Free Republic

Dalila and William Timal look like any other couple signing a home mortgage. They've picked out paint colors for their new four-bedroom house and can't wait for their 18-month-old son to play in the yard. But they differ from others you'd sometimes see at a loan officer's desk: Neither is a U.S. citizen nor a legal resident. The Timals came to this country from Guatemala in the late '90s and illegally overstayed their visas. Advertisement They are the beneficiaries of a new program by Fifth Third Bank that bases mortgages on an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN. Nationwide, increasing...

Silvia Avalos, a hairstylist, and her husband, Jose Luis Avalos, a busboy, are among the people Mancera is talking about. They were tired of spending their money on rent each month but didn't want to use fake Social Security numbers to buy a home. After friends told them they could buy legally, they found a two-bedroom condo northeast of San Francisco for $280,000. They moved in as soon as escrow closed. "We saw it as an investment," Silvia Avalos said. "While you are here, you have somewhere to live that is yours. And if you return home [to Mexico], you...