ITIN Home Loans in Charleston, SC
If you file taxes with an ITIN instead of a Social Security number, you can still buy a home here. No SSN and no green card are required. You bring a valid ITIN, your tax returns or bank statements, and a minimum 15% down payment. We close these loans every month for Lowcountry tradespeople, mostly Spanish-speaking contractors. Hablamos espanol.
A real, legal mortgage for borrowers who file taxes with an ITIN
An ITIN home loan is a mortgage for a borrower who pays U.S. taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security number. The IRS issues an ITIN to people who have a tax-filing obligation but are not eligible for an SSN. If that is you, you can still own a home: no SSN and no green card are required, and you do not have to be a citizen or a permanent resident to qualify.
This is not a workaround or a gray-area product. It is a standard portfolio mortgage that a number of wholesale lenders offer specifically for ITIN filers. The home is in your name, the deed is recorded the same way as any other purchase, and you build equity exactly like any other owner. The only real difference is the documentation: instead of an SSN, the file is built around your ITIN, your filed tax returns or bank-statement income, and a down payment of at least 15%.
Home Loans Inc closes several of these loans a month, most of them for self-employed Spanish-speaking contractors across the Charleston Lowcountry. Because we are a broker, we shop your ITIN file across multiple wholesale lenders on one application instead of pushing a single bank’s narrow version of the program, which matters because ITIN guidelines vary a lot from lender to lender.
The real ITIN loan requirements, plainly
After closing these every month, here is what an ITIN file genuinely needs in the Lowcountry. No SSN. No green card. No citizenship. What we do need is straightforward, and most working tradespeople already have it.
A valid ITIN
A current, unexpired Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. If your ITIN has lapsed because it was not used on a recent return, we will tell you how to renew it with the IRS before we submit.
15% minimum down payment
Plan on at least 15% down. This is the floor on ITIN loans and is firmer than the low-down options available to SSN borrowers. Down-payment money can often come from your own savings or documented gift funds.
Tax returns or bank statements
Typically two years of filed tax returns. For self-employed contractors whose returns understate true cash flow, we can use a bank-statement program instead and qualify you on deposits. See bank statement loans.
Cash reserves
Lenders usually want a few months of mortgage payments left in the bank after closing. We tell you the exact reserve target for your file up front so there are no surprises near the closing table.
Rent and payment history
A clean record of paying rent and bills on time carries real weight on an ITIN file, especially if you have a thin or short U.S. credit history. Keep cancelled checks or bank records of your rent.
Steady, documentable income
Roofing, landscaping, framing, concrete, drywall, painting: the trades we see most. Whether you are 1099, paid by check, or run your own crew, we have a documentation path that fits how you actually get paid.
Two years of work history in the same line of trade is the norm, and self-employment is welcome rather than a problem. The whole product is built for people who run their own small operation.
Cerramos prestamos ITIN cada mes para la comunidad de la construccion.
Built for the Lowcountry’s construction-trades community
The Charleston area is one of the fastest-growing housing markets in the country, and that growth runs on the people who build it. The roofers, landscapers, framers, concrete and drywall crews, and painters who put up the homes here are, more often than not, the same hard-working Spanish-speaking families who deserve to own one. Many are self-employed, pay their taxes faithfully with an ITIN, and have been told for years that buying is out of reach. It is not.
This is the borrower we serve most. You have steady work, you file your returns, you pay your rent on time, and you have saved a real down payment. An ITIN loan is the door that turns that into ownership. If you are a tradesperson who has been renting while building everyone else’s house, this page is written for you.
Self-employed contractors
Run your own crew or work as an independent sub? Self-employment is the rule on ITIN files here, not a red flag. We know how to document a trades business.
Spanish-speaking families
Most of our ITIN borrowers are native Spanish speakers. We walk you through the whole process in Spanish so nothing gets lost between you and the lender.
Long-time renters ready to buy
If you have rented for years with on-time payments, that history is an asset on an ITIN file. We turn your rent record into qualifying strength.
How an ITIN loan differs from a conventional or FHA loan
ITIN loans are non-QM portfolio loans. That phrase matters, so here is what it means in plain terms. A conventional or FHA loan is sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or a government agency, all of which require a Social Security number, so an ITIN filer simply cannot use those programs. A portfolio lender instead keeps the loan on its own books, which lets it set its own rules and accept an ITIN in place of an SSN.
No SSN required
Conventional and FHA both require an SSN and, in most cases, lawful residency documentation. ITIN portfolio loans are designed specifically to qualify you on your ITIN instead.
Down payment is higher
FHA can go as low as 3.5% down and conventional as low as 3% to 5% for SSN borrowers. ITIN loans require at least 15% down, which is the trade-off for the flexible qualifying.
Flexible income documentation
Because the lender holds the loan, it can accept bank-statement income and trades-friendly documentation that a rigid agency program would reject. That is a real advantage for self-employed contractors.
No mortgage-insurance program like FHA
These loans are not structured around FHA mortgage insurance. The cost structure is different, and we walk you through exactly how your file prices out before you commit to anything.
Cash-out and rate-and-term refinances for ITIN homeowners
If you already bought a home with an ITIN loan, you are not stuck with that first mortgage forever. ITIN refinancing is available, both to lower or restructure your payment and to pull equity out. As Lowcountry values have climbed, a lot of ITIN owners are sitting on real equity they did not know they could use.
A cash-out refinance lets you tap that equity to pay off higher-cost debt, reinvest in your trades business (a new truck, equipment, or tools), or handle a major expense, all while keeping the home. A rate-and-term refinance simply replaces your current ITIN loan with a new one on better terms. The same basics apply: a valid ITIN, documented income or bank statements, and enough equity to meet the lender’s loan-to-value limit. We will pull your numbers and tell you honestly whether a refinance makes sense right now. Start with our refinance guide.
Common ITIN mortgage myths, corrected
You have to be a citizen or have a green card to buy a home.
False. An ITIN home loan exists precisely so that borrowers without a Social Security number, citizenship, or permanent residency can buy. Your immigration status is not the qualifier; your valid ITIN, income, and down payment are.
An ITIN mortgage is some kind of risky or fake loan.
False. It is a real, legal mortgage. The home is titled in your name and the loan is recorded like any other. The only difference is the lender qualifies you on an ITIN instead of an SSN.
You cannot get a mortgage if you are self-employed in the trades.
False. Self-employment is the norm for our ITIN borrowers. Bank-statement programs let us qualify a contractor on real deposits when tax returns understate the cash flow.
Buying with an ITIN puts your information at risk with the IRS.
An ITIN is issued by the IRS so you can file and pay taxes; using it to buy a home is exactly what tax-paying homeowners do. Filing returns and owning property is the behavior of someone building a stable, on-the-record life here.
You need a long U.S. credit history to qualify.
Not necessarily. When credit is thin, on-time rent and bill payment, plus documented reserves, can carry the file. We know how to build an ITIN application around the history you do have.
How an ITIN home purchase actually runs
1. A real conversation, in Spanish if you prefer
We start by understanding how you work and get paid, confirm your ITIN is valid, and tell you straight whether the pieces are in place. Hablamos espanol, so nothing gets lost.
Talk it through2. Choose the income path
Tax returns or bank statements: we pick the documentation route that shows your true income, which for many self-employed contractors is the bank-statement path.
Bank statement loans →3. Pre-approval with real numbers
We shop your ITIN file across wholesale lenders and build a pre-approval with your down payment, reserves, and payment laid out, so the number holds when you make an offer.
No surprises later4. Offer, appraisal, closing
You make an offer with a solid pre-approval behind it, we manage the appraisal and underwriting, and we drive the file to the closing table where the home becomes yours.
We run the fileHabla con un especialista en prestamos ITIN
Home Loans Inc: Jason Sharon, Mortgage Broker
2557 Ashley Phosphate Rd, North Charleston, SC 29418
Hablamos espanol. Llamenos o mandenos un mensaje de texto y le explicamos todo el proceso, sin compromiso.
Why Lowcountry families choose Home Loans Inc for ITIN loans
Jason Sharon founded Home Loans Inc in 2018 after serving as a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy, a background that shows up as precision on every loan file. He holds NMLS #1281448 (company NMLS #1728740) and has spent 8+ years originating loans across the Charleston metro. ITIN loans are not a once-a-year curiosity here; we close several every month for Lowcountry tradespeople, which is why this page reads like a lender who actually does these rather than a brochure.
Because we are a broker and not a single bank, your ITIN file is shopped across a wholesale lender network on one application, which matters when ITIN guidelines differ so much from lender to lender. Charleston families have left 430+ reviews at a 5.0 rating, and we are BBB A+ accredited. You will work with a broker who speaks your language, literally, not a call center.
ITIN home loans, frequently asked
Rated 5.0 by the families we serve.
Jason knows his stuff! We highly recommend him for your mortgage needs! He responds timely, provides information you didn't know you needed, puts the client needs first, and makes common sense adjustments throughout the entire process.
Jason and his team did an amazing job for me. They communicated often and made the entire mortgage process smooth and efficient. I can genuinely say that they are honest, trustworthy and strive to provide the best service possible to their clients.
Jason has been awesome since the beginning. He has been communicative, professional, KNOWLEDGEABLE, and honest. I am very happy with all my services so far, and I recommend UWM!