Real Estate Translation

Buyers with foreign income or assets

Underwriting a borrower who earns or saves abroad means reading foreign employment letters, pay slips, tax assessments, bank statements and gift letters. For loans sold to Freddie Mac, each non-English document needs a translation from the document's originator or an unaffiliated translation service, attached to the original. A borrower's own translation does not qualify, and neither does one from a relative. Ask your lender which documents it needs; translating a year of foreign bank statements is rarely necessary when two months will do.

Understanding what you sign

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac publish translations of their standard mortgage and note forms in several languages, and FHFA runs a clearinghouse of translated mortgage documents. Those translations are reading aids: the English documents you sign govern. If you want a translation of your actual closing documents, including the lender's own disclosures, order it before the closing date, not after.

Sellers and buyers who cannot attend

When an owner abroad sells, or a buyer abroad purchases, a power of attorney signed before a foreign notary is common. For a New Jersey closing, the title company or attorney will usually want it apostilled in the country where it was signed (if that country is a party to the Apostille Convention) and translated with a certificate of accuracy, apostille included. Ask the title company for its exact wording requirements before the document is signed abroad; a power of attorney that does not name the property or the authority needed can delay the closing.

Foreign sellers and FIRPTA

When the seller is a foreign person, the buyer generally withholds tax under FIRPTA, and the closing file may include foreign identity and residency documents. These need certified translations for the settlement agent and, sometimes, the IRS.

Leases and rentals

Landlords with tenants who read another language often provide a translated lease for reference. Keep the English lease as the signed document, say which governs, and make sure the translation matches clause by clause. New Jersey publishes its Truth in Renting statement in Spanish as well as English.