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-   -   Buying a house - anything to be wary of (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/buying-house-anything-wary-895734/)

jammiie Jun 17th 2017 7:29 pm

Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
 
Also as another note, we have also been given 2 x $2,000 unsecured credit cards having been stateside one week.

Pulaski Jun 17th 2017 8:40 pm

Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
 

Originally Posted by jammiie (Post 12275123)
Just as an FYI, I have had a meeting with Bank of America this morning and they explained to me .....

Wells Fargo does too, and as the rules for mortgages are set by a federal agency, I suspect that all the big banks will do the as sort of thing.

Tawn26 Jun 18th 2017 8:02 am

Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
 
Thanks Pulaski, Giantaxe and Jammiie. I know I am getting ahead of myself and you have given the insight I needed to slow down and take it as it comes! We were a few days away from exchanging on a property here in the UK before our sale fell through and we changed tactic deciding to move to the US instead so I guess I have homeowner "itch" but it's really helpful to know there are schemes that offer solutions once we do get stateside and have our feet underneath us with jobs etc. :thumbsup:


Originally Posted by jammiie (Post 12275125)
Also as another note, we have also been given 2 x $2,000 unsecured credit cards having been stateside one week.

Jammiie which credit cards if you don't mind me asking?

The Bank of America tip is a good one as I have a long banking history with them even through my UK residency as my work is for a US company in US wages so it's all been up and running the last 7 years I've been here

Donibristle Jul 8th 2017 6:37 am

Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
 
Your best bet is a credit union rather than one of the big banks. Most of them will treat you as a regular customer with the same rate and downpayment needs as a 'regular' citizen. Reason is credit unions do their own risk assessment and don't sell their loans so they don't need to meet federal requirements and can make a decision to lend based on your specific situation. <<<SNIP>>>

petitefrancaise Jul 8th 2017 12:31 pm

Re: Buying a house - anything to be wary of
 

Originally Posted by jammiie (Post 12275123)
Just as an FYI, I have had a meeting with Bank of America this morning and they explained to me that they do have a special scheme for recent immigrants from the UK exclusively which allows them take into account your UK credit history, earnings and borrowings when considering mortgage applications.

It might be worth scheduling an appointment with them in branch to discuss this.

I had a meeting at Wells Fargo about this subject exactly. They have an International Mortgage Program. Here's the thing, the sooner you apply, the better because once you start accruing credit history in the USA, then they have to start taking that into account too. WF start with the default assumption of say, 720 on your credit history and look at your previous loans/credit/bank stuff in your departure country to support that score or improve on it. However, if you've been in the USA say for almost a year and your credit score is lower, then that score is taken into account. Over a year in the US and you're on the regular mortgage application.

The guy I spoke with was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable since he processes mostly International mortgages for L1 visa holders. PM me if you want to contact him.

I suspect BofA deal with UK people only because it's all in English? We got our mortgage on the international program with WF and they handled all our french documentation. They take just about any language and get it translated where needed.

Thanks for the info about BofA, will be in touch with them to see if they will also manage other languages.


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