Sahuaro

We coudln't get a mortgage in my name although I had the job, salary, contract etc. But we did get on one in my wife's name with me as a guarantor and they charged us 2% extra interest (illegal of course, but they claim they do not have your US banking history which makes you a risk). However be careful of the taxes they charge on foreign buyers when you sell - in some states, they take 30% (??) at the settlement table and you then have to fight to get it back. It's better to have it all in your wife's name if she is a citizen.

Englishmum

This is going slighty off-topic but the title of this post does say "Buying a House In America"...

....We live in the New York metropolitan area, the suburbs of Northern New Jersey....the kind of communities where the 'yuppies' move to when they want to raise a family with good schools, a good commute to the city, lots of trees and open space etc. I've just been reading the messageboard for the next town to us, Maplewood. What has been happening is that people come around to view at the 'Open House' and then there are multiple bidders trying to put in their offers for the house.

I can't believe what people are now resorting to, to try and get the house they desire; they are actually putting in bios of themselves with their bids as to why the seller should let them have the house rather than another interested purchaser! I've never heard of this phenomenon before! I just can't imagine receiving a bio/begging letter complete with photo of the grinning would-be purchasers trying to play on my emotions so I'll feel that they're a good 'fit' for the house and local community!

(Source: http://www.maplewoodonline.com Forum: 'Please Help' Thread: "Would this be a strange thing to do" by Greenetree).

Has anyone experienced this themselves when viewing or selling a desirable property?

bored-silly

We have been outbid 13 times in the last 5 months and for the last 7 or 8 offers, we put in a picture of ourselves and a 'cover letter' explaining about us and our children! It is supposed to add a 'personal' touch and make people feel that they like the people who will buy their house. Why it matters to them I will never know but in such a competative market I will do anything it takes to get a house. I expect the east coast is becoming more like the west if that is now starting to happen there too.
We got our mortgage through Washington Mutual who were not interested in our credit score and merely wanted a couple of utility bills. They have been so helpful and we have a great interest rate too. Try them.
Good luck, it's a very frustrating process.

MiniBrit

What about buying land? is that easy to do in the US?

I ask because about a year ago there was a program on TV in the UK called 'Grand Designs', which featured a woman who purchased some land in the UK and had a kit house shipped in from the US. The company concerned were Acorn & Deckhouse, and the house itself looked really fab, and of course because it was new it had been designed to her own specifications.

I want to look into these houses as at the moment I have no idea how we are going to afford to buy when I get to MA. At the moment I have no inforamation except searching on google for the company and I have only seen good reports. Have any of you heard of anyone whos done this? I wonder if buying land and a kit house is a viable proposal, or a totally ridiculous idea... :scared:

Hope you are all having a nice weekend. Im here with a cuppa watching the wee people starting to run the London Marathon right now, its sunny even!!

MB

Pulaski

Try Wachovia. I applied after just over a year of being the US, got a great deal (same as all other banks were advertizing at that time - i.e. for US citizens), no problems, no stupid questions, and closed on the house in less than a month.

AmerLisa

We are currently buying a house that is being built (although its part of a planned estate) so we are not really "buying land" However, when we were talking to our lender prior to this she thought we were looking at buying land and getting a mortgage on it. She practically had fits....she told me it would be near impossible trying to finance land, well for us I assume. I didn't go into detail because it was a misunderstanding and we weren't doing that. But, I'm wondering if perhaps its really not a good idea for first time home buyers.

Pulaski

I think that by "kit house" you really mean, what is known in the US as, a "modular home".

Modualr homes are to avoided if at all possible because they are designed to be, first and foremost, to be easily transportable, albeit in pieces. This means that they are "built down" to the minimum acceptable building codes, as opposed to "stick built" houses (meaning assembled from singles pieces of timber) which are invariably built significantly stronger than the minimum codes require. In simple terms, the timber used in walls and floors is thinner, and spans between floor supports are greater. Your new modular home will look nice to start with, but over time it will sag and get "tired".

This has been confirmed to me independently by two separate realtors, in NY and NC, who both told me that they do not recommend buying modular homes because they lose value and become either shabby, or expensive to shore up and strengthen.

dbark

Buying land here is a lot cheaper than the UK, especially in the south, where I live. A building plot local to me, costs about $10-20 K, depending on size (1/2 to 1 acre). Pretty cheap, really. Of course, you then have to clear some trees, as this is virgin land, have utilities run to where your house will be, then the building costs etc. I won't address the 'flat-pack' house issue, I think others have more than covered it.

A few years ago, when living in the UK, I thought about buying some cheap(ish) land, perhaps in Wales (no slight intended!) and building a straw bale house. Never happened, but it seemed like a good idea.

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/mag/Ar...Strawbale.html

AmerLisa

No its not a modular home (something my grandparents live in and they are horrible!) I actually saw that Grand Design programme (years ago in the UK when it first aired) and also my aunt and uncle have just had a house built that way. It is a "stick built" house, the difference is that the lumber is pre-cut and shipped to the building site and from what I understand its like putting together a puzzle, hoping you have the right instructions, etc. Which in retrospect is probably how they do most of the new construction these days.

welykuk

I just thought I'd second the comment about Bank of America. They got us a mortgage when we'd been here 19 months, it was actually 2 because we went for almost 100% so they are at different rates. They were really helpful although I seem to remember a lot of paper flying backwards and forwards (but everything in America seems to be like that ) Because of the visa we were on the mortgage could only be in my husbands name and I don't think we'd had credit cards that long although he'd been working continuously since we arrived in 11/01 so I know we'd only sorted paying tax each month the October before but we had filed a tax return and were paid up with IRS

welykuk

Buying land is easier than England just because there seem to be more "lots" available. We have friends who have built a kit house and its lovely and relatively inexpensive. It depends how much of the work you do yourself of course and finding reliable contrctors can be as big a hassle here as in the UK. I have another friend looking into doing the same I could probably get you a load of websites if you want - although they may have an eco friendly theme rather than being everything out there. The other thing to keep in mind is all the differnt building codes that vary from state to state.