Foreign National Lending · Miami, Florida · Updated September 2026
No Social Security number, no US credit file, and a bank that stopped returning calls. Here is who actually lends, what the terms really cost, and the five steps that decide your closing date.
By Michael McGovern, Founder | 25+ Years in Commercial LendingCommercial Mortgage Connection · Yonkers, NY · lending in all 50 states The short answer
A foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami is written by lenders who keep loans on their own books rather than selling them into programs that require a US credit score: portfolio lenders, private debt funds, DSCR lenders that qualify the property instead of the person, and the international desks of a few banks.
You reach them through a commercial mortgage broker, because most will not open a file for a borrower they have never met and cannot underwrite from a phone call. Commercial Mortgage Connection arranges foreign national programs through its 750+ lender network in all 50 states, including Florida, at 888-656-9812.
And the honest part first: if you hold a green card, or you already have a US entity with a US credit history, do not let anyone quote you foreign national terms. That is the most common avoidable cost on these files.
- What actually blocks the file: not your nationality. It is the absence of a US credit record, a documented source of funds and an ownership entity the lender can identify.
- What it costs: lower leverage more than a higher rate. On a $3,000,000 Miami example, 60 percent leverage instead of 70 percent means $300,000 more cash in the deal.
- The surprise most buyers miss: a smaller loan can mean a lower monthly payment even at a higher rate. In the example below the foreign national pays $986 a month less than the US borrower.
- Plan the tax before closing: when a foreign person sells US real property, FIRPTA withholding generally applies at 15 percent of the amount realized. On a $3,600,000 sale that is $540,000 held back at the closing table.
All rates, loan amounts, leverage and coverage figures on this page are labeled examples computed for this article, checked 2 September 2026. They are not quotes or offers, lender terms vary, and nothing here is tax or legal advice.
What this page covers
- Who to call, and who not to bother calling
- Why a US bank turns the file away
- The five lender routes for a foreign national loan in Miami
- What changes versus a US borrower, in dollars
- The documents that set your closing date on a foreign national file
- FIRPTA and the tax questions to settle first
- Five steps to close a foreign national loan
- When this is the wrong move
- How CMC works a foreign national file
- Do you lend in Florida?
- Foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami: FAQ
Who to call, and who not to bother calling
Start by narrowing the field for a foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami, because the wrong first call costs weeks. A retail branch of a national bank is the wrong first call. The person at the desk is trained on consumer products and domestic underwriting, cannot see the programs that would fit you, and will usually decline politely rather than refer you onward. The right first call is to a lender or a broker whose ordinary business includes borrowers without a US credit file.
Miami is the deepest US market for this. The buyer base is international by default, the title, legal and accounting professions there handle cross-border closings every week, and a meaningful number of lenders write foreign national programs specifically because that demand exists. That is an advantage you should use: in Miami, a foreign national commercial real estate loan is a routine transaction rather than an exception, and you should expect to be treated as a normal borrower with a different document set, not as a problem.
What none of this changes is the underwriting logic. The property still has to cover the debt, the equity still has to be real, and the money still has to be traceable. What changes is how you prove who you are and where the funds came from.
Why a US bank turns the file away
It is worth being precise about this, because borrowers seeking a foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami often assume prejudice where there is procedure. Four things stop a conventional US bank file, and none of them is your nationality.
- There is no US credit file to pull. Bank credit policy is written around a credit score and a domestic credit report. With neither, the automated part of the process has nothing to read, and many institutions have no manual path around it.
- Identity verification is built for US documents. Under the Bank Secrecy Act and customer identification rules, a lender must verify who it is lending to, and the standard workflow expects a Social Security number and US-issued identification. A foreign passport is acceptable evidence, but it requires a process the branch does not run.
- Source of funds must be documented. Money arriving from outside the United States triggers a deeper anti-money-laundering review, and every party is screened against the sanctions lists administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. This is not optional and it is not personal; it is the same check applied to every cross-border transaction.
- The ownership entity adds a layer. Foreign buyers commonly hold US property through an entity, and the lender must identify the beneficial owners behind it. US beneficial ownership reporting rules have changed since they were introduced, so what a foreign-owned entity must file should be confirmed against FinCEN’s current guidance with your US attorney rather than assumed.
Add the wider backdrop and the picture is complete. The Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey for April 2026 showed banks moving in different directions on commercial real estate in the same quarter, with smaller banks tightening on construction and multifamily. A bank that is already selective has no reason to build a new process for one unfamiliar file. A portfolio lender that writes these every month does.
The five lender routes for a foreign national loan in Miami
Here is the realistic menu, with what each route asks of you and where it fits. Terms vary by lender, by property and by quarter, so treat these as shapes rather than quotes.
| Route | Typical answer | What it asks of you | Relative cost | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail branch of a national bank | Usually no, often without a referral | A US credit file it cannot find | Cheapest if it ever says yes | Rarely the right first call |
| International or private banking desk | Sometimes, on a relationship | Assets under management or a meaningful deposit relationship | Low | Established private banking clients |
| Portfolio lender, on balance sheet | Yes, this is the core route | Full identity, source of funds and entity file; lower leverage | Moderate | Most first-time foreign national buyers |
| DSCR lender, property-qualified | Yes, qualifies the building not the person | Strong in-place coverage; often no personal income documents | Moderate to high | Stabilized income property with clean leases |
| Private debt fund or bridge lender | Yes, fastest and most flexible | Real equity and a defined exit | Highest | Speed, transitional assets, complex structures |
The row to read twice is the DSCR lender. Because it qualifies the property's cash flow rather than the borrower's personal income, it removes the exact obstacle that stops a bank, which makes it the most natural fit for a stabilized Miami income property. Our portfolio lending page explains the balance-sheet route in detail, and the hard money and bridge loans page covers the fastest route when the timeline is the binding constraint.
What changes versus a US borrower, in dollars
Take a $3,000,000 Miami commercial property producing $210,000 of net operating income, and compare the same purchase by a US borrower and by a foreign national. This is where the real cost of a foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami shows up, and it is not where most people expect.
| Term | US borrower, example | Foreign national, example |
|---|---|---|
| Loan to value | 70% | 60% |
| Loan amount | $2,100,000 | $1,800,000 |
| Example rate and amortization | 6.75% over 25 years | 8.25% over 30 years |
| Monthly payment | $14,509 | $13,523 |
| Annual debt service | $174,110 | $162,274 |
| Debt service coverage | 1.21x | 1.29x |
| Cash into the deal | $900,000 | $1,200,000 |
Two things in that table are worth stopping on. First, the foreign national's monthly payment is $986 lower and the coverage ratio is better, at 1.29x against 1.21x, despite paying 150 basis points more. Lower leverage over a longer amortization more than offsets the rate. Second, the actual price is the $300,000 of extra equity locked into the building, which is capital you cannot deploy elsewhere. Some lenders go to 55 percent, which on this example means $1,650,000 of debt and $1,350,000 of cash. That is the number to plan around, and it is why the equity conversation should happen in week one rather than at underwriting. Run your own version in the free loan calculator.
The documents that set your closing date on a foreign national file
On a domestic file the property drives the timeline. On a foreign national file the paperwork does, and the borrowers who close quickly are simply the ones who started assembling it early. Certified translations and apostilles take real calendar time, so begin before you are asked.
| Category | What lenders commonly ask for | Why it is asked |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Valid passport, visa or entry stamp where applicable, and often a second government identification | Customer identification obligations under US anti-money-laundering rules |
| Sanctions screening | Full legal names of every owner and signer | Screening against the lists administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control |
| Source of funds | Bank statements, sale or dividend records, and a written explanation of how the down payment was earned | Anti-money-laundering review of cross-border funds |
| US banking | A US bank account, usually funded before closing | Payments, reserves and the lender's ability to debit |
| Entity | Formation documents, operating agreement, good standing certificate, beneficial ownership information | The lender must identify who is behind the borrowing entity |
| Tax identification | An ITIN or EIN, obtained through the IRS | US tax filing and reporting on the property |
| Property | Purchase contract, rent roll, two years of operating statements, leases, title and survey | The ordinary commercial underwriting file |
| Credit substitute | International credit references, or a letter from your home-country bank | Stands in for the US credit report that does not exist |
One practical note that saves weeks: ask the lender at the outset whether documents must be translated, notarized or apostilled, and for which countries. The answer varies, and discovering it late is the single most common reason a foreign national closing slips. The general sequence around this is the same as any commercial file, described in our guide to the commercial real estate financing process.
FIRPTA and the tax questions to settle first
This section is a flag, not advice, and the flag matters because on a foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami the cost lands years after closing. Under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, when a foreign person disposes of a US real property interest, the buyer is generally required to withhold 15 percent of the amount realized and remit it to the IRS.
On a later sale at $3,600,000, that is $540,000 held back at the closing table, ahead of your mortgage payoff and your proceeds. It is a withholding rather than a final tax, and reduced rates or exemptions can apply, but planning for it and structuring for it are two different things, and both belong at the start.
Three related items are worth raising with a US tax advisor before you sign anything, not after. The ownership structure. Holding through an individual, a US entity or a foreign entity produces materially different US tax outcomes, and the structure is difficult to change once the property is bought. The tax identification number. You will need an ITIN or an EIN from the IRS to file, and applying early avoids a scramble. Rental income treatment. How rental income from US property is taxed depends on elections and on any treaty between the United States and your country of residence.
Commercial Mortgage Connection is a mortgage brokerage and does not give tax or legal advice. Engage a US tax advisor and a US real estate attorney with cross-border experience at the same time you engage a lender. In Miami that expertise is easy to find, and it is much cheaper before closing than after.
Two questions
Where are you in the process?
What US footprint do you have today?
Five steps to close a foreign national loan
Step 1. Assemble the identity and source of funds file before you shop lenders. Passport, second identification, bank statements covering the down payment, and a written explanation of where the money came from. This file is the gate, so build it first.
Step 2. Open the US bank account and get the tax identification number. Both take longer than borrowers expect, both are required by most lenders, and neither depends on which property you buy, so start them immediately.
Step 3. Settle the ownership structure with US professionals. A US real estate attorney and a US tax advisor decide together whether you hold personally, through a US entity or through a foreign entity, before an offer is accepted. Reversing this later is expensive.
Step 4. Get the property file into lender-ready shape. Purchase contract, rent roll, two years of operating statements, current leases, and your budget for any work. This is the same package a US borrower submits, and our guide on strengthening a commercial mortgage application covers how to present it.
Step 5. Submit to lenders that actually write these, in parallel. Not one at a time. Foreign national programs differ sharply on leverage, recourse and document requirements, and the only way to know which fits is to see several written terms side by side. If a bank has already declined you, our guide on what to do after a bank denial maps the routes that remain open.
When this is the wrong move: three honest cases
You are not actually a foreign national borrower. If you hold a green card, or your US entity has its own credit history and operating record, ask to be quoted as a domestic borrower and compare. Accepting foreign national leverage and pricing when you qualify for conventional terms costs real money on every payment and locks up equity you did not need to commit.
The equity is not there. Lower leverage is the defining feature of this product, so a deal that only works at 70 or 75 percent is not a deal you should force. Buying a smaller Miami property outright, or with modest debt, is a better outcome than stretching to a building you cannot capitalize properly.
The tax structure has not been decided. Closing first and asking a tax advisor afterwards is the most expensive sequence in cross-border real estate. If your attorney and tax advisor are not yet engaged, that is the next call, ahead of the lender. And in plain terms about this page: Commercial Mortgage Connection is a brokerage paid when loans close, which is exactly why this section tells you when to slow down.
How CMC works a foreign national file
Commercial Mortgage Connection is a commercial mortgage brokerage headquartered at 326 Saw Mill River Rd in Yonkers, NY, working a network of 750+ lenders carrying 500K+ loan programs across all 50 states, with more than $1,000,000,000 originated. Foreign national programs are part of that network, every engagement is led personally by founder Michael McGovern, and a submitted file gets a loan review response within 4 hours.
To be clear about what that means for a Miami buyer: CMC is not a Florida bank and does not have a Miami office. It is a nationwide brokerage, and on a cross-border file the value is in the sorting. Before anything is submitted, the file is matched to the lenders in the network that are currently writing foreign national business on this asset type, so it goes only where it can be approved. That avoids the pattern that costs international buyers the most: a sequence of polite declines from institutions that were never going to build a process for one file, each one burning two weeks of a contract timeline that does not pause.
Where a conventional loan is the better answer, that is what we will say, and our commercial mortgage page covers those programs.
Do you lend in Florida?
Yes. A foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami is arranged the same way anywhere in our footprint. Commercial Mortgage Connection is headquartered in Yonkers, NY and places loans through its 750+ lender network in all 50 states, including Florida. Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Doral, Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale and the wider South Florida market are inside that footprint, and so are Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. If the property is an apartment building rather than commercial or mixed-use, a second question sits in front of the lender list, and our guide to foreign national apartment loans covers the agency Key Principal rule that decides it.
Commercial lending is regulated federally and at the state level. Florida title practice, closing custom, documentary stamp taxes and foreclosure procedure differ from other states, and Miami-Dade property tax assessments are published by the county property appraiser, which is the right source for the tax line in your underwriting rather than a percentage estimate. How geography moves pricing generally is covered in our guide to the impact of location on commercial mortgage terms. Confirm the state-specific items with Florida counsel before you sign a term sheet.
Bottom line. A foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami is a broker-arranged, portfolio-lender product rather than a branch product. Bring the identity file, the documented source of funds and the ownership entity, and a foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami closes on a normal commercial timeline.
Foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami: FAQ
Who do I call for a foreign national commercial real estate loan in Miami?
Call a commercial mortgage broker or a lender whose regular business includes borrowers without a US credit file, not a retail bank branch. The lenders that write these are portfolio lenders holding loans on their own books, DSCR lenders that qualify the property rather than the person, private debt funds, and the international desks of a few banks. Most will not open a file for an unknown borrower directly, which is why these deals normally reach them through a broker. Commercial Mortgage Connection arranges foreign national programs nationwide, including Florida, at 888-656-9812.
Can a foreign national get a US commercial real estate loan without a Social Security number or US credit?
Yes. The lenders that write foreign national programs do not require a US credit score, because they underwrite the property's cash flow, the equity and the documented source of funds instead. What they do require is identity verification using a valid passport and usually a second government identification, sanctions screening of every owner and signer, a documented source of the down payment, a US bank account, and an ITIN or EIN from the IRS for tax filing. International credit references or a letter from your home-country bank often stand in for the US credit report.
How much down payment does a foreign national need in Miami?
Expect to put in more than a US borrower would. Where a domestic buyer might reach 70 percent of value, foreign national programs commonly sit near 60 percent and some lenders go to 55 percent. On a $3,000,000 example property that is the difference between $900,000 and $1,200,000 of cash, or $1,350,000 at 55 percent. The extra equity, not the interest rate, is the real cost of the product, so plan the equity first and shop the rate second.
What is FIRPTA and how does it affect a foreign national buying commercial property?
The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act requires that when a foreign person disposes of a US real property interest, the buyer generally withholds 15 percent of the amount realized and remits it to the IRS. On a $3,600,000 sale that is $540,000 held back at closing, ahead of the mortgage payoff and the seller's proceeds. It is a withholding rather than a final tax and reduced rates or exemptions can apply, but it affects your net proceeds and your exit timing, so discuss it and the ownership structure with a US tax advisor before you buy, not before you sell.
How long does a foreign national commercial real estate loan take to close?
The property underwriting runs on the ordinary commercial timeline. The variable is your document file, and it is usually the longer of the two. Opening a US bank account, obtaining an ITIN or EIN, forming the ownership entity, and getting foreign documents translated, notarized or apostilled all take real calendar time and none of them depends on the property. Borrowers who start those items before going under contract close in line with domestic buyers. Borrowers who start them after signing a contract routinely need an extension.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service, FIRPTA Withholding. Checked 2 September 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Checked 2 September 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, Foreign Persons. Checked 2 September 2026.
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Beneficial Ownership Information. Checked 2 September 2026.
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control: Sanctions Programs and Country Information. Checked 2 September 2026.
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Comptroller's Handbook: Commercial Real Estate Lending. Checked 2 September 2026.
- Federal Reserve Board, Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, April 2026. Checked 2 September 2026.
- Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser. Checked 2 September 2026.
Michael McGovernFounder, Commercial Mortgage Connection. Michael wrote this guide drawing on a career that began at Bear Stearns & Co. in 1997, ran through structuring billions of dollars in CMBS and MBS in Bear's F.A.S.T. group and selling mortgage product at Lehman Brothers, and now spans more than $1 billion in originated mortgages.
Buying in Miami from outside the US? Send us the property and we will tell you who will lend.
Senior-led review of your property, your equity and your document position, with a response within 4 hours, in Florida and all 50 states. If you qualify for conventional terms, we will tell you that instead. Call 888-656-9812, live operator 24/7.
Facts on this page were verified against the cited Internal Revenue Service, FinCEN, Office of Foreign Assets Control, OCC, Federal Reserve and Miami-Dade County sources on 2 September 2026. Every rate, loan amount, loan to value, payment, coverage ratio and sale price shown above is an illustrative example computed for this article, not an offer, a quote, an appraisal or a representation of available terms or of any actual property. Lender leverage, pricing and document requirements vary by borrower, lender and quarter, and change frequently.
Nothing on this page is a loan offer or personalized financial, tax, immigration or legal advice. Commercial Mortgage Connection is a mortgage brokerage and does not provide tax or legal advice; FIRPTA treatment, ownership structuring, tax identification numbers, entity reporting obligations and treaty questions must be reviewed with a qualified US tax advisor and a US attorney before you buy.
All financing is subject to lender approval, identity verification, sanctions screening, source of funds review and property underwriting, with no approval guaranteed. Broker licensing, title practice, closing custom and property tax treatment vary by state. Commercial Mortgage Connection is headquartered in Yonkers, NY, is not a Florida bank and has no Miami office, is paid when loans close, and sells the service described on this page. Equal Housing Opportunity. Call 888-656-9812 to discuss your scenario.
