TimNiceBut

I can (or could last year when we were looking) get a 3/2 in town for $80k, but that didn't mean they were worth having (they weren't). Places might look cheap compared to the UK but that is pretty pointless as you'll have to look at local market conditions. Heck, the house across the road from my parents-in-law near Daytona Beach, FL was for sale for about ten grand more than I paid for my small two bedroom cottage in Ashford, Kent, but that is comparing apples to bananas.

There's a ton of "buy it quick before it falls down" houses around, plus the value depends on a lot of different factors that aren't that obvious to someone new to the country or the area. One block too far down the road and you're suddenly in a bad area, a really bad school district, a place where your skin colour is the wrong one or a place with stupidly high property taxes and a nutso HOA to boot.

Heck, you can get places in Detroit for a few grand but that doesn't mean they are a good deal. You need a lot more local info for that.

Bob

Balls.

I had written a pretty decent reply to this but then the page crashed.

The tl/dr recap, as I can't be arsed to write it out again: It's a mugs game people advising you if you're not bothered/willing to say what visa you're getting as that leads to likelyhood/timeline of greencards.

That and realtor doesn't give a shit about renting because for the same amount of work will make far more flogging you a piece of rubbish that they hope you'll sell through them in the future when it doesn't work out, so they get even more money.

You'll need 40-80% deposit to get a proper/decent mortgage. Anything less than that down, will be shit with no US history and especially no SSN.