Thread: Immigrants use U.S. wages toward mortgages in Mexico

Immigrants use U.S. wages toward mortgages in Mexico
The Associated Press : March 25 , 2008 -- by Ivan Moreno

"Santiago Noriega Sanchez, a spokesman for the Mexican agency that regulates mortgages, said the requirements have the blessing of the Mexican government and that no one in the U.S. has complained about buyers' legal status going unchecked."

When the American Dream failed Arlin Gonzalez, the 31-year-old native of Mexico looked homeward for a second chance.

The divorced mother of two sold her Denver home after she could no longer afford the mortgage payments. Then she spotted a TV commercial advertising across-the-border mortgages to people living in the U.S.

A house in Mexico, she thought, could be a good investment for her children's future. So Gonzalez bought a home in northern Mexico with a fixed interest rate, paying $400 a month for 15 years. And she was able to stay in Denver by renting.

"The experience that I had here was that I could kill myself working four or five jobs and still end up with nothing," Gonzalez, a teacher's aide at an elementary school, said in Spanish.

Despite the foreclosure crisis in the U.S., such cross-border mortgages are becoming more common as companies seek to capitalize on the growing earning power of Mexican immigrants, who in January alone sent $1.65 billion back to their homeland, according to Mexico's central bank.

The Denver company that provided Gonzalez's mortgage, called Su Casita, or "Your Little House," finances up to 90 percent of home costs and requires a down payment of at least 10 percent.

That's one reason its mortgages typically don't go into default, said Jose de Jesus Olivares, a spokesman for Sociedad Hipotecaria Federal, a Mexican federal agency that regulates and helps fund mortgage lenders doing business in Mexico.

"Our job is to serve the immigrant, to help them bring their dreams to life," said Ivan Funes, general director of Houston-based Conficasa, which offers cross-border mortgages catering to Mexicans in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, California and Ohio. "A lot of Mexicans go to the United States dreaming that they will one day return to their beloved Mexico."

Mortgage interest rates are higher in Mexico than in the U.S., ranging from 9.5 percent to 14 percent, but they are fixed, another reason foreclosures aren't common, Olivares said.

Mexicans in the U.S. typically earn double the wages of Mexican residents and are able to pay for their homes faster, Olivares said. The houses they buy are larger than what they could dream of buying if they had stayed in Mexico.

Su Casita and other cross-border mortgage companies don't require proof of legal status in the U.S. -- only that their clients have a job and can pass a credit check. Home prices typically start at $30,000 for a small two-bedroom house.

Santiago Noriega Sanchez, a spokesman for the Mexican agency that regulates mortgages, said the requirements have the blessing of the Mexican government and that no one in the U.S. has complained about buyers' legal status going unchecked.

http://www.numbersusa.com/news?ID=9848

Su Casita and other cross-border mortgage companies don't require proof of legal status in the U.S. -- only that their clients have a job and can pass a credit check. Home prices typically start at $30,000 for a small two-bedroom house.

Santiago Noriega Sanchez, a spokesman for the Mexican agency that regulates mortgages, said the requirements have the blessing of the Mexican government and that no one in the U.S. has complained about buyers' legal status going unchecked.

Nice, so when she defaults on the loan, Su Casita is going to go after her in Mexico? How can you pass a credit check with NO credit standing in the US? I hope they get taken and taken down BIG. No bailouts for this outfit!

A teacher's aid, speaking in Spanish, more Americans kids learning Spanish instead of English....

This country is really going to pot, and Americans are sitting by watching it go.

When the American Dream failed Arlin Gonzalez, the 31-year-old native of Mexico looked homeward for a second chance.

The divorced mother of two sold her Denver home after she could no longer afford the mortgage payments. Then she spotted a TV commercial advertising across-the-border mortgages to people living in the U.S.

The facts are ambigious (as usual) but if this woman is here in this country illegally, how in the world did she get a home loan in this country.

I cannot help but wonder how many of these foreclosures in this country are due to illegals that simply walked away from their obligations and returned to their "beloved" mexico, leaving the United States holding the bag.

A lot of Mexicans go to the United States dreaming that they will one day return to their beloved Mexico

That little gem is coming from another mexican who understands her people. This is further evidence the only thing these people want from this country is to exploit it to our detriment, then return to their "beloved" mexico.

They all need to be deported and any one who opposes this is more than welcome to join them.

Is she legal or illegal?

This is a prime example of why our economy is in the shape that it is in. Those who are working and living in this country illegally are sending money back to their home countries while we the people are paying for their food and medical care. This is really shameful on the part of our federal government. What in the world is wrong with our elected officials in Washington?

I disagree with one thing Lady St. Claire...

It's shameful on their part AND IT'S STUPID ON THE PART OF EVERY AMERICAN WHO LET'S IT HAPPEN.

WE WOULD NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS IN MEXICO, WE WOULD ALL BE DEPORTED.

Here's another story MSM doesn't tell you about:

During the real estate boom, there were tens of thousands of Mexicans, legal and illegal, who had purchased homes in So Cal. before the market took off. They paid an average of around $150K and those houses went up to $700K. Their homes skyrocketed two and three times what they paid for them. They kept taking CASH out (hundreds of thousands of dollars)...bought Escalades, plasmas, and went on shopping sprees. Many of them also bought or built homes in Mexico for their relatives and themselves. Many of them rented out rooms (even in expensive neighborhoods) and now they can either walk away from their homes or continue renting rooms. They made out like bandits with all the CASH they took out! And, if they go back to Mexico...they just take their Escalades with them, and the banks are left holding the bag!

The party's over now in real estate in the US, but it's just beginning in Mexico! I can't believe this country is sooo stupid! We created a ton of wealth for Mexico and they are the most ungrateful people on earth. Now we are on the verge of taking 38M of their most impoverished, illiterate, itinerate migrants (and all of their relatives) and giving all of them the jackpot...instant wealth, relatively speaking.

We can't suffer these fools in Washington any longer...we have to stop them!

Originally Posted by AmericanMe

Here's another story MSM doesn't tell you about:

During the real estate boom, there were tens of thousands of Mexicans, legal and illegal, who had purchased homes in So Cal. before the market took off. They paid an average of around $150K and those houses went up to $700K. Their homes skyrocketed two and three times what they paid for them. They kept taking CASH out (hundreds of thousands of dollars)...bought Escalades, plasmas, and went on shopping sprees. Many of them also bought or built homes in Mexico for their relatives and themselves. Many of them rented out rooms (even in expensive neighborhoods) and now they can either walk away from their homes or continue renting rooms. They made out like bandits with all the CASH they took out! And, if they go back to Mexico...they just take their Escalades with them, and the banks are left holding the bag!

The party's over now in real estate in the US, but it's just beginning in Mexico! I can't believe this country is sooo stupid! We created a ton of wealth for Mexico and they are the most ungrateful people on earth. Now we are on the verge of taking 38M of their most impoverished, illiterate, itinerate migrants (and all of their relatives) and giving all of them the jackpot...instant wealth, relatively speaking.

We can't suffer these fools in Washington any longer...we have to stop them!

Very well said AmericanMe!

In short, the United States has been a nation of givers while Mexico has been a nation of ungrateful takers! That must stop and stop immediately! We have given enough and these people have taken enough!