Using Money From Overseas
Your savings are in an account in another country. That money can fund a purchase here, but it has to arrive and be documented in a specific order.
Foreign assets are an eligible source
Documented properly, money from abroad works like any other savings.
- Assets held in foreign accounts are acceptable for down payment, closing costs, and reserves on the programs that address them.
- The funds must be sixty days seasoned, documented with the two most recent bank statements including all pages.
- Documentation has to be translated into English.
- The funds have to be exchanged into United States dollars and held in a United States or state regulated financial institution.
- Verification of the funds in dollars is required before closing, not after.
- Assets originating from countries under sanctions are not permitted. This is an absolute bar, not a documentation issue.
Down payment and closing costs
Reserves on many programs
Translated documentation
Currency conversion documented
Purchase or refinance
Visa holders and residents
Sequence Matters More Than Anything
The same money can be perfectly acceptable or completely unusable depending on when it moves.
Work backwards from closing. The funds have to be verified in United States dollars, in a United States or state regulated financial institution, before the loan closes. They have to be sixty days seasoned, evidenced by the two most recent statements with every page included. That means the transfer needs to happen early enough for the seasoning clock to run, not in the final week when the wire suddenly appears and underwriting has to source it.
The paperwork itself is straightforward but easy to underestimate. Statements from a foreign institution need to be translated into English, and a currency calculation showing the conversion has to be in the file. Partial statements are a common rejection: guidelines specify all pages, including the ones that look like blank terms and conditions.
One rule is not a documentation matter at all. Funds originating from a country under sanctions are not permitted, regardless of how well documented they are and regardless of the borrower’s own status. If that applies to your situation, it is better to know at the beginning than after you have paid for an appraisal.
What trips up international buyers
Six issues that come up when the money starts abroad.
The Wire Arrived Too Late
Sixty days of seasoning is the standard. A large deposit landing two weeks before closing has to be sourced and explained, and it may not be usable in time. Move the money first, shop second.
Only Some Of The Statement Pages Were Provided
Guidelines specify all pages of the two most recent statements. Sending the summary page alone reliably produces a condition and a delay.
Nothing Was Translated
Statements in another language cannot be underwritten. Translation is expected, and arranging it early costs a few days rather than a few weeks.
The Money Never Made It Into A US Institution
Showing a healthy balance sitting in a foreign account is not the same as having funds available for closing. The requirement is that the money be exchanged into dollars and held in a United States or state regulated institution.
Reserves Were Assumed To Work Everywhere
Most programs that accept foreign assets accept them for reserves too, but at least one specifically states that assets not denominated in dollars are ineligible as reserves. Which lender matters.
Nobody Checked The Sanctions Question
This is the one condition that cannot be documented around. If funds originate in a sanctioned country they are not permitted, and finding that out early saves real money.
Hear From Homeowners Like You
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions from buyers with money abroad.
Yes, on the programs that address foreign assets. They are acceptable for down payment, closing costs, and reserves, provided the seasoning, translation, conversion, and location requirements are met.
Sixty days of seasoning, documented with the two most recent bank statements including all pages. That is the timeline to plan around.
Yes. Guidelines require the assets to be exchanged into United States dollars and held in a United States or state regulated financial institution, with verification in dollars before closing.
Yes, into English, and a currency calculation showing the conversion needs to be in the file. Plan for this rather than discovering it at underwriting.
Your immigration status affects borrower eligibility, which is a separate question from where your money is. Both have to work. We look at them together rather than one at a time.
Gift funds have their own rules layered on top of the foreign asset rules. It is workable but it is two sets of requirements, so start the conversation early.
They are not permitted. This is stated flatly in the guidelines and there is no documentation path around it.
Find out what you qualify for
If any part of your down payment is coming from overseas, the single most valuable thing you can do is start the transfer now. Send us the account statements and we will tell you what translation and conversion documentation the file will need.
Get Pre-QualifiedRequirements for foreign assets, including seasoning, translation, currency conversion, and the institution where funds are held, vary by loan program and investor and are subject to change. Some programs exclude assets not denominated in United States dollars from reserves. Funds originating from sanctioned countries are not permitted. Borrower eligibility requirements apply separately. Not all applicants will qualify. This is not a commitment to lend.