Financing for foreigners and locals has never been an easy chore in Guatemala, and following the US, and its housing crisis problems, the requirements are more stringent that ever.  

The banks have money to loan, and in fact an abundance of funds are available for this purpose.

A foreigner will have greater difficulty at this time in qualifying.  A foreign buyer will need to have residency, be younger than 55 years old, have a guaranteed income showing no less than 30% available income to service the debt, and full certified financial disclosure of assets and liabilities. 

Paying cash for a home for foreigners has become a problem if the buyer was relying on an equity loan from foreign property sources, due to the uncertainty of real values of the foreign market.  The required bank appraisals are coming in at 10% to 15% lower than 2008, and a buyer can obtain financing for 70% to 80% of the appraisal, but that is not to say that the home will be sold based on a bank appraisal.

For example, if a home is selling for $300,000.00, and both the seller and buyer have agreed that the price is reasonable, and acceptable. At this point, the buyer applies for financing, and an appraisal is done. The appraisal arrives at a figure of $250,000.00 for bank loan purposes and you can afford pay 30% down payment. Obviously the seller and buyer have both agreed at the $300,000.00 price level, so what happens to the difference?

At the $250,000.00 appraisal, less the 30% down payment required, which means the house will carry a mortgage of $175,000.00, the buyer needs to pay $125,000.00 to acquire the home, rather than $90,000.00, just to meet the banks approved loan value. As local banks are very conservative, you can always expect to see an appraisal below the true value of the property.

In other words, if you are considering financing, and you meet the requirements, have around 50% of the agreed selling price available to complete the transaction.