Frazdog

I have been looking at moving abroad with the company I work for. I am just waiting on the official offer coming through but its for Houston Tx. I'm Scottish and my wife is Brazilian. (I worked there for a while, but only on rotation) so now is the big move, permanent position.

I've been doing some research but any help people can give would be great.

anyone here moved to Houston, best areas and schools etc, costs to account for, and any help with regards to getting credit for housing and cars would be appreciated.

I have been looking at Katy area as its 'close' to my work. I think my main concern will be how do I get credit to buy a house / car. I don't like renting but due to the fact im going to keep my house in Scotland I wont have any large deposits to put down. (maybe I will just rent till I can get my credit up)

whats the taxes like?

any help is appreciated guys!

civilservant

to BE

The search button will pull up several recent threads about Texas, since with the O&G sector there it's a very popular destination.

Pulaski

For a car, you need International Autosource. They will finance a car purchase on terms competitive to/ comparable with financing for US citizens. I used them myself, they really are that good. Note: You MUST sign the contract and pay the deposit BEFORE you arrive in the US to live.

Hotscot

Where're ye moving fae?
I came fae Airdrie but I'm dyin' tae git hame again.

LJSassy

Frazdog - welcome!!

We moved to Katy from Scotland last year. The area ticked all our boxes - great schools, decent commute, really enjoying our new lives here.

We are in the process of buying/building a house. A 20% deposit is usually required for a 'expat' mortgage when you have limited US credit. We bought our first car outright to avoid lack of credit issues, 2nd one leased by hubby's company, so can't help on buying car on credit.

Renting a decent home in Katy isn't cheap - they are in great demand due to the school district. Have a look on HAR to get an idea of what you need to consider price wise. Hopefully your employer will cover your first year costs to make this a bit easier on your pocket. Home property tax is ridiculous - 3.6% of your home value annually.

Good luck with your coming move.

Pulaski

TX state income tax is also "ridiculous", ..... 0%!

I don't live in TX, but trust me, one way or another the states will get your money, usually in some combination of property, income, and sales taxes. Florida has the luxury of raising a lot of it's taxes through hotels and restaurants, levied on visitors.

LJSassy

[QUOTE=Pulaski;11246931]TX state income tax is also "ridiculous", ..... 0%!

Oooops, forgot about that One of the benefits of living in Texas x

Pulaski

I pay less property tax than I did in London, on four times the house and forty times the land!

Frazdog

Cheers guys.
20% deposit isnt to bad. Guess i could go for a cheeper house first. But what sort of cost is it to rent in katy?

Whats a good salery to live with there so i know im not selling out. Although i dnt think i am.

Its oil n gas i work in so same reason for lots to moving to houston.

What should i expect to pay for house thats good in katy?

Hotscot

Have a look?

http://www.homes.com/for-sale/katy-tx/

Bomjeito

You are coming during a red hot real estate seller's market.

We moved here from Aberdeen in 2010, bought a house in Lakes on Eldridge North. Now it's a wee too small as we had twins, whilst planning for only one. We have been searching now for 6 months in well regarded school districts...and our realtor has showed us that prices for housing in energy corridor and Katy has been going up almost 10% in one year. In fact, one house we looked at a year ago in memorial, near Kirkwood, was sold, and a year later it was back on the market at 15% higher! and sold in less than a week.

Gone are cheap houses, and as Katy expands south and west, those easier commutes are getting longer as well.

A number of expats are in this same boat right now. My husband's boss came here last year and rented, now appears to be priced out of the market in areas they desire.

Rentals in our development are going $250 a square foot, with more for pools. We live just a few miles north of Shell, ConocoPhillips, and BP.

Very much does depend on where you work!

The go to for real estate is www.har.com. It will give you great guidance in possible costs, etc. or at least what to expect.

We've seen anywhere from $130 to $170 a square foot in Katy these past months looking for homes. This is easily 10 to 15% more than 2010 when we gave Katy a look. Remember, homes can be 3500 to 4000 sq ft out on Katy as a norm. Expect about a third more per sq to for rentals. They aren't plentiful and they go fast.

Some Katy folks will come along soon and give more info.

Eta: push for your relocation package to give a decent rental stay, then take the time to look!

We too paid cash for the cars, and luckily had the 20% down payment and went through Wells Fargo international mortgages division for the loan.

Eta again...property taxes are high here. They can reassess yearly up to 10% more! and the last two years, we've received 10% per year assessment hike. Fought the first one successfully, but with the market as it is, I don't think we will get any downward change. Www.har.com will give property rates for each area that you are looking. It is not the same all over Houston.

Frazdog

OK cheers,

I had been looking on trulia at houses. looks like you can get a nice house for around 250-300K

my work is going to pay for accommodation for the first 60 days if I go out on a dollar deal, if not then I get a £ salary and they will pay the rent, car etc. good if only wanting to stay for a short time. think that would be a 3 year with then swapping to dollar then. If im planning on staying then I would rather get a house bought asap. as you say house prices always increasing.

im waiting on the official terms to see whats better £ or $.

what sort or costs should I be thinking for a salary. If we say $2500 to cover house and tax on it, then $600 for a car. anything else.

I did read that $60G is average salary, im well over that so should be ok??

Frazdog

Im moving from Glasgow, Elderslie (birth place of William Wallace)

Why do you want to go home?

Pulaski

, Tread carefully, the transaction costs of buying and selling houses in the US are very high, around 10% on a round trip buy-sell, with most of the cost borne by the seller. You need a 10% rise just to break even. If for any reason you leave early you could be facing a big loss.

Buy a house new, or renovated to as-new condition, and you face a reduced price on sale (your house won't rise as fast as "the market"), or buy a house in average lived-in condition, and face the risk of your AC failing or needing a new roof, and a bill for $10k-$15k. Buy with s pool and you have the not-inconsiderable running and maintenance costs, and the risk of repair, or install a new pool and you'll get little of the cost back on resale.

Frazdog

so you thinking rent for the first year, minimum, see how the job goes and if I would like to stay then think about permanent later?

what's the cost of a house with a pool to rent??

I will have a look! cheers