Home financing in Richmond County.
County-by-county financing guides. No paperwork. No social. No ID.
No institution is headquartered inside the Richmond County line, but 3 keep an office open here. They are below, by name and by town.
Not this lane? Business FinancingPersonal Financing
The doors in Richmond County.
The CDFIs, credit unions, and microlenders that actually say yes — county by county, in two languages. We are not a lender. Nobody paid to be listed. And where a county has no good doors, we say so.
- 3
- DOORS HERE
- 0
- BASED HERE
- 56
- NY COUNTIES WITH DOORS
- Lane
- Home Financing
- People
- 496Kresidents of Richmond County
- Elsewhere in NY
- New York County →51 doors — the biggest list of any other county in New York
- State
- New York →56 of 62 counties hold a door in this lane
Certified by the U.S. Treasury to lend where a bank will not. Nonprofit, patient, and used to a file that is not clean.
Lower East Side People's Credit UnionOwned by their members, not by shareholders. They look at your whole story rather than a score, and that is the difference when a bank says no.
Lower East Side People's Credit Union · Municipal Credit UnionBased elsewhere, with a member-facing office inside the Richmond County line. You can walk in.
- Lower East Side People's Credit UnionCDFI-certifiedMinority depositoryPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Municipal Credit UnionMinority depositoryPersonal · Home
- Polish & Slavic Credit UnionPersonal · Home · Business capital
- Mission Asset FundAccepts ITIN
Zero-interest lending circles and credit building. SSN or ITIN accepted. Works through nonprofit partners across the country.
Personal - Accion Opportunity FundAccepts ITIN
Nonprofit small-business lender. Accepts ITIN in place of SSN. Serves most states, in English and Spanish.
Business capital - Grameen AmericaAccepts ITIN
Microloans for women entrepreneurs. Requires photo ID and proof of address — no SSN requirement. Branches in major metro areas.
Business capital
1 of the 3 doors inside the county line are CDFI-certified.
The U.S. Treasury certifies them to lend to the people banks pass over. It is a loan, not a favour.
How to read this list.
We do not ask for your name, your email, or your number. Nothing on this page changes based on who you are.
A door is headquartered here when its head office sits inside the county line. The rest are based elsewhere and keep a branch you can walk into. We list both, and we label which is which.
Every institution on this page comes from public federal data — the CDFI Fund certified list (Aug 2026), NCUA credit union data (Jun 2026), and the SBA microloan intermediary list (Sep 2026) — plus a short national tier we verified by hand. We refresh each list as its agency publishes. No listing is paid.
Richmond County is Staten Island, the most homeowner-heavy borough in New York City — block after block of one- and two-family houses, semi-attached rows, and small condo developments. That shape changes the math of buying here, especially the two-family purchase where a rental unit helps carry the mortgage. This guide covers how home financing actually works in this market, who qualifies, what underwriters ask for, which doors serve island buyers, New York's closing realities, and the traps that hit first-time buyers and longtime owners hardest.
It's a process, not a rejection.
Home financing is a mortgage: a long-term loan secured by the house itself. The main varieties matter less than most people think, but the differences are real.
- 01**conventional loan** comes from a bank
Credit union, or mortgage company without federal insurance behind it, and generally wants stronger credit and a larger down payment.
- 02**FHA loan** is insured by the federal government
Allows a smaller down payment and more forgiving credit, and charges mortgage insurance for that flexibility.
- 03A **VA loan** is for eligible veterans and service members, with no down payment requirement.
- 04A **refinance** replaces your existing mortgage with a new one, either to lower the payment or to pull out equity as cash.
- 05
A **home equity loan or line of credit** borrows against equity you already have — often how island owners fund a roof, a boiler, or a basement renovation.
- MISSING ONE?Ask Iris which one you're missing.ASK A QUESTION ↓
Forget what the banks say.
An underwriter is comparing your total monthly debts against your documented income, checking your credit history, verifying the down payment is actually yours, and confirming the house is worth the price.
On Staten Island, buyers typically show up in these shapes:
- Two-income households with one municipal paycheck. A sanitation worker, teacher, nurse, or transit employee plus a spouse's income. This is the easiest file to document, because W-2 income is what the system was built for.
- The self-employed tradesman. A roofer, mason, or landscaper who files a Schedule C. Here the problem is familiar and painful: every deduction that lowered your tax bill also lowered the income a lender can count. Underwriters generally use your net, not your gross. If you plan to buy within two years, talk to your tax preparer before you file, not after.
- The two-family buyer. You are buying more house than you could carry alone and using the rental unit to bridge the gap. Expect the appraiser to document market rent, and expect the lender to count only part of it.
- The multigenerational household. Parents, adult children, and often a co-signer or co-borrower. Income from several working adults can qualify a purchase that no one person could carry — but everyone contributing must be on the loan for their income to count.
If you file taxes with an ITIN rather than an SSN, purchase financing is harder but not impossible: some credit unions and community development lenders run ITIN mortgage products.
Ask directly, in those words, before you assume the answer is no.
Steady rent payments, a documented savings history, and two years of filed returns do more for your file than most people realize.
Get your papers in order.
Mortgage paperwork is heavier than any other lane. Gathering this early is the difference between a smooth closing and a collapsed one:
- 01Government photo ID and your ITIN letter or Social Security card
- 02Pay stubs covering the last month and W-2 forms for two years, if you are employed
- 03Two years of complete federal tax returns
With all schedules, if you are self-employed
- 04Business bank statements and a year-to-date profit-and-loss sheet, if you are self-employed
- 05Two to three months of personal bank statements
Every large or unusual deposit will be questioned, so be ready to explain where it came from
- 06Gift letter
If a relative is helping with the down payment; undocumented cash cannot be used
- 07Your current lease and landlord payment history, if you are renting now
- 08Signed purchase contract and
In New York, your attorney's information
- 09Homeowner's insurance quote
Plus a flood insurance quote if the property sits in a mapped flood zone
- 10Condo or co-op documents
If applicable — these buildings carry their own financial review
- 11For a refinance
Your current mortgage statement, your deed, and your latest property tax bill
- MISSING ONE?Ask Iris which one you're missing.ASK A QUESTION ↓
The doors worth knowing.
The honest starting point: no institution in our directory is headquartered inside the Richmond County line. Mortgage decisions for island houses are largely made elsewhere.
ALL 3 DOORS, BY NAME AND BY TOWN- 3
- DOORS HERE
- 101
- ACROSS NY
Based in New York, New York. A credit union — owned by its members rather than by shareholders, which is exactly what changes the conversation after a bank has said no. It is CDFI-certified, and it is a minority depository.
BEST FORA personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing, and buying, repairing or refinancing a home.Based in New York, New York. A member-owned credit union, which means the people deciding on your file answer to depositors in the same towns you work in. It is a minority depository.
BEST FORBuying, repairing or refinancing a home, and a personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing.Based in Brooklyn, New York. A credit union: no shareholders to satisfy, and a habit of reading a whole story rather than a single score.
BEST FORWorking capital, equipment and payroll for a small business, and a personal loan, or building a credit file from nothing.
Don't fall into these traps.
A contractor who arranges the loan for the work he is about to do has every incentive to inflate both. Get the price first, then arrange financing separately, then compare.
Older owners with substantial equity and modest income are targets. Anyone offering to "help you save your house" by having you sign over your deed, or by adding their name to it, is taking your house. This is a known problem in New York City, and free legal services exist specifically to fight it. Never sign a deed you do not fully understand.
If you fall behind, the free HUD-approved counseling network can negotiate with your servicer at no cost. Anyone charging upfront fees to stop a foreclosure is selling you something the government already gives away.
Buyers on the east and south shores sometimes discover flood insurance requirements late, after the numbers no longer work. Ask about flood zone status the day you see the house.
A longer term or a bought-down rate can make a payment look manageable while costing far more overall. Compare written loan estimates from at least two lenders — same house, same week — and look at the total cost line, the rate, and the fees, not just the monthly figure.
Everything below is set by New York, and it reads the same in every county in it. The 3 marks above are this county's own doors — who opens one is decided by them, not by the state.
The rules where you are.
New York does several things differently, and each one shows up as money or time at your closing.
Buyers and sellers each retain an attorney, and the contract is negotiated between them. Budget for that fee, and pick your attorney before you make an offer, not after.
New York charges tax on recording the mortgage, and your closing statement will show it. Ask your lender for a full written estimate of closing costs early, so the number is not a surprise in the final week.
and the property tax bill follows the recorded owner. Confirm the recording actually happened after closing; it is rare for it to fail, but it is your protection.
New York's housing finance agency offers first-time buyer mortgages and down-payment assistance, delivered by approved local lenders rather than by the state directly. You cannot apply at a state office. You ask a lender whether they are an approved participant, and you ask a HUD-approved counselor which state or city assistance you might qualify for. New York City also administers homeowner assistance and repair help through its housing agency. The word to use at every door is "assistance" — ask what exists, in writing, before you accept a rate.
The short version.
- 01
Buying in Richmond County is expensive but ordinary — this is a borough of working homeowners, and the system here is used to exactly the files you will bring. The two-family purchase with a rental unit carrying part of the mortgage is a well-worn path, not a clever trick.
- 02
Because no lender in our directory is headquartered on the island, start with the member-owned credit unions that keep a presence here, and start earlier than that with a free HUD-approved housing counselor who will read your credit report and your budget before any loan officer does. If you are self-employed, talk to your tax preparer about how deductions affect qualifying income before you file. If you file with an ITIN, ask credit unions and community development lenders directly whether they offer ITIN mortgages — some do, and the national nonprofits listed here can build the reportable credit history you will need.
- 03
Get two written loan estimates. Ask about flood insurance before you fall in love with a house. Never sign a deed you do not understand, and never pay a fee to stop a foreclosure.
- 04
Origen Capital is a directory, not a lender. We do not collect your information, we do not sell leads, and we earn nothing from which door you choose. Use this as a map, and work directly with a licensed lender, credit union, or HUD-approved counselor when you are ready.
Same county, another question.
Business FinancingLoans, lines of credit, and capital for small businesses and contractorsSEE IT IN RICHMOND COUNTY →
Personal FinancingPersonal loans, credit building, and ITIN-friendly financing optionsSEE IT IN RICHMOND COUNTY →56NY COUNTIES WITH DOORSThe whole stateEvery county in New York, in this same lane.101 institutions fund homes and repairs inside New York county lines.OPEN THE STATE →Still don't see your situation?
Ask Iris. She'll explain it the way it should have been explained the first time.