estate investor. Our U.S. loan officer based in 12 different countries know and understand the market. Better than anyone else. We listen to all our clients requests, and if possible we find a solution which fits the market and “makes sense”. No Ratio Mortgage Loans is such a solution!