Who can own a home here, why buying doesn't come with a visa, which loans fit your residency situation, and how to sign, send money and handle property tax from another country.
Yes. California law lets anyone own a home here: Civil Code 671 says any person, regardless of their citizenship status, may take, hold and dispose of property in the state. You don't need a green card, a visa or a Social Security number to own. Buying a home doesn't give you a visa or green card, though, and your residency status still decides how you can pay.
Green card holders are eligible for FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans on the same terms as US citizens. Lawful non-permanent residents with a visa, such as H-1B or L-1 holders, are still eligible for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, but FHA stopped accepting them for case numbers assigned on or after May 25, 2025. Buyers with only an ITIN and no lawful US residency status, and foreign nationals living abroad, are limited to cash or to lenders that make loans outside FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules (often called portfolio or non-QM lenders), where terms vary by lender. Individual lenders can add stricter rules.
Anyone, of any nationality. Under Civil Code 671, citizenship status doesn't limit who can buy, hold or sell property in California. Where you live and which visa you hold matter for three other things: which loans you can get, how you're taxed, and how long you can stay in the US. The rest of this page covers each one.
Federal rules let CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) review some purchases of real estate by foreign persons near military installations and certain other sensitive sites. Those rules exclude the purchase of a single housing unit, along with the fixtures and land that normally come with it (31 CFR 802.216(d), as of October 2026).
Thinking of buying through a US LLC instead of in your own name? That's a tax and legal decision for a CPA and an attorney. Our guide to moving money from Brazil lays out the facts to weigh on buying through an LLC, including California's annual LLC tax and the Brazilian side.
Buying from Portugal or another Portuguese-speaking country? The US rules on this page work the same way for you. Only the home-country steps differ, such as sending money, local taxes and where you sign.
You can buy and own a San Diego home while visiting on a tourist visa or the Visa Waiver Program, or from abroad with no US status at all, and you don't need a Social Security number. What changes is how you pay:
You don't need an ITIN to own a home, but if you later rent it out or sell it, you'll likely need one for US tax filings (see what an ITIN is below). If you're buying a home to rent out, read our guide to buying rental property in San Diego first. Owning the home doesn't change your visa or how long you can stay, as the next section explains.
No. Owning a home in San Diego, or anywhere in the US, doesn't give you a green card, a visa or permission to live or work in the US. The two investor routes people ask about both require a business, not a home:
When you enter the US as a visitor, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issues an arrival and departure record called the I-94. CBP says the Admit Until Date on that record is the date your immigration status in the US expires. Owning a home doesn't change it.
This is general information, not immigration advice. Talk with a US immigration attorney before you plan a move around a purchase. If you're planning the move itself, see our guide to moving to San Diego from Brazil.
Each loan program sets its own residency rule. Here's how the main programs line up as of October 2026.
Individual lenders can add stricter rules (called overlays) on top of any program, so meeting the program rule doesn't guarantee a particular lender will approve you.
| Your situation | FHA | Conventional (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) | CalHFA programs | Other routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green card holder (lawful permanent resident) | Yes, same terms as US citizens | Yes, same terms as US citizens | Meets the federal "Qualified Alien" test CalHFA uses | Cash. Some local down payment programs (see below) |
| Lawful non-permanent resident with a visa (for example H-1B or L-1) | No, for FHA case numbers assigned on or after May 25, 2025 | Yes, same terms as US citizens. The lender decides which documents prove lawful presence. | Most temporary visas aren't on the federal Qualified Alien list. Confirm with a CalHFA-approved lender. | Cash. SDHC's City middle-income or County program may be possible; confirm with SDHC (see below). |
| ITIN, no Social Security number, and no lawful US residency status | No | No. Fannie Mae accepts an ITIN in place of an SSN but still requires lawful residency. Freddie Mac won't buy a loan to a non-citizen with no lawful residency status. | No. An ITIN alone doesn't meet the test. | ITIN loans (2024 research found they come mostly from credit unions and CDFIs). Cash. |
| Foreign national living abroad, with no US residency status | No | No. Both agencies' rules cover lawful US residents. | No | Foreign-national loans from non-QM lenders. Cash. |
| Paying cash (any situation) | Not needed | Not needed | Not needed | No lender residency rule applies. Signing, wiring and property tax steps below still apply. |
A note on ITINs: having one doesn't mean someone is undocumented. The IRS issues ITINs to people who need a US taxpayer number but can't get a Social Security number, and lawfully present nonresidents, such as foreign investors with US rental income, use them too.
Under the current FHA handbook, a lawful permanent resident can get an FHA loan on the same terms as a US citizen, with proof of permanent residence in the loan file. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also treat permanent residents the same as citizens.
As of October 2026, CalHFA's first mortgages and its MyHome down payment loan require every borrower to be a US citizen, a US national, or a "Qualified Alien" under federal law (8 U.S.C. 1641). Green card holders are on that list.
If you're in San Diego on an H-1B, L-1 or other temporary work visa, conventional loans are your main agency option, since FHA stopped accepting non-permanent residents for case numbers assigned on or after May 25, 2025. Fannie Mae buys loans made to lawful non-permanent residents on the same terms as for US citizens. Fannie Mae doesn't list which documents prove lawful presence. The lender decides, and it warrants to Fannie Mae that you're legally present. Freddie Mac's rule is the same: a non-citizen lawfully living in the US as a permanent or non-permanent resident is eligible on the same terms as a citizen. Neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac mentions DACA, and FHA's handbook doesn't list it as an eligible category, so DACA recipients should ask the lender.
CalHFA is stricter. The federal Qualified Alien list covers green card holders, asylees, refugees, people paroled into the US for at least one year, people granted withholding of deportation or removal, Cuban and Haitian entrants, pre-1980 conditional entrants, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau living lawfully in the US under a Compact of Free Association. Subsection (c) of 8 U.S.C. 1641 also adds certain battered spouses and children and certain trafficking victims with T visas. Most temporary visas (H-1B, F-1, L-1 and others) and DACA aren't on it. That's a plain reading of the federal law, not something CalHFA says in its own words, so confirm with a CalHFA-approved lender.
CalHFA's FHA loans stack two tests. An asylee, refugee or parolee without a green card can pass CalHFA's Qualified Alien test and still fail FHA's rule, which accepts only green card holders and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau.
VA bases home loan eligibility on the veteran's length and character of military service. VA's lender handbook chapters on eligibility and underwriting don't list US citizenship as a requirement. VA never says outright that non-citizen veterans qualify, and lenders may add their own residency rules, so ask the lender.
The City of San Diego's low-income (up to 80% of area median income) First-Time Homebuyer Program, run by the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC), requires applicants to be US citizens or permanent residents. It doesn't accept applicants in the US under DACA, the DREAM Act or a work visa. A spouse or household member who isn't a citizen or permanent resident can be counted in the household but can't be on the loan or title.
SDHC's separate City middle-income program (80% to 150% of area median income) doesn't state a citizenship rule. San Diego County's Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance program asks non-citizen applicants for a copy of their green card, but doesn't say other non-citizens are ineligible. For either one, confirm your eligibility with SDHC at FTHB@sdhc.org. These local rules have been changing, so check before you apply. Our first-time buyer guide covers these programs in more detail.
HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-09, dated March 26, 2025, ended FHA eligibility for non-permanent resident borrowers. Lenders could apply it right away, and it became mandatory for FHA case numbers assigned on or after May 25, 2025. It covers FHA forward loans and HECM reverse mortgages.
The rule now lives in HUD Handbook 4000.1. FHA still says US citizenship isn't required, but only two non-citizen groups are eligible: lawful permanent residents, and citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau. A Social Security card isn't enough to prove immigration or work status. A HUD news release dated October 9, 2026, still describes the change as in effect.
If you're on a visa and had planned on FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conventional loans are the main agency options that still accept lawful non-permanent residents, though each lender can add stricter requirements.
An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is a 9-digit number the IRS issues to people who need a US taxpayer number for federal tax purposes but can't get a Social Security number. It's for federal tax purposes only. It doesn't authorize you to work in the US, doesn't provide or change immigration status, and doesn't serve as identification outside the federal tax system.
If you own US property with a home mortgage whose interest is reported to the IRS by a third party (for example on Form 1098), Form W-7 Exception 3 may let you apply without attaching a tax return. It also requires that the withholding or information reporting take place within the current tax year, and you need documents showing the home mortgage loan (for US real property, a copy of the contract of sale or similar documentation). Have a CPA confirm whether it fits you.
An ITIN expires if you don't use it on a federal tax return for 3 tax years in a row. It expires on December 31 after the third year of non-use. Foreign owners who later sell have a separate ITIN route once there's a binding sale contract, covered in our guide to selling as a foreign owner.
Put together, the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules mean a borrower with an ITIN and no lawful US status can't get an FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan. ITIN loans come from other lenders.
A February 2024 Urban Institute study, based on lender interviews, found that most ITIN lenders keep these loans in their own portfolio, and that credit unions and CDFIs (community development financial institutions) are the main lenders. It found down payments of 10% to 20%, with some lenders requiring at least 20%, and rates about 0.5 to 2 percentage points above traditional mortgage rates.
Those figures come from interviews done before the 2025 and 2026 federal changes on this page, so treat them as background, not as current terms. Terms vary by lender.
Foreign-national loans come from non-QM lenders, not from FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. No official source sets their terms, and published terms disagree. Lender and publisher pages we checked in October 2026 list minimum down payments from 20% to as much as 50% of the price. Some of those pages date from 2022 to 2025, so treat them as examples, not current terms. Terms vary by lender.
In place of US credit, some foreign-national lenders accept credit documents from your home country, such as credit reference letters from your bank or a credit report from your country of origin. One lender's page (last reviewed December 2023, so it may be out of date) asks for two letters, your passport, and a valid US visa if you need one to enter the US. Another lender's page, checked in October 2026, lists reserves covering several months of payments.
For a US bank account, the FDIC says many banks let non-citizens open accounts, sometimes using a foreign passport, a consular ID or an ITIN as identification. We couldn't confirm how banks handle applicants who live abroad without a US address, so ask the bank before you plan around one.
Three federal actions in mid-2026 bear on ITIN and non-citizen lending. In plain terms:
What it means for you: under this guidance an ITIN is a possible risk factor, not proof of anything. Banks may apply extra checks to ITIN-based accounts. We found no official data yet on whether ITIN or foreign-national lenders have tightened terms or stopped lending, so get current terms from the lender in writing.
With limited exceptions, a grant deed, deed of trust, power of attorney or other document affecting real property must be acknowledged before it can be recorded in California, for example before a notary or a US consular officer. A witness's signature isn't enough.
As of October 2026, California law doesn't give California notaries the authority to do remote online notarization over audio-video (Civil Code 1181.1(b)). Under SB 696, the Online Notarization Act, it starts when the Secretary of State certifies that it has finished its technology project (Notary Automation Project 2.0) or on January 1, 2030, whichever comes first. The 2030 date can slip if the Secretary of State tells the Legislature and Governor in writing, on or before January 1, 2029, that the project isn't finished. Once it starts, a notary still has to register with the Secretary of State to offer it.
Under Civil Code 1189(b), an acknowledgment taken in another place is sufficient in California if it's taken under the law of the place where it's made. We couldn't confirm whether San Diego title companies, lenders or the County Recorder accept a remote notarization by another state's notary, so ask your title or escrow officer before you plan around one.
The US Embassy, Consulates and Consular Agencies in Brazil offer notary services to people of any nationality, by appointment only. Booking links are listed for Brasília, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Fortaleza, Manaus and Salvador are reached through their contact pages.
Living in another country? Ask the US embassy or consulate there. We verified only the Brazil page, so rules and fees elsewhere may differ.
If a Brazilian notary (cartório) takes your acknowledgment instead, California requires that notary's signature to be verified too (Civil Code 1183(b)). An apostille is one accepted way. The US Embassy doesn't authenticate Brazilian notary seals, so a Portuguese-language document or a cartório acknowledgment goes the apostille route.
The Hague Apostille Convention has been in force for Brazil since August 14, 2016, and for the US since October 15, 1981. Between member countries, an apostille is the only certification that can be required to confirm a public document's origin. On a notarized document, it authenticates the notary's signature and seal, not your signature.
The US Embassy and Consulates can't issue apostilles. Certain Brazilian cartórios do, so check that the cartório offers them before you go.
Two things we couldn't confirm: whether a San Diego title company or lender will accept a specific cartório acknowledgment with an apostille, and whether a Portuguese-language document needs a certified English translation to be recorded in San Diego County. A cartório's reconhecimento de firma may not match a California-style acknowledgment certificate. Ask your title company before you sign.
A power of attorney (POA) names someone, called your attorney-in-fact, to sign for you.
The FBI warns that business email compromise scams target everyone in a real estate deal, including buyers, title companies and agents. Scammers often send a fake request to change the payment method or move the money to a different bank account, and the money may then be sent on to another account in the US or abroad.
Sending money from Brazil has its own costs and reports, including IOF tax on the exchange and, above a set amount of assets abroad, a Banco Central declaration. See moving money from Brazil to buy in San Diego.
Under Proposition 13, California's basic property tax rate is 1% of assessed value. Rates for local voter-approved bond debt are added on top, and those vary by area within the county. The bill can also include special taxes or assessments, such as Mello-Roos.
When you buy, the property is reassessed to current market value, and that becomes its new base year value. After that, Prop 13 generally limits yearly increases in the base year value to no more than 2%, except when there's a change in ownership or new construction.
The new value applies right away through a prorated supplemental assessment for the rest of the fiscal year, instead of waiting for the next January 1 lien date. If the value goes up, you get a supplemental tax bill. If it goes down, you get a refund. If you close between January 1 and May 31, two supplemental assessments are issued: one for the rest of the current fiscal year and one for the entire next fiscal year.
Supplemental bills go to the mailing address on record. If you live abroad, make sure the county has an address that reaches you, and ask the County Assessor or Tax Collector how to update it.
Beyond property tax, budget for homeowners insurance, any HOA dues, and any Mello-Roos or other special taxes on the tax bill. Our free property report estimates the monthly cost of a specific home, including tax, insurance and HOA dues, and checks its fire, flood and fault zones.
Thinking ahead to a sale: if you're a foreign person for US tax purposes when you sell, the buyer generally must withhold 15% of the amount realized (roughly the gross sale price) under FIRPTA, and California generally requires its own withholding unless an exemption applies. Our guide to selling as a foreign owner explains both. For the costs, disclosures and timeline of any sale here, see our guide to selling a house in San Diego.
Yes. California Civil Code 671 says any person, regardless of their citizenship status, may take, hold and dispose of property in the state, so you don't need a green card, a visa, US residency or a Social Security number to own a home. Your residency status decides which loans you can get, not whether you can own. Federal CFIUS rules on foreign purchases near military sites exclude the purchase of a single housing unit (31 CFR 802.216(d)).
No. Owning a home doesn't give you a green card, a visa or permission to live or work in the US, and it doesn't change the Admit Until Date on your I-94 record. The EB-5 investor green card requires investing in a new for-profit business that will create full-time jobs for at least 10 qualifying employees, and its rules say owning and operating a personal residence doesn't count. The E-2 treaty investor visa requires a substantial investment in a real, active business you develop and direct, and only nationals of treaty countries qualify. Brazil isn't a treaty country; Portugal has been one since March 15, 2024. Talk with a US immigration attorney about your situation.
Yes. You can own a home on a tourist visa, on the Visa Waiver Program or with no US status at all, and you don't need a Social Security number. You can pay cash, look for a foreign-national loan from a non-QM lender, or, if you have an ITIN, an ITIN loan. If you later rent the home out or sell it, you'll likely need an ITIN for US tax filings. Buying doesn't change your visa or how long you can stay.
Often, yes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy loans to lawful non-permanent residents on the same terms as US citizens, and the lender decides which documents prove lawful presence. FHA no longer accepts non-permanent residents for case numbers assigned on or after May 25, 2025. Without lawful US residency status, FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans are out, though some ITIN and foreign-national lenders make loans on their own terms. Individual lenders can add stricter rules.
Sometimes. Fannie Mae accepts an ITIN in place of a Social Security number, but the borrower still has to meet its lawful residency rule. Without lawful US residency status, FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans are out. 2024 research found that ITIN loans come mainly from credit unions and CDFIs that keep the loans themselves, with down payments of 10% to 20% and rates 0.5 to 2 percentage points higher, but terms vary by lender.
FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don't cover borrowers with no lawful US residency status, but some lenders that work outside those rules (non-QM lenders) offer foreign-national loans. Lender and publisher pages we checked in October 2026 (some dated 2022 to 2025) list minimum down payments from 20% to as much as 50%, and some lenders accept credit documents from your home country, such as bank credit reference letters, in place of US credit. Terms vary by lender, and none of this is a loan offer.
Yes. HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-09 removed non-permanent residents as eligible FHA borrowers, mandatory for FHA case numbers assigned on or after May 25, 2025. FHA now accepts only two non-citizen groups: lawful permanent residents and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau.
The IRS says to allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks if you apply during tax season (January 15 to April 30) or from overseas. Those are IRS processing times as of October 2026 (IRS page last reviewed February 22, 2026). You apply with Form W-7, usually attached to a federal tax return.
Yes. You can sign English-language documents before a consular officer at the US Embassy or a US consulate in Brazil, by appointment, for US$50 per consular seal (per the embassy page last modified August 19, 2026; the fee can change). You can also sign before a Brazilian cartório and get an apostille, but confirm first that your title company and lender will accept it. As of October 2026, California notaries can't do remote online notarization.
Yes, if it meets California's rules and your lender and title company accept it. With limited exceptions, a power of attorney used to record real estate documents in California must be acknowledged, for example before a notary or a US consular officer, not just witnessed. Civil Code 2933 also says a power of attorney to sign a mortgage must be recorded, but that statute doesn't mention deeds of trust, the instrument most California home loans use. Lenders and title companies may add their own rules, so ask both before you sign one.
Your assessed value generally resets when you buy, and the tax follows it. California's basic property tax rate is 1% of assessed value, plus local voter-approved rates that vary by area. The home is reassessed to current market value, and that becomes its new base year value. If the new value is higher, you get a prorated supplemental tax bill for the rest of the fiscal year, or two supplemental assessments if you close between January 1 and May 31. If it's lower, you get a refund. After that, Prop 13 generally limits yearly increases in the base year value to 2%.
An HOA (homeowners association) works much like a condomínio in Brazil. When you buy a condo, a townhouse or a home in a planned community, you automatically become a member of its association and pay its assessments, usually monthly, for the shared areas, maintenance and reserves. The association's CC&Rs set the ground rules, which can limit things like renting the home out or changing its exterior. Before you buy, the seller must give you the HOA's governing documents, current assessments and any rental restrictions (Civil Code 4525), so read them during escrow. HOA dues are separate from property tax and your mortgage payment, and homes outside an HOA community don't have them.
Karina offers a free, no-pressure conversation in English or Portuguese about your situation and next steps; contracts and escrow documents are in English. Call, text, or send a note through the client intake form.