Stumpyguy

Keep the AMEX account, and when you get to the US call AMEX USA to tell them you are an immigrant and you are transferring the account here from the UK. I did that when I first moved here, and it was a great headstart on establishing good credit. Use them as a reference when you set up a bank account (as soon as your SSN arrives), and you will qualify for a mortgage in no time.

The part of this that I haven't figured out yet is how to stop the credit card pre-approval letters arriving on a daily basis...

Pulaski

It sounds like you need a new tax accountant, ..... as far as I'm aware any taxes you pay in the UK are deductible against those assessed in the US (there is a dual-tax treaty between the US and UK). The effect of this is that you pay which ever taxes are higher, which isn't great, but better than paying twice.

Jo Brayne

I've maintained a US bank account all the time I've been in England. I had a Fleet Bank (of Boston) account for several years, then this past March I closed it and opened 2 accounts in Dallas (one with Stuart as a joint account holder).

The first bank we tried to go with almost wouldn't do it for me because the passport information I gave them wouldn't link up to my SSN. That's because my latest passport copy was issued abroad at the Embassy in London. They then 'verified' my SSN and it showed true (issued in Maine, etc etc).

Sbrayne has no credit (not even an SSN yet, bring on POE!!) in the US, and I've been abroad for 7 1/2 years but had, uh, problems before I left! I know not everyone checks back ALL seven years, some only check back 2, 3 or 4 years. Even so, do you think we'd be OK?

Jo Brayne

What's the incorporation year of St Augustine? My dad lives in Santa Fe, which dates back a long (!) way, and its the country's oldest capitol city. Just comparing .

ladyofthelake

To my embarrassment I didn't know the dates but I gleamed this from st.augustine.com

The City of St. Augustine is the nation's oldest permanently occupied European settlement, having been founded by the Spanish in 1565.
On Sept. 8. 1565, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles came ashore and named a stretch of land near the inlet in honor of Augustine, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on whose feast day - Aug. 28 - land was sighted. The location has been pinpointed in recent years by archaeologists from the University of Florida as being where the present-day Mission of Nombre de Dios and the Fountain of Youth stand, several blocks north of the City Gate and the Castillo de San Marcos.
The Castillo de San Marcos, built of coquina by the Spanish in 1672, anchors the city's north end of the bayfront.

Sorry for the hijacking!!

jdlally

The best way to establish credit is to have had a UK Amex - pay off the balance and then apply to transfer it to a US card - pay everything on it (but don't max it out) and after 6 months I had lots of offers from card companies coming in through the door. Join one or two but no more and then put a small balance on them and pay off the minimum (not all of it) and this actually helps your credit build fast and effectively.

Best of Luck! Dead simple really.

monster

Our mortgage company was interested in our UK credit history. We proved it by bringing two years-worth of banks statements and utility bills. (Also far less forgeable than a letter from the bank manager.) Save them and bring them -what harm can it do?

tony_2003

Time builds credit more than anything else. When I first came here I had zero credit history (american) and couldnt even get a Walmart card. After getting a card with crappy intrest and making regular payments I started getting tons of offers with much lower intrest rates on them, dumped the crap card quickly after and now have two cards with a fairly large credit limit. Best thing I ever got was a Circuit City card though

Franklin

Keep in mind that you may move a few times before properly settling down. Buying a house or condo may impact on your ability to respond to job offers in other states. Good news is that selling a house here is less complicated compared to the UK. Also, if you own you are not worried about breaking a lease. So there are ups and downs. But I wouldn't buy if I could not be reasonably confident that I was going to be living in one spot for at least 3 years.

dbj1000

Couldn't agree more with Pulaski on this. Your tax advisor has simply got it wrong, and has cost you a lot of money by the sounds of things.

Australia and the UK both have tax treaties with the US. If you are resident in the US for tax purposes (Substantial Presence Test ) then you can exclude any foreign income up to $80k per person per year (Foreign Earned Income exemption)... but you can ALSO exclude any income from a real estate sale up to $500k .

If you're not resident for tax purposes, it's even easier, since you don't have to report foreign income on your US tax return.

Either way, you don't end up getting taxed twice on foreign income.

The good news is that any money that your tax accountant has lost you this year you can still claim back in future years when you find a competant CPA!

dunroving

I'd just add that it depends on what house prices are doing in your area. If they're not going up appreciably, even the three year time frame may not be long enough to warrant buying rather than renting.

Also, even though the house buying/selling process is relatively straightforward, you still have to find a buyer. If it's a buyer's market (as it is where I live, because they're building so many new houses there's a glut of housing), you could end up paying mortgage on an empty house after you've moved on, or having to sell way below asking price, just to get out of the house. So there are many ways buying can cost more than renting other than just the mortgage/rent comparison.

The situation is VERY different from area to area and city to city in the States, so I'd find someone you can trust (sorry, but I think many realtors do not fall into this category) to give you the low down on some of these factors:

Renting:
Typical rent per month for the type house you are looking for (evaluating renting is simple, as this is about the only information you need); also, do rents go up each year?

Owning:
Typical house price, and thereafter expected mortgage, property taxes, insurance.
Typical realtor commission on a sale
Typical closing costs
Buyers'/sellers' market/how long does typical property stay on the market?
Typical annual appreciation in house prices
Expected house maintenance costs

- you should also have a tax expert give you an idea of the extra tax break of paying mortgage interest in your particular circumstances.

- when you have all this info, estimate the net gain/loss over the period you expect to be there, for renting vs. buying. Unless there's a clear advantage to buying, I'd rent, just for the convenience.

- also, just want to add that, although it may seem steep to pay a CPA or someone a few hundred to put all this info together, it could save you a heck of a lot more in the long run if it helps you make the right decision. We're not talking pennies here.

yorkshirelass

My husband and I were approved for a Sears store card which shortly led to a Discover card (owned by Sears) which led to MC and Visa 6 months later. Try them. Just a note -- don't apply for too many different lenders' credit cards -- it raises a red flag in the ever important "credit report". We had a member of my extended family co-sign on our auto loan which helped out a great deal! Good luck!

yorkshirelass

Where in Florida are you planning on moving to? I am just north of Tampa on the west coast.

Duncs

They dont if its already taxed in the Uk and besides unless its a second home you pay no tax on U.S property sold if you lived there as your main home for more than 12 months in the past 5 years.

you need a new accountant. and a lawyer to sue the old one for negligence.

Duncan Roberts

I don't know what I did differently but withing a month of being here, a week after I was married, I was getting card offers. All I did was get my name put on my wifes credit card and bank accounts. After that I opened a Dillard's account and then a Rogers Jewlers account. I would especially reccomend the Rogers or any company withing their management group. Whe I was applying I was talking to the manager and he was tellling me they have a lot of stores in high immigrant places so they deal a lot with it and can help you. All I had with me was my EAD a SS#, $1600 right there. that was 5 months after being here.

However, I will say this. We just bought some furnature which was being offered at 1 year no interest, the balance was $2600 after the deposit. The next day we were told that we didnt qualify so my wife called the credit company and found out that for them, and others, you need at least 5 yeasr of credit history otherwise you need a co-signer. One gripe I had was yesterday when they sent a letter saying my wife was approved for $5000