I know that lots of people have been pulling equity out of their US home and then using it to pay cash for the foreign home. If you can do this, I expect you will have a lot fewer headaches and possibly a better rate than you would get in countries with less developed banking systems than our own.

If that’s not an option, then I think the answer depends on the country. First world countries have plenty of local banks that will write you a mortgage. In latin america, you might want to start with Citigroup, or another bank that has subsidiaries down there.