Realtor stops immigrant loans
Options for obtaining controversial mortgages drying up
By Daniel Connolly

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Su Casa Realty, one of the biggest real estate agencies catering to Hispanic immigrants in Memphis, has largely stopped selling homes to people without Social Security numbers, often a sign that they are here illegally.

Juan Romo, part owner of the Century 21 franchise, said mortgage programs for people who lack Social Security numbers aren't likely to come back as banks clamp down on credit in response to the sub-prime housing crisis.

Also, it's increasingly hard for illegal immigrants to keep steady jobs, he said.

"I think (getting these loans) is going to be more difficult every time," he said.

It's against the law to enter the country without inspection or overstay a visa, but businesses have been successful in lobbying for lax enforcement.

Many people here illegally use fake documents to get jobs, and some earn enough to buy homes.

But the economic slowdown, particularly in construction labor, may mean fewer illegal immigrants can afford them. And there's anecdotal evidence that many employers are checking documents more carefully and turning illegal immigrants away.

Federal law still allows banks to offer mortgages to illegal immigrants. Banks have typically required these immigrants to present an individual tax identification number, or ITIN.

The federal government issues these numbers so that workers can file income tax forms regardless of their immigration status.

Last year, Su Casa Realty, Spanish for "Your House," sold about 300 homes in the Memphis area, including 60 through ITIN mortgages, Romo said.

But in recent months, its options for obtaining ITIN mortgages for clients have largely dried up.

Su Casa had been using an ITIN program from the Bank of Bartlett, but Romo said the bank ended the program this year after the mortgage insurer it was using made a national decision to stop insuring the loans.

Bob Byrd, chairman and chief executive officer for the Bank of Bartlett, was unavailable for comment Friday.

One of the few ITIN programs still available to Su Casa is through Banco Popular, a Puerto Rican firm. It has tightened its lending requirements to the point that none of Su Casa's 19 agents is using its program, Romo said.

Romo spoke on the eve of the grand opening of Su Casa's new offices in a two-story house in Hickory Hill.

The firm recently closed two small offices and plans to focus its efforts on serving legal immigrants, he said.

He says Hispanics from places like Chicago and Florida are coming to Memphis because homes are cheaper.

Romo said he's done with ITIN mortgages for now. "It's better to invest your time with people with bad credit now than with the ITIN number."

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