jammiie

Also as another note, we have also been given 2 x $2,000 unsecured credit cards having been stateside one week.

Pulaski

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

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.

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

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

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.