tparrent

If she no longer had ANY U.S. accounts then it will most likely be gone. Seven years is just about the max.

If she still has anything at all here, it helps considerably.

Andy Platt

"tparrent" wrote ...
    > Yes and no. Keeping some things in separate accoutns IS good. It
    > establishes an independent credit record.

Our mortgage broker told us that if you have somebody co-signed on your
loan, that doesn't show up on your credit report - it just shows the loan on
both of yours. So, unless you looked at both reports in parallel you
wouldn't notice. There certainly has never been any indication on my credit
report which things my wife has co-signed.. There are plenty of reasons why
you may not want to have each loan in both names but that shouldn't be one
of them.

Andy.

--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination.

Patrick

Hi,

She had a us bank account until about 2 years ago but (first union) but they started to charge for the account even when there was no activity so she closed it.

Patrick

Brent

one more thing you can do is walk into a bank and deposit a couple hundered
dollars then borrow the money back from them. pay it off the next month.
they will report that you have paid off a loan to the credit companies this
will start your credit file and you now have a bank loan that all payments
were made on time in your credit file.


    > Here are some handy tips to build up
    > your credit quite quickly
    > 1) Open a secured credit card with your bank.
    > 2) Open a charge card at major department stores like Bon Marche, Sears
    > etc. An foreign credit card is fine as backing on that.
    > 3) Add name to all utilities.
    > 4) Add name to joint loan (if someone with ok credit can help).

Strike

Hi! I'm actor Troy McClure. You may remember me from such threads as
'Credit In the USA' and 'robclews: tasty but deadly.'

    >Do credit companies in the USA have access to the UK credit agencies. I
    >have a good credit rating in the UK but wish to buy a vehicle here in
    >the USA where I have no credit history. When i actually do this I will
    >have full time employment here, a home etc etc.
    >Any comments would be appreciated.

Posted this a few times, but when I came to the USA my pristine UK
credit and good job with Morgan Stanley allowed me to get... a
whopping $500 limit with a Chase credit card.

Solution? I had a UK AmEx with perfect credit history. Called up AmEx
and they issued me a US card with the US$ equivalent of my UK credit
limit. Almost immediately I started getting inundated with junk mail
for pre-approved credit cards.

It was a real quick fix, but I had to speak to at least three
different agents at AmEx before they would do this. If they say 'no'
then call back and speak to a different agent. IIRC it was an agent in
the 'International Services' section who finally gave me the nod.

HTH,

Marco

L D Jones

Patrick wrote:
[ ... ]
    > My wife has been out of America for 7 years, will her previous (good)
    > credit history still be around or will it now have disappeared into
    > the ether. Will we both have to start from scratch as far as credit
    > is concerned

I don't know how long it takes for a US credit history to "disappear"
(if it ever does). I lived out of the US for over 4 years and when I
returned it was as if I never left, as far as I can tell. Within a month
after arriving back in the US I bought a car with no problem. I did use
a US credit card about once a year while I was away.

Your wife can get a copy of her credit report to see what it looks like
now.

Patrick

Hi,

I feel that I have hijacked this thread, sorry! We got a free credit check on the net last night and all is well in credit history land which means we might be able to ge a mortgage quicker than expected.

Boy this is good news week for me.

Patrick

NC Penguin

-------------------------------------------
I'm a bit concerned about the above poster's comments, especially since he's claiming to be a banker.

As a consumer and non-banker, I would not suggest getting into debt at all, especially with credit cards. It is only the credit card issuer who benefits, not the card holder.

I believe the only kind of debt that's beneficial to your credit history is when you take out a loan, say for a car or furniture and you make payments regualrly and according to the plan. That kind of debt is beneficial to loan taker's credit history.

On a separate matter, I have never carried a balance on my credit card (only ever had/needed one), both in the UK and the US. I have received junk mail offering me credit cards. This has nothing to do with my credit rating. This junk mail has been generated by companies selling my details to credit card providers.

If you read the small print on such junk mail, you'll see that the card is approved subject to a credit check and I know that it's too early to have a "good" credit score so it's not worth my while applying for my own credit card yet.

Just Jenney

EXCELLENT POST.

Yes, the banking industry prefers that consumers maintain SOME debt -- that's how they make money, after all. But it is NOT a smart idea to get into debt for the sole purpose of building a credit history. It's not a smart idea to get into debt for ANY purpose.

There is an excellent book out there that might help people understand the in's and out's of personal finance in the United States -- "Personal Finance for Dummies" by Eric Tyson. I got this book as a college graduation present years ago and I've found it extremely helpful.

You can order a copy here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764552317/qid=1035911341/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-0123896-3446501

(One piece of advice that's repeated in the book: Use your savings to pay off credit card debt.)

~ Jenney

Aliluv

I have also heard it's better to not pay off a card in full every month when trying to build credit. They like to payments being made consistently.

I have excellent credit but my husband has none (he is from Germany), this thread is very helpful.

I remember how hard it was to get that first card, I had to fax paycheck stubs and provide lots of info but finally Sears gave me a card!

L D Jones

Aliluv wrote:
    > I have also heard it's better to not pay off a card in full every month
    > when trying to build credit. They like to payments being made
    > consistently.

But, if you spend on the card and pay off the balance in full every
month isn't that paying consistently too? I have also heard the
"carrying a balance will help your credit" argument but I don't believe
it.

NC Penguin

------------------------------
My question is: who was your source that suggested carrying a balance on a credit card?

If the credit card company likes payments to be made consistently, isn't this done when the credit card holder pays off the entire balance on their card (assuming they have charges on the statement every month)?

Getting a loan, of course for an item you need (and not just to establish a credit history), is a surefire way to create a credit history because you're tied to paying it back over a fixed period of time. This is better for the borrower unlike carrying a balance on a credit card.

Another issue about establishing a credit history in the US is that it is not known how often institutions report your spending to any of the credit bureau. It may be as often as monthly though I imagine this is unlikely. I'd guess it'd be quarterly (every three months).

Of course, if you miss a payment on your credit card or loan, I wouldn't be surprised if that's reported to the credit bureau immediately.

Aliluv

I heard to keep a balance on my credit card and pay it back in payments from my dad's financial advisor.
He said it does not have to be a large balance that it could be 100.00 but just pay it back in 3 payments instead of one. He also said that after 6 months of doing this I could start paying it off in full. Something about them wanting to see payments being made on a consistent level. He wasn't really saying to carry a large balance just to demonstrate that I oculd make payments.

He also said a bank loan was the best way but alas I could not get one due to no credit history.

I have never been told by anyone at a credit card company that keeping a balance was a good way to build credit (just to clarify).

Ali

Vicky88

We have always paid off our credit cards in full each month and it has certainly not hurt our credit rating. We returned to the US this year after a 2 year absence and first day before my husband even had any proof of income we were able to buy a car with zero percent financing.

Best way to get credit to start is to (1) get a secured credit card from your bank and pay in full (2) get a Macy's card - they will likely only give you a $100 limit but it's a start. AFter a few months apply for your next card and it will go from there.

Ap

In article ,
[email protected] says...
    > My question is: who was your source that suggested carrying a balance on
    > a credit card?
    > If the credit card company likes payments to be made consistently, isn't
    > this done when the credit card holder pays off the entire balance on
    > their card (assuming they have charges on the statement every month)?
In 99% cases when you pay offf your balance right off you are cost for
the credit card issuer. Why? because you get interest free loan.
Please note that when you pay off credit card in certain time interest
does not accrue.

It does not have bad influance on your credit report when you pay off
the balance but you would do better with your score when you carry over
some balance from time to time. Why ? Because when you pay off your
balance your report shows that you never took any loan from the credit
card issuer (the balance reported by cc company is always 0) so you can
not prove that you are reliable client.


AP