Buyers

Non-QM Loans in Florida

Non-QM loans exist for buyers whose income is entirely real and simply does not fit the documentation a conventional lender requires. Business owners who deduct legitimately, investors with several properties, retirees living on assets, and buyers whose financial life is abroad rather than here.

Below is what each product does, who it is built for, and the trade you are making when you use one. Broker Onias Derilus holds Florida license BK3276618.

Not Fitting the Standard Box?

Tell us your situation and we will connect you with a licensed Florida loan officer who runs these programs routinely rather than occasionally.

What This Page Is

Pure Equity is a real estate brokerage, not a lender or a mortgage broker. This page explains what these products are and who they exist for. It does not recommend one, and it states no rate, credit requirement, reserve requirement or down payment figure, because every one of those varies by lender and changes. Your loan officer is the authority on what you qualify for. This is general education rather than financial or lending advice.

What Non-QM Loans Actually Are

Most mortgages are written to fit a defined set of rules known as qualified mortgage standards. Those rules exist for good reasons and they work well for a salaried borrower with straightforward tax returns and a long US credit history. Non-QM simply means a loan written outside that box.

It is worth being precise about what that does and does not mean, because the label carries baggage it has not earned. Non-QM does not mean subprime, and it does not mean the borrower is a poor credit risk. It means the documentation does not fit a standard template. A surgeon who owns her practice, an investor with eight rental properties and a retiree with a substantial portfolio are all excellent borrowers who can struggle to qualify conventionally for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to pay.

South Florida sees more of this than most markets, and that is not incidental. This is a region with a very large share of self-employed people, a deep investor market, a retirement population living on assets rather than salary, and a long history of international buyers. Lenders here run these programs routinely.

If your income is conventional and well documented, none of this applies to you and you should start at pre-approval instead, where the mainstream programs are covered.

The Main Non-QM Loans and Who They Serve

These are the products that come up most often in this market. Which one fits depends entirely on why conventional documentation does not work for you, so the useful question is not which is best but which describes your situation.

DSCR loans

Investors buying rental property

Underwritten on whether the property's rent covers its payment rather than on your personal income. Useful for investors whose tax returns show heavy depreciation, or who already own enough property that conventional debt to income calculations become an obstacle.

DSCR calculator

Bank statement loans

Self-employed borrowers

Uses deposits across a period of bank statements to establish income instead of tax returns. Built for business owners whose legitimate deductions make their taxable income look far smaller than their actual capacity to pay.

Start with pre-approval

Foreign national loans

Buyers without US credit history

Documentation comes from the borrower's own country rather than from US tax returns and credit files. A long-established part of the South Florida market, and the reason a buyer with no US financial footprint can still finance a purchase here.

How buying works here

Asset based lending

Retirees and asset-rich borrowers

Qualifies a borrower on assets rather than monthly income, which suits people who have substantial savings or investments but little conventional earned income. Common among retirees buying in Florida after selling elsewhere.

Model the payment

The Trade You Are Making With Non-QM Loans

These loans generally cost more than a comparable conventional loan. The lender is taking on documentation risk that standard underwriting removes, and that shows up in the rate and the terms. Anyone presenting non-QM as equivalent to conventional financing is not being straight with you.

But the comparison that matters is rarely non-QM against conventional, because the conventional loan is usually not available to you. The real comparison is against not buying at all, or against waiting two or three years to build the documentation history that would qualify you. For a self-employed buyer in a rising market, waiting has a cost too, and it is not always the smaller one.

Many borrowers treat non-QM as a bridge rather than a destination, planning to refinance into conventional financing once the documentation exists. That often works. It is not guaranteed, because a future refinance depends on your circumstances and the market at the time, so the rule is straightforward: do not buy something you can only afford on the assumption that you will be able to refinance.

One practical point that matters more here than the product choice. Work with a loan officer who runs these programs regularly. The difference between a lender who does this weekly and one encountering it for the first time shows up as weeks of delay and conditions nobody anticipated, and in a transaction with a closing date that is expensive.

Buying From Outside the United States

There is no citizenship requirement to own real estate in Florida, and international ownership has been a normal part of this market for decades. What differs is financing, because a buyer with no US credit file and no US tax returns cannot be underwritten the usual way. Foreign national programs solve that by using documentation from the borrower's own country instead.

Expect the process to ask for different things rather than fewer things: banking references, proof of income in your home country, identity documentation, and often larger reserves. The specifics vary substantially between lenders, which is why the single most useful step is finding one that does this routinely before you go under contract rather than after.

Two practical notes that are easy to overlook. There are tax considerations for foreign owners of US property, both while you hold it and when you sell, and they are a question for a CPA who handles cross-border matters rather than for a real estate site. And closing does not require you to be in Florida: remote and mail-away closings are routine here.

If you are buying from abroad, our relocation page covers the practical side of moving here, and buying a condo in Florida matters if you are looking at a building rather than a house, since condo financing adds its own approval layer on top of everything above.

If You Are Buying Investment Property

DSCR lending is why investors can keep buying past the point where conventional debt to income calculations would stop them. Because the loan is underwritten against the property's rental income rather than your personal income, owning several properties stops being an obstacle to owning another one.

The discipline this demands is that your rent assumption has to be real. A loan sized against income the property does not actually produce is a problem you have created for yourself, and it shows up in the first vacancy rather than at closing. Use realistic rent for the specific property and area, budget for vacancy and maintenance honestly, and check any association leasing restrictions before you assume the unit can be rented at all.

Our rental property ROI calculator and DSCR calculator handle the arithmetic, and investment properties covers what is available across our market.

Questions About Non-QM Loans

What are non-QM loans?

Loans that fall outside the qualified mortgage rules that govern most conventional lending. Non-QM is a description of the underwriting box, not a judgment on quality. These loans exist because a large number of creditworthy people do not fit standard documentation: business owners who write off expenses, investors with several properties, retirees living on assets, and buyers whose income comes from abroad.

What is a DSCR loan?

A loan underwritten on the property's rental income rather than on the borrower's personal income. DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio, which compares the rent the property produces against the payment it has to cover. If the property carries itself by the lender's measure, the loan can work without the tax returns and employment verification a conventional loan requires. It is used almost entirely for investment property.

What is a bank statement loan?

A loan for self-employed borrowers that uses deposits into your bank accounts, usually over a period of months, to establish income instead of tax returns. It exists because the tax return of a business owner who legitimately deducts expenses often understates what they can actually afford. You are trading documentation convenience for terms that are typically less favorable than a conventional loan.

Can a non-US citizen buy property in Florida?

Yes. There is no citizenship requirement to own real estate in Florida, and international buyers are a long-established part of this market. Financing is the part that differs, since a buyer without US credit history or US tax returns cannot be underwritten the conventional way. Foreign national loan programs exist for exactly that, using documentation from the borrower's own country instead. A lender who does this regularly is the right first call.

Can I get a mortgage with an ITIN?

Some lenders offer programs for borrowers who file taxes with an individual taxpayer identification number rather than a social security number. Availability varies considerably between lenders and the terms differ from conventional financing. This is a specialist area, so work with a loan officer who runs these programs routinely rather than one encountering it for the first time.

Are non-QM loans more expensive?

Generally yes, and that is the honest trade. Rates and costs are typically higher than a comparable conventional loan because the lender is taking on documentation risk that conventional underwriting removes. The right comparison is not against a conventional loan you cannot get, but against not buying, or against waiting two years to build a documentation history. For some buyers that trade is clearly worth it. For others it is not.

Can I refinance out of a non-QM loan later?

Often, and many borrowers plan on it. If the reason you needed non-QM was temporary, such as recently becoming self-employed or lacking US credit history, then building that history can open conventional options later. Nothing is guaranteed, since a future refinance depends on your circumstances and the market at the time, so do not buy something you can only afford on the assumption of refinancing.

General guidance only, current as of August 2026, and not financial, tax or lending advice. Program availability, rates and requirements vary by lender and change constantly. Confirm what you qualify for with a licensed loan officer, and cross-border tax questions with a CPA. Consumer guidance on mortgages is published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Reviewed by Onias Derilus, Florida Real Estate Broker, license BK3276618.

Talk to Someone Who Does This Weekly

The single biggest factor in whether one of these loans closes on time is whether your loan officer runs the program routinely. Tell us your situation and we will point you at someone who does.

Keep Reading