1. Home
  2. Stockton
  3. ITIN Homeownership
Stockton · Homeownership program

Own a home in Stockton — no SSN required.

You work here. You pay taxes here — with an ITIN. The Earned Equity Program is a seller-financed path to homeownership built for you: 3.5% down, credit from 580, and your real income counted the way you actually earn it. It is not a mortgage loan — and that's the point. Esta guía está disponible en español.

NMLS #2493744 · CA licensed · Updated July 2026
Earned Equity Programat a glance
What it isA path to homeownership
Down payment3.5% down
EligibleITIN and DACA holders
CreditFrom 580
Income docsBank statements, 1099, or P&L
Debt-to-incomeTo 50/60
A seller-financed homeownership program — not a mortgage loan. Qualification subject to program underwriting approval.
The door that opens

You've been told no for years. This is different.

Millions of people in California work, pay taxes, and raise families using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead of a Social Security number. A huge share of them live right here in San Joaquin County — driving trucks in and out of the Port of Stockton, working the warehouses along I-5 and Highway 99, running crews through the vineyards and orchards around Lodi, Linden, and Ripon, building businesses that hold whole towns together. And for years, the answer at every bank window has been the same: no SSN, no house.

The Earned Equity Program changes the question. Instead of asking a bank for permission, you buy the home through a program where the financing is built into the sale itself — seller financing, structured for ITIN and DACA holders. You put 3.5% down, you move in, and your monthly payments build your ownership over time. That's why it's called earned equity: you earn your way into the home you're living in.

Hablamos español — y esta página también

Toda esta guía existe en español, palabra por palabra: vegafi.com/es/stockton/itin-loans.html. Y cuando llames al (833) 803-8333, te atendemos en tu idioma.

3.5% downDown payment. At San Joaquin prices, a savings goal a working family can actually reach.
ITIN + DACABoth are eligible. No Social Security number required at any step.
580Credit scores from 580 work. You don't need perfect credit or a long credit history.
Real incomeBank statements, 1099s, or a P&L — documented the way you actually get paid.
How it works

This is not a mortgage loan — and that's the point.

Let's be precise, because this matters: you do not receive a mortgage loan through this program, and you don't need one. The entire reason ITIN holders get shut out of buying a home is that the traditional mortgage world is built around Social Security numbers, W-2s, and documentation walls that have nothing to do with whether you can afford a house.

The Earned Equity Program steps around that world entirely. It is a seller-financed homeownership program: the sale of the home carries its own financing, agreed between you and the program — no bank application, no SSN requirement. You choose the home, you put 3.5% down, and you make one monthly payment that builds your ownership stake month after month.

What that means in practice: the people reviewing your qualification are looking at your real life — your deposits, your work, your credit from 580 up — instead of running your paperwork against a federal checklist you were never going to pass. Qualification is subject to program underwriting approval, but the wall that kept you out before simply isn't part of this structure.

  1. 01 Talk to us — in English or Spanish. Tell us how you earn, what you've saved, and where you want to live. About sixty seconds to start, and checking your options doesn't affect your credit.
  2. 02 Show your real income. Bank statements, 1099s, or a profit-and-loss statement — whichever matches how you're actually paid. No W-2s required.
  3. 03 Qualify with 3.5% down. ITIN or DACA, credit from 580, debt-to-income considered to 50/60. Subject to program underwriting approval.
  4. 04 Move in and build ownership. Your monthly payments build your stake in the home — that's the earned equity. Your house, your yard, your kids' school district.
Qualifying

What you need — and what you don't.

The qualification list is short, and every item on it is something a working San Joaquin family can actually produce:

3.5% down payment Saved, or documented family help. At San Joaquin prices, this is a reachable number — not a Bay Area fantasy.
An ITIN or DACA status That's it on the identification front. No Social Security number at any step of the process.
Credit from 580 Imperfect credit works. The program reviews your profile as it is, not as a bank checklist wishes it were.
Proof of your real income Bank statements showing your deposits, 1099s, or a P&L for your business. Debt-to-income is considered to 50/60.

What you don't need: a Social Security number, W-2s, years of American credit history, or a cosigner with papers. Qualification is subject to program underwriting approval — but the review is built around how families like yours actually live and earn.

Find out in minutes. En tu idioma.

Tell us how you earn and what you've saved. We'll tell you honestly whether the Earned Equity Program fits — free, in English or Spanish, and checking doesn't affect your credit.

NMLS #2493744 · Checking your options has no credit impact

Our community

Built for the county we work in.

San Joaquin County is one of the most Spanish-speaking regions in Northern California, and the towns around Stockton even more so — Lodi, Manteca, Lathrop, Ripon, Linden. The families who move the freight through the Port, stock the warehouses along the 99, and bring in the harvest north of town are disproportionately the same families the traditional home-buying system was never designed to serve. VegaFi is headquartered an hour down the same highway. We see it every week: households with steady income, real savings, and years of on-time rent who've never once been offered a real path to owning.

That's what this program is for. Not a watered-down consolation product — a working path to the same thing everyone else gets: a home you own, in the town where you work, with payments that build your own future instead of a landlord's. And because this decision deserves to be understood completely, in the language you think in, every word of this guide exists in Spanish at vegafi.com/es/stockton/itin-loans.html — and our team speaks Spanish on the phone, start to finish. For the wider picture of what we do across this market, our Stockton mortgage broker guide covers every program we offer.

One more honest note about what we won't tell you: we won't promise outcomes, and we won't pretend every family qualifies. Qualification is subject to program underwriting approval. What we will do is give you a straight answer, fast, for free.

FAQ

ITIN homeownership questions, answered.

Can I buy a house in Stockton without a Social Security number?

Yes. If you file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), the Earned Equity Program gives you a path to homeownership that does not require an SSN. You put 3.5% down, show your income with bank statements, 1099s, or a profit-and-loss statement, and the program finances the sale of the home itself — seller financing, built for exactly this situation. Qualification is subject to program underwriting approval.

Is this an ITIN mortgage loan?

No — and that is the point. You do not receive a mortgage loan from a bank, and you do not need one. The Earned Equity Program is a seller-financed homeownership program: the financing is built into the sale of the home itself, so the SSN requirements, W-2 requirements, and documentation walls of the traditional mortgage world simply do not apply. You buy the home, move in, and your monthly payments build your ownership over time.

Can DACA recipients use the program?

Yes. The program is open to both ITIN holders and DACA recipients. The qualification framework is the same: 3.5% down, credit from 580, income documented with bank statements, 1099s, or a profit-and-loss statement, and debt-to-income considered to 50/60. Qualification is subject to program underwriting approval.

What credit score do I need to buy a home with an ITIN?

The program works with credit scores from 580. You do not need perfect credit, and you do not need a long American credit history — but you do need a credit profile the program can review. If you are not sure where your credit stands, ask us; checking your options does not affect your credit.

How do I show my income if I don't have W-2s?

The program accepts the way working people in San Joaquin County actually get paid: bank statements showing your real deposits, 1099s if you contract, or a profit-and-loss statement if you run your own business. An owner-operator running a truck out of the Port, a landscaping crew, a vineyard crew in Lodi, a food truck, a cleaning business — all of it can be documented without a W-2. Debt-to-income is considered to 50/60.

How much do I need for a down payment?

3.5% down of the purchase price. In San Joaquin County, where home prices sit well below coastal California, that is a savings goal a working family can actually reach — not a decade-long project.

¿Está esta información disponible en español?

Sí. Esta guía completa está en español en vegafi.com/es/stockton/itin-loans.html, y nuestro equipo habla español. Llámanos al (833) 803-8333 — con gusto te atendemos en tu idioma.

Questions answered? Take the first step.

A few minutes, no documents to start, and no credit impact — find out if the Earned Equity Program fits your family.

NMLS #2493744 · Checking your options has no credit impact

Keep reading

Have an SSN? These guides cover traditional mortgage loans.

The Earned Equity Program is not a mortgage loan — if you have a Social Security number and qualify the standard way, one of these traditional paths may fit you better:

Ready when you are

Your family. Your house. Your equity.

Find out in minutes whether the Earned Equity Program fits — free, in English or Spanish, with no credit impact to check.

NMLS #2493744 · Vega Financing, LLC · Proudly serving California · Equal Housing Opportunity