Pulaski

We have A HOA, but it is fairly benign - the (soon to be) out-going president said that if somebody had something against the community rules, such as an untaxed vehicle, but in the back yard and out of sight from the road then he really couldn't see a problem with it.

dbj1000

I guess I miss most newsgroup sarcasm, but I'll assume that your post is an example.

The idea that anyone would have any say in ANYTHING I do on my property would piss me off. The idea that they could put a lien on my home because I painted it the wrong colour or didn't tax my car would be enough to make me sell up and move out.

In the heart of bible-belt suburbia here we have kids sniffing freon from aircon units to get high, and bigots posting bible verse in their front yard about the damnation of other faiths, and yet HOAs want to make sure you cut your grass the regulation length and not hang washing in the back yard? Something's wrong there.

Lucky for us nothing's wrong here, where the HOA died with its last member and life is uncluttered by people trying to police the lives of others to fill their personal voids.

ameriton

I work in real estate, mortgages to be exact. You're right, there really isn't that much of a difference in the markets, just the UK market is obviously more expensive right now. My fiance marvels at my 2200 square foot home I bought last year for $75K--you could never find something for that price in England.

As for credit... NO, your credit is more than likely not going to transfer. Our credit bureaus can't even keep fathers and sons straight, let alone transcontinental credit especially since the UK obviously does not use US social security numbers. If you haven't had much time to establish credit, it's best to go under a spouse. You can still be on the deed of the house, obviously, just will not be signing any non-federal documents.

Also make sure you can prove citizenship or have a valid greencard. It's going to depend on your mortgage lender, but I work for a lender and we recently did a mortgage for someone with an expired greencard and we had to hold up the proceedings until she had it renewed. Your average broker isn't going to check for something like that, yet at the same time they'll charge you points up front.

As for the comment regarding 30 year mortgages; that's pretty much the industry standard, but they can come in adjustable rates (good for people who plan to move in 3 or 5 years) or fixed rates. What most people do not understand is that there are hundreds of types of mortgages available. A lot of real estate agents and brokers will only suggest the ones they're comfortable selling to you. There are balloons, 80/20 splits, interest only loans, tons of variations on ARMs (all of those vary as well depending on the LIBOR and US Treasury rates)

My own company's biggest product is the 100% financing program which allows you to borrow the entire purchase price of the house. True it takes forever to gain equity in your home, but it's great for people who really want to be homeowners and don't have money for a down payment. I did this with my own home last year. I have a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 6% and I financed the whole amount. I don't plan on selling the house again for a long time, it's a prime location for investment so I know i'll hold on to it for years whether I live in it or not.

HOA's are a pain in the ass. They help to keep your community clean and respectable, but in the process have insane rules and many charge monthly fees. You find these a lot in PUDs, Condos and townhomes.

As for the question about how much closing costs average, it obviously depends on your purchase price. If you deal with a mortgage broker, you're going to pay a lot more in fees because you need to pay his salary. To save the most money I advise going directlly to a lender such as Countrywide, Option One, Washington Mutual, GMAC, etc. They make their money through servicing the loan rather than having to charge you points upfront.

An average cost would be maybe 1 or 2% of the purchase price for the lender (add another 2 or 3 points if you go through a broker), and possibly 1% for title charges. Also watch for hidden expenses such as property taxes that are due (HUD will require them to be paid current at closing). If you happen to have any collections on your credit report, they also have to be brought current at closing.

Just remember to not be afraid. You're the buyer so ask all the questions you want and be a bastard if you need to. The mortgage/real estate industry is based on commission. If they can't make you happy, they don't get paid. The only thing they can hold in front of you is the house of your dreams but trust me--there's millions more. Just ask questions, and if you feel like you're being pushed too fast into something you don't understand or agree with, say something.

And hey, ask me anything you want. I've been in the closing department of my firm for 4 years so I can help you whenever I can

evoal2003

ameriton, fantastic in sight thank you.
ps i'll be in touch for some advise later.
alan

Englishmum

[QUOTE=ameriton

Also make sure you can prove citizenship or have a valid greencard. It's going to depend on your mortgage lender, but I work for a lender and we recently did a mortgage for someone with an expired greencard and we had to hold up the proceedings until she had it renewed. Your average broker isn't going to check for something like that, yet at the same time they'll charge you points up front.

************************************************** ********

Ameriton:

You *don't* need to have a valid greencard to get a mortgage in the US, nor a credit rating if you can put down the usual 20% deposit.

We purchased a house upon arrival in the US on L1 and L2 visas. We have been here for four years and still don't have green cards and haven't applied for them. My husband had only just been issued with a Social Security number and of course we had no US credit rating whatsover. We were able to provide copies of bank and credit card statements going back at least a year and introductory letters from our banks to state that we had conducted our accounts satisfactorilly. The mortgage lender just did an international credit search - but we live in the New York metropolitan area so it's fairly common for expats to come and go, I guess that in a provincial town you don't get many requests for an international credit search but any lender or broker should be able to do this.

There was little risk to the lender as we put down a 20% deposit and if we defaulted on the mortgage they had nothing to lose - you can't exactly take a house with you if you do a runner or get deported LOL!...

ameriton

[QUOTE=Englishmum][QUOTE=ameriton

Ameriton:

You *don't* need to have a valid greencard to get a mortgage in the US, nor a credit rating if you can put down the usual 20% deposit.

We purchased a house upon arrival in the US on L1 and L2 visas. We have been here for four years and still don't have green cards and haven't applied for them. My husband had only just been issued with a Social Security number and of course we had no US credit rating whatsover. We were able to provide copies of bank and credit card statements going back at least a year and introductory letters from our banks to state that we had conducted our accounts satisfactorilly. The mortgage lender just did an international credit search - but we live in the New York metropolitan area so it's fairly common for expats to come and go, I guess that in a provincial town you don't get many requests for an international credit search but any lender or broker should be able to do this.

There was little risk to the lender as we put down a 20% deposit and if we defaulted on the mortgage they had nothing to lose - you can't exactly take a house with you if you do a runner or get deported LOL!... [/QUOTE]

Right like I said, a lot of lenders are going to have different rules, and the one I happen to work with will require them. Basically you're dealing with private organizations that are lending you money so even if the government sees you as a resident, a lender may not.

scrubbedexpat099

Well we live in a small town, I would have been the first for that office but it would have taken a month and we had 3 weeks so we just did it in my Wife's name.

dbj1000

I understand that Ameriton said that rules are different between lenders. For that reason, my advice is slightly different from Ameriton's, based on our experience. Clearly Ameriton's employer does business exclusively with US permanent residents, citizens or the spouses of US citizens - there are many lenders who do not limit their business in that way.

There is absolutely no need to have citizenship, permanent residency or even a credit history in order to get a mortgage here. What's more, you should be able to get a mortgage rate at VERY close to the prime lending rate (ours was at prime+0.25%). What you need is either to strike it lucky and go direct to a lender who will work with you, or find a good broker.

As Englishmum said, what you need to be able to do is put down a good deposit... but even the "required" 20% is not required

We secured our 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.75% with a 10% deposit by working with a broker. He wasn't particularly knowlegable about how to do this for a non-citizen on a 3-year visa at the start, but he was VERY keen to learn (and earn his comission) and quickly found us an 80/10/10 mortgage with ABN-AMRO (80% loan at the prime rate, 10% loan at prime+1% and 10% deposit).

We had only been here 9 months, and thus had a VERY short credit history and a below-average credit score. But the combination of a 10% deposit, a history of home ownership in the UK (proof of previous mortgage was required, but no "international credit report" or any other documents from the UK), proof of employment here in the US and a copy of my 3-year visa was enough to get us the loan.

What's more, the comission to our excellent broker came from the lender, and we did not "see" it as either a direct payment or points on the mortgage. It was simply paid out of the lender's margin.

All of this just proves what Ameriton said on one level - there are endless differrent mortgage products available, and everyone selling them is working on comission, so if someone tells you they can't do you a mortgage for whatever reason, either ask them to look again, or walk away and find another lender or another product

ameriton

That's really cool, he was working as a correspondant lender then which is actually better than working with either a broker or a lender--you get someone who can work with you without selling you to earn commission. We do a lot of that.

May I ask which lender your mortgage is through? I'm just wondering for my own future as like you say my company only deals with property in America, primarily with USCs. When my fiance moves in we plan to buy a new home (using my current one for investment). I know we can obviously buy using my name only but I'd want him to be on more than just the deed as I want to start building his credit and make him feel overall included in our finances.

dbj1000

The mortgage lender who we ended up with is with ABN-AMRO (www.mortgage.com) and so far they haven't even sold the loan on (somthing which I was surprised to hear happens all the time over here)!

Pulaski

I can do sarcasm, but that wasn't it, it was a straight-up quote, .... our HoA does not permit, among other things, the storage of untaxed motor vehicles, nor the keeping of farm animals (goats, cows, chickens etc). There are, however, no rules on the color that houses can be painted.

imerkedve

as far as l can see, you dont have to pay any commision to the realtor. instead, the seller is the one that pays 6%

dunroving

And who pays the seller his/her asking price? Duh.

John Murray

Has anyone successfully negotiated this 1% with their realtor? Seems like a good idea, and could cover the brokers fee!

scrubbedexpat099

We bought and sold, deal was 1% of the commission received on the purchase which covered the selling costs as we were moving up market.

If they do your sell and buy this seems pretty standard.

And no as a purchasor it is sort of free but of, but US agents fees take a big chunk of the buyers price as is inevitably reflected in what the seller will accept.