Getting a Mortgage in France from the United States

You have found the stone farmhouse in the Dordogne, or the two-bedroom near the Canal Saint-Martin. You live in Boston, Austin or San Diego. And you would rather not pay cash. The good news is that a French mortgage for Americans is entirely possible, even without moving to France. French banks will lend to US residents, usually up to 70 to 75% of the price, as long as the loan application file is clean and the income solid. Fewer banks say yes to Americans than to other foreign buyers, though, and the rules are stricter than back home. At Pretto, a French mortgage broker with an English-speaking team dedicated to non-residents, we looked at what actually makes the difference.

Can you really borrow in France without living there?

Yes, and without much debate. French law does not reserve mortgages to residents, and non-residents made up 5.7% of the French property market according to the figures we gathered in our guide on how to get a mortgage in France. Americans are a familiar sight in Paris, Provence and the Southwest.

The longer answer is less romantic. A French bank lending to someone who earns dollars, pays US taxes and lives 6,000 km away is taking a bigger risk than with a local salaried borrower. It cannot easily check your income, it carries exchange rate exposure, and it would have a harder time recovering its money if things went wrong. So it compensates : a bigger deposit, a rock-solid loan application, sometimes a higher rate.

Think of it less as a door that is closed and more as a door with a heavier handle.

The rules every borrower must follow, Americans included

France has something the US does not: a national cap on how much a household can borrow. Since 2022, the Haut Conseil de stabilité financière (HCSF), the body that oversees financial stability in France, has made two rules legally binding for banks. In 2026, the HCSF kept these rules unchanged.

Note that the debt ratio is calculated using your net income before income tax (similar to your adjusted gross income), not the higher gross salary that appears on your W-2. For a US borrower, that difference alone can shrink your borrowing capacity significantly.

FATCA, the hidden hurdle for American borrowers

This is where Americans face a challenge that British or Swiss buyers do not. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a US law passed in 2010, requires foreign banks to report the accounts of US persons to the IRS. For a French bank, that means extra paperwork, compliance costs and legal risk for every American client.

Some French banks simply decline US citizens, whether they live in Ohio or in Lyon. Others accept them, but only through specific branches or private banking departments, or only above a certain income or asset level. And a bank being registered with the IRS does not mean its lending policy welcomes American borrowers.

A French bank cannot force you to move your income to it, but it can offer you a better deal if you do, and in practice most lenders want you to hold an account with them to repay the loan. So FATCA comes up early in the discussion. Better to know it before you spend three weeks on an application with a bank that was never going to say yes.

This is precisely where a broker like Pretto earns its keep. Among our 125 partner banks, we know which ones currently accept American borrowers, and under which conditions. Our scanner Finspot, the technology our experts use, checks banks' lending criteria in real time against your profile, so your expert only sends your application where it has a real chance. No cold calls to twenty branches from 4,000 miles away.

Building a file a French bank will understand

French banks love paper. A US borrower needs to translate an American financial life into a format a French credit analyst can read in a few minutes. Expect to provide:

• Identity and situation : passport, proof of US address, marriage certificate or prenuptial agreement if relevant.
• Income : your last three US tax returns (Form 1040 with schedules), recent pay stubs, and an employment letter. Self-employed borrowers will need two to three years of business accounts.
• Assets and debts : bank, brokerage and retirement account statements, plus details of any existing loans, including your US mortgage.
• Credit history : a recent report from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion. French banks do not score you like a FICO model, but they read it.
• The project : the signed preliminary sale agreement (compromis de vente) and proof of the funds for your deposit.

On the practical side, you never need to fly to France for paperwork. Through your secure Pretto account, you upload your documents, track the progress of your application and sign your mandate from anywhere. Your expert checks that everything is consistent and translated into what a French bank expects, and each file is reviewed by our internal compliance team before it reaches a bank.

Find the right property, in the right order

In France, the order of operations is the reverse of what many Americans expect. You do not get a full mortgage approval and then go house hunting. You first sign the compromis de vente with the seller, which usually includes a financing condition, and only then does the bank appraise the property and issue its formal offer. Between the two, the clock is ticking.

That is why the search phase matters so much when you live abroad. Viewing properties remotely, judging a neighborhood you only know from holidays, negotiating in French with an agent who works for the seller... A local professional who works on your side changes the game. If you are still looking for the property, the simplest move is to contact a French Buyer's Agent, who can scout, visit and negotiate for you while you prepare the financing in parallel.

On our side, the job is to line up the banks that will actually consider an American file before you sign anything, so the financing condition in your compromis is not a gamble. Once your budget is validated, your Pretto expert can issue a financing certificate (attestation de financement), a document stating your borrowing capacity. Shown to a seller or an agent, it signals that your offer is serious, which counts when you are bidding from abroad against local buyers.

How much will it cost you?

French mortgage rates are still low by US standards. The vast majority of French mortgages are fixed for their whole term. Non-residents should not expect these exact numbers. Average rates reflect mostly resident borrowers, and a bank lending to someone paid in dollars will often add a margin. You can check the latest figures on our page dedicated to mortgage rates in France.

Then come the costs you pay in cash at closing. Notary fees, which are mostly transfer taxes collected for the State, amount to about 7 to 8% of the price for an existing property and 2 to 3% for a new build (Notaires de France). Add bank fees, the guarantee on the loan, and the exchange rate risk between the day you sign and the day you wire your deposit in euros.

To get a first idea of your monthly payments in euros, try our mortgage calculator for France.

Why use a French broker when you live in the US?

Going straight to a French bank from the US is possible. It is also a test of patience: finding a branch that accepts US persons, explaining your 1040 to an analyst who has never seen one, chasing answers across a six to nine hour time difference...

Here is what working with Pretto changes in practice:

The fee itself is set out on our page about securing your ideal mortgage in France. A non-resident profile falls into the "complex file" category, and you know the amount upfront. If you decide not to take the loan we secure, you owe nothing.

Is a French mortgage worth it for an American buyer?

Paying cash would be simpler, no doubt. But borrowing in euros at a fixed rate lets you keep your savings invested in the US, match a euro debt with a euro asset, and lock in your cost for up to 25 years. The path is narrower for Americans than for other foreign buyers, mostly because of FATCA. Narrower, not closed. With a solid deposit, a clean file and an expert who knows which banks to knock on, the farmhouse in the Dordogne is within reach... financed the French way. In 3 minutes, our simulator gives you a first idea of what you can borrow.