Working from a laptop in Lisbon one month and a mountain town in Colorado the next has become a mainstream way to earn a living. About 18.5 million American workers identified as digital nomads in 2025, according to MBO Partners’ State of Independence research, a number that has grown more than 147% since 2019. The flexibility that makes the lifestyle possible often works against you the moment you apply for a mortgage. Income arrives from several clients or a business instead of one employer, tax returns understate what you really earn, and you may not have a fixed address a conventional lender can point to.
At LendSure Home Loans, we built our programs for borrowers whose finances tell a fuller story than a W-2 and a 1040. Whether you want a home base to return to between trips or a property that earns while you travel, there is likely a path that fits. If your income looks complicated on paper, you can talk it through with our team before you ever formally apply.
Your Income Is Real. It Just Doesn’t Fit the Form.
Lenders built their underwriting around predictable paychecks, so a location-independent income can trigger a decline even when your cash flow is strong. The typical digital nomad is around 37 years old and often runs a business or freelances, per the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which means deductions and write-offs frequently shrink the income shown on a return.
Our bank statement and self-employed loan program looks at 12 or 24 months of personal or business deposits rather than tax returns. We apply an expense ratio as low as 10% to those deposits, so more of your real cash flow counts toward qualification. You can combine multiple business accounts, blend W-2 income with bank statement income when you have both, and you do not need to own 100% of the business to use its statements.
When assets tell the story better than deposits
Some travelers hold most of their wealth in savings and investments rather than monthly income. For that situation, our Asset Qualifier and Asset Depletion program may be the better fit. We credit cash and equivalents at 100%, stocks and bonds at 80%, and retirement accounts at 70%, then divide the qualifying total over 60 months rather than the 120 months many lenders use. That approach roughly doubles the monthly figure used to qualify you.
A Home Base You Can Lock and Leave
A condotel can suit a traveler who wants somewhere to come back to without the upkeep of a standalone house. A condotel is a hybrid property: you hold title to your own unit, while the building runs like a hotel with housekeeping, a front desk, and shared amenities. Personal use comes first. When you are away, the building’s management can place your unit into an optional rental rotation, which may help offset some of your carrying costs.
Conventional lenders usually decline these buildings, so we created a dedicated condotel loan program. We finance up to 75% of the purchase price, with rate-and-term and cash-out refinances available, for second homes and investment use. Eligible buildings have a full kitchen in the unit, no timeshare component, and no mandatory rental pooling, so you keep control over how often you stay versus rent.
A Second Property That Pays Its Own Way
If you would rather own a property that produces rental income while you roam, a second property held as a rental can qualify on its own performance. Our Investor Cash Flow program, known as a DSCR loan, qualifies the loan on the rent the property brings in rather than your personal income. There are no tax returns, no pay stubs, and no personal debt-to-income calculation. The property closes in an LLC, which keeps it separate from your personal finances.
Homes bought as investments made up roughly 18% of U.S. purchases in 2025, according to Redfin, up from about 7% in 2000. For a traveler, a rental property offers something a brokerage account does not: an asset you can borrow against and rental income that can keep coming in whether you are home or abroad.
How a DSCR loan qualifies
We calculate the debt service coverage ratio by dividing the property’s gross rent by its PITIA, which is principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and association fees. A ratio of 1.0 means the rent covers the full monthly housing cost. We commonly work with ratios at or above 1.0, and lower ratios can be considered case by case. An interest-only option, including a 10-year interest-only period on a 40-year term, can strengthen the ratio, and we count short-term rental income from platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo when you document it.
Buying From Abroad or Without U.S. Credit
Many travelers hold a passport from another country, or they have spent so long overseas that their U.S. credit history has gone quiet. Our Foreign National loan program does not require a U.S. Social Security number, U.S. tax returns, or domestic credit history. You can qualify using foreign bank statements, a CPA or employer letter, or the property’s cash flow under our DSCR approach, and we accept foreign credit reports.
Loan amounts reach up to $2 million, with financing up to 75% of the purchase price and cash-out up to $500,000. The program covers second homes and investment properties in one-to-four-unit buildings and accepts a wide range of visa types. For a globally mobile buyer, it removes the paperwork wall that usually blocks a U.S. purchase.
Matching the Loan to How You Live
Your best option depends on what you want the property to do. A condotel gives you a low-maintenance base to return to. A DSCR loan turns a second property into a rental that qualifies on its own income. A bank statement or asset program meets you where your income or wealth sits. Several of these can work together, and the same borrower may qualify one way on one property and a different way on the next.
Because every traveler’s finances look a little different, the most useful first step is a conversation rather than a form. You can tell us about your situation and get a read on which program fits before you commit to anything. We aim to provide pre-qualification answers in as little as 24 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to live in the United States to qualify?
No. Our DSCR, condotel, and Foreign National programs do not require you to occupy the property or even reside in the country. A DSCR loan qualifies on the property’s rent, a condotel is bought as a second home or investment, and the Foreign National program is designed for buyers without U.S. residency. You will need a U.S. mailing address and contact details for documents, but you do not have to be in the country to close.
Can I qualify using income from short-term rentals like Airbnb?
Yes. We review a 12-month earning summary from platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo and generally count about 80% of the gross short-term rental income toward qualification. This matters for vacation-style properties where long-term lease comparables are scarce. We recommend requesting both short-term and long-term rent notations on the appraisal so we have the strongest possible figure to work with.
Will financing a rental property limit how many mortgages I can carry?
A DSCR loan does not factor into your personal debt-to-income ratio, so adding one does not reduce what you can borrow elsewhere the way a conventional rental mortgage often does. There is no limit on the number of properties you can own, and we can finance up to 10 loans for a single borrower. That structure is built for buyers who plan to grow a small portfolio over time.
Which states can I buy in with LendSure Home Loans?
LendSure Home Loans is currently licensed in California, Georgia, and Texas. The property you finance must be located in one of these states. If you are weighing a purchase in one of them, we can review your scenario regardless of where you happen to be working from at the moment.
Can I get an answer before submitting a full application?
Yes. You can send bank statements or asset documents for an upfront income review without a complete application, and our in-house team usually responds within 24 to 48 hours. This lets you confirm a property and program fit before you commit time and money to the full process. It is a practical first step when your income is hard to summarize in a sentence.
Can I rent out my condotel unit while I travel?
Personal use of a condotel comes first, and renting is optional. When you are away, the building’s hotel management can place your unit into a rental rotation, which has the potential to offset some of your ownership costs. The building must permit this and cannot require mandatory rental pooling, so you stay in control of how the unit is used.
What documents should I have ready?
The documents depend on which program fits your situation. Self-employed borrowers should gather 12 to 24 months of personal or business bank statements, while asset-based borrowers need recent statements for cash, investment, and retirement accounts. For a DSCR loan, we use a lease or the appraiser’s Form 1007 rent schedule. Foreign National borrowers should prepare foreign bank statements, a CPA or employer letter, and a valid visa from our accepted list.
LendSure Home Loans is a registered trade name of LendSure Mortgage Corp. NMLS ID# 1326437 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). 12230 World Trade Drive, Suite 250, San Diego, CA 92128. 888.707.7811. LendSure Mortgage Corp. is authorized to conduct business under the LendSure Home Loans trade name in CA, GA, and TX. Loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Financing Law license 60DBO-94956. Some products and services may not be available in all states. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Programs, rates, terms, fees, and conditions are subject to change without notice.
