petitefrancaise

Oh yeah, I thought I did a good job moving us all here.....and I did but it turns out I forgot about me.

We've got a lease car, credit cards, car insurances and a mortgage that still makes my heart palpate when I think about the size of it. Credit score is great but it's my husband's. Him with the salary. Who do they think spends the money and pays the bills on time?

Never mind. Now I'm preparing to start a business and I have no credit history of my own. So, I'm back to getting a secured credit card and building it up. Apparently the bank will give me a car loan if my husband is the co-borrower. I feel like I'm back in the 1960's and a kept woman.

Lord knows what people do if they only realise this when they are getting divorced!! Am I exceptionally thick or do others realise this?

Jerseygirl

That's why you should have some of the bills and credit cards in your name from the start..then you can build up your own credit rating.

petitefrancaise

I could have got the bills probably, but a credit card? When we arrived I had to wait for work authorisation to come through which took a few months.

I must admit it didn't occur to me that I wasn't building my rating - surely I share the risks of credit with OH? So I just assumed it was working in my favour too..

Should this be added into the info for new arrivals? Don't forget your spouse needs to build credit history too?

Nutmegger

We have all such items, and all of the utilities, in both our names. Obviously it's too late for the mortgage and car lease, but could you update your auto and homeowners insurance and all utility bills to reflect that you are both the owners of the policies -- and of the debt! You can also get a card on any of his credit cards -- mine are in my name and my OH has a card on them, but they still show up on his credit report. Is your bank account in both your names? You could possibly get a credit card through that connection.

Bob

You could have gotten a card as a co-user.

petitefrancaise

The credit cards we have are with him as the principal owner and although I have my own cards with my name on them, the bank just told me that doesn't count. Maybe I should go back to our credit card companies and ask them to issue me a card with me as the principal holder?
Yes, Bank account is in both our names but it is this bank that has said they can only give me a secured card because I don't have credit history. Does anyone think they are pulling a fast one on me? Although I can't see why they would.

petitefrancaise

I have 2 of those. She said that it doesn't count.
I did a bit more research online and it turns out that it should count. I think I just need to do a bit more work to bring the score up and I'll probably go back to one of our credit card companies and ask them for a card with me as the principal holder.

username.exe

I recently relocated here, my wife is a USC so we went about adding me to all of her existing accounts etc.
When we were at the bank doing the joint account, the dude there told my wife to get me added to her credit cards as an 'authorized user'. Apparently this is an instant path to credit where normally it would be very difficult for me to have gotten one on my own without a credit history.
I've done this, so we'll wait and see if it is a positive on my US credit rating.

Leigh_A

Do you have a SSN? I'd recommend checking your credit report on Credit Karma for free to see whether any of the credit cards have been registered on your file as a co-payer. My spouse has a Chase credit card and I am an additional cardholder. This account does appear on my credit file. (I am always an additional cardholder on his Amex but that does not show).

A little after we arrived, I took out a secured credit card with Capital One. They asked me for a $49 deposit and gave me a $200 credit, which was upped to $500 a couple of months later with no extra deposit. I also had a positive experience with Amazon storecard - awarded a rather modest limit when I applied, which again was increased just a couple of months later. Responsible use of both of these cards have really helped my credit score.

scrubbedexpat091

The banks in Canada stopped reporting the authorized user to credit reports and they have absolved the authorized user from any liability to the debt, your nothing but a user on the card and nothing else, only the primary account holder gets any benefit to the card.

I had to go and put up a deposit with Capital One to get a card in my own name, since just being an authorized user on my other half's account did nothing for my credit.

We when got our car the bank accepted my income to get the loan, but to have me on the loan they wanted an unrelated co-signer to the loan, but if my GF was the sole owner of the loan, no co-signer so the car loan and car is in her name,

Banks are weird in general with how they do things, weird thing is our credit scores are very similar, I just didn't have any active credit since my student loans were paid off and didn't have a credit card so it was too stagnant I guess.

Opening the Capital One card actually lowered my credit score for now, hopefully it goes back up.

jjmb

I had that problem when I went to purchase a car, had to get DH to co-sign and I had lived here for 10yrs by that point. However I didn't have job so no apparent income even though my name was on most bills.
Last year when we went for a mortgage on a rental, my score was higher than DH. I had got a part time job in that time, a fraction of my husband's salary. The thing that dragged my husband score was cosigning a small student loan for my eldest. It was so funny at how upset he was that his score was a couple of points lower than mine.
No doubt my score has dropped again as I stopped working about 6 months after that.
what business are you starting PF?

Leigh_A

My Capital One card definitely helped. I kept the total spend each month below 20% of the credit limit and paid off the balance in full each month and my score continued to increase. The increase in my limit (without an additional hard credit inquiry) gave a good jump too.

petitefrancaise

Yes. I have SS number so I'll pull my credit report and check on that. I've been a bit cautious about handing out the SSN so that may have been holding me back as well.

JJMB I'll be selling wholesale to the dentists in Texas. Just about to start negotiating with a company that I've known for years to get sole distribution for professional sales in Texas. Should be a no-brainer for them since they sell sweet nothing at the mo here. I'm too old to go back to college for 3 years just for the right to practise here so I'm looking at other stuff.

scrubbedexpat091

Luckily here the government handles almost all the student loans, and is need based and not credit score based if its your first loan, helps keep parents from having to risk their credit for their kids.

Although if you don't want to work while in school or can't because your say in pre-med or nursing or another program where working isn't an option, you may have to take out a private loan but they are not true student loans as only the government issues those.

ChocolateBabz

All our bills, other than the mortgage, are in hubby's name. We have a joint bank a/c and I am 'second' on our Visa and Amex. The only thing I have of my own is a Macy's card. Last time we pulled our credit score my score was a few points higher than his, despite me never earning a penny stateside. I truly don't understand it!!