sk1971

Hi,

We will be moving to Plano, Texas at the end of September.

We will need to rent a car and hopefully in a few months buy a property.

Would my credit rating in the UK help in determining my credit rating in the US? In other words, the fact I have a property in the UK which is partly paid help me when I want to rent a car or buy a property. I have good credit rating in the UK.

Thanks.

kodokan

Mostly, no. There's the odd exception - I know, for example, that if you have a relationship with the UK HSBC, the the US HSBC can do an internal credit check and offer you credit cards and mortgages based on that information.

But it won't stop you buying a house. You'll still be able to find someone to lend to you - friends of ours who moved over recently have done this - but expect to have to provide a world of paperwork, and the risk to the lender will be reflected in the higher interest rate offered.

Pulaski

Your credit rating, or lack thereof, has little if anything to do with renting a car. How long do you want to rent one for? ... Because anecdotally we hear that rents rise significantly after 30 days. If you're immigrating, you're going to need to buy sooner or later and there are very good ways to buy at the point of immigration, or a few days later. Search for threads on International Autosource, of which there are many, as many of us here, including me, have used them with great success; they also do leases. Others have purchased or leased immediately after arrival from Audi or Volkswagen, which appear to be desperate to increase market share in the US.

If you have had an Amex card in the UK for at least 12 months you can persuade them to import you British Amex credit history to support the issuance of a US Amex card.

MsElui

I second all that he says but would emphasize the hoop jumping bit even more. The stupid extra steps we had to go through on our first mortgage application was crazy, and never ending. they would come up with a list of 5 random things which we would run round and try and satisfy, only to be given a list of 8 more things, and then 10 more the next time. Some were even technically impossible (like produce an EAD for a L1A holder). of course it was making our deadline ever tighter and as i was 8 months preggo at the time it was stress i could do without. We got there in the end but it was a truly painful and miserable experience. Leave your self plenty of time!

(NB we also did an international credit ref where we had to phone the ref agency, and they tele conferenced in the credit or utility company back in the UK, I would identify myself with the account numbers etc and give permission and then the credit agency would ask stuff like - did she pay on time (hello - direct debits) , did i pay the right amounts (hello direct debits), highest balances etc. Ut came out sparkling - as we paid everything by direct debit as normal in the uk - and didnt seem to make the slightest bit of difference in the end process.

civilservant

See the credit section in the Wiki at the top of the page

Jerseygirl

Don't be in a rush to buy property. Take at least a year to find the right area. Selling a house in the US is much more expensive than it is in the UK...it really eats into any equity you may make.

sk1971

Thanks for the reply.

We are thinking about renting a car for a while (a year initially). We were thinking about buying a house as soon as we get there but I think the best plan is to rent for a bit to get to know the area (emphasis on schools for kids).

sk1971

Thanks for the info.

Is there anything I can do here in the UK before I get to the US that will make the mortgage process smoother (although I would probably think about buying in a few months anyway)? I suppose I have to wait when I get there and then apply.

Bob

It's a crap idea buying a place in the first year, doubly so if you don't have greencards... You can search out the plenty of reasons.

AmEx global transfer will help on credit, but only a massive deposit will help on a mortgage.

kodokan

Renting for a few months will be enormously difficult, especially with no credit history. No landlord of any decent place will mess around with someone with no history, who doesn't even want the place for very long. Best to conclude you're renting for 12 months, and plan accordingly - you'll end up with a much better rental house and school boundary area that way.

Alternatively, I suppose you could stay in Homeaway self-catering accommodation type places, but it'd be very difficult to get one for months continuously, and then you don't have a fixed address for schools, banking and so on.

It IS possible to buy on an L visa with no credit history - like I said, my friends did it recently; moved over and found and bought a house within 8 weeks whilst they were waiting for their furniture to arrive. And who's to say that they won't overall do well, having bought quite near the market bottom here in AZ. They only have one small child however, so schools weren't a major issue for them, and they've lived in quite a few different countries and are generally quite bold, change-embracing and unfazed by the notion that they might have to leave suddenly, rebuild their lives elsewhere, and sell from a distance.

Jerseygirl

We have had members on here who have had to leave the US due to visa renewal difficulties/delays...or because they have lost their jobs...or because the company has gone under...leaving behind their unsold home.

Pulaski

..... and most of their equity!

Per Jersey Girl, and others, buying within 5 minutes of stepping off the plane is just a bad idea. A few do, and some of those claim it worked for them, but the transaction costs are high (realtor's fees alone are invariably 6%, then there's lawyer's fees and whole slate of fees that are apparently necessary to buy/sell a home in the US. ) The "round trip" cost of buying and selling a house in the US is about 10%, so when you buy a $200k house, you need to sell it for $220k just to break even!

kodokan

I agree personally, and wouldn't do it myself - I'm much more risk averse, and have a 13 yr old so it was important to me to do a test run of the area/ school/ friends, to make sure it was going to work for him, academically and socially. We rented for a year, and got the other side of green cards before plunging in.

But at this point in time in the interest rate cycle and housing market cycle in Phoenix, with one small school-irrelevant child and the closest you can come to a rock solid job with a huge multinational that already thinks enough of you to have expatted you to several countries already... it's not totally mad. They're aware it's a gamble, and what the risks are, and what the likely costs are, and are comfortable with the odds.

So I wouldn't say it's always a bonkers decision. Just perhaps 95% of the time.