Limbo

First post, wish I'd found this forum before moving

Hello everyone

My wife and I have just moved over to Houston from bonnie Scotland. We've been here for 1 month so far and planning to stick around for a while longer. I got a company transfer so staying shouldn't be a problem (at least for the next 5 years while the visa is valid)

However, we've had problems, as I'm sure others have too.

I'm 27 and my wife is 25. We presently have no free cash in Sterling or Dollar as we have recently got married and these sort of events seem to cost

At present we are in temporary accomodation provided by the company and a company car. This means we have no utility bills etc for credit checks.

Went to try and buy a car today. We have no credit rating. The guy refered to us as "ghosts" :scared: It's a no go for now. Does anyone have any advice? Handy website that likes to give credit to expats, perhaps taking UK credit status in to account? Or advice on quick ways to up your rating without having to make a big down payment on a car?

We also want to buy a property. I guess we will have the same problem trying to get a mortgage

We managed to setup a bank account, by using a UK address on our UK driving licenses and having the mailing address as our temporary US address. I was told the laws changed on 1st October where you need 2 forms of ID to open an account if your a non US citizen, oh and a SSN is a requirement. Our second ID was our passports. We changed our UK driving license address to a family members home address before moving. Otherwise you have to supply a utility bill or other form of ID with a US address on it. My little bit of advice if anyone is coming over soon

I read in another post that US tax is based on worldwide income. We have a property still in the UK we are trying to rent out. Would we have to declare that here in the US? The money from it will never hit a US account.

I'll stop now before boring everyone and becoming a flame target

Limbo

hcj1440

I'm afraid you have to build your credit the old fashioned way. Start with some credit cards - since you have a paycheck and a bank account, your bank should be willing to give you one with a nice high APR. Just pay the full balance every month so you don't run into debt right off the bat.

That will help establish a "history" then you can move up to car loan and eventually home mortgage.

My parents had to do this when we moved here 15 years ago - start from scratch. It sucked but the credit bureaus here won't take your UK credit into account so yes, you show up as a "ghost" until you establish credit history in the US. You pretty much just have to deal with it or pay in cash as nothing happens here without that credit check.

In the meantime if you need to move out of company housing, most landlords will make an exception when you explain that you can't provide a credit report because you are new in the country. It might be helpful if you had references from your UK landlord and a letter from your employer.

sibsie

I'm sure there are some people on here who've financed a car as a way to build up a credit rating. I'm not sure how much of a down payment they had to use. Stick around and hopefully they'll post something along those lines.

Does your company have an inhouse financial advisor who's brains you could pick?

The UK and the USA have a double taxation treaty which means you can't be taxed by both countries for the same amounts and can claim back from the Inland Revenue and tax you have to pay on a UK income.

The specifics of it are here http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/inte.../treatiesu.htm

Pulaski

Gee you've asked a lot of questions!!!

One at a time.

Be wary of trying to "just obtain some credit cards" as a start to building your credit. Many people here will tell you that banks won't issue a credit card if you don't have a credit history, and worse than that, every time you are turned down it shows up as a credit rejection on your credit record, which makes getting accepted for credit even harder! You may have to go with a "secured" credit card from your bank to start with. In any case you probably do need a SSN to get credit.

Which brings me on to a bank account ..... there is no absolute requirement for you to have a SSN to get an account, but many banks have made it their own internal policy. Try another bank, maybe a smaller, community bank* would be a better shot? .... somewhere where you stand a bterr shot of asking for a manager with some real authority if you are turned away by the desk clerk.

* Look for a bank covered by the FDIC deposit insurance company, (it will be clearly indicated on/in all advertizements, including TV and radio ... in the verbage at thend " ..... member FDIC ....", and on signage at the bank's branches) and you'll be covered for the first $100,000 if the bank failed, so in the US it is not at all like the UK (where, when it comes to banking, bigger is better).

dunroving

No-one here seems to get bored of people asking for genuine help. Even if you ask something that's been asked before, the worst that will usually happen is that someone will point you at the old thread (well, Patrick may also tell you you're stupid, but that's actually a compliment that we carry like a badge of honour).

Couple of suggestions: credit does not have to mean credit cards, and if you're looking for long-term debt or larger amounts, it's the worst kind of debt (b/c of huge interest rates) - but they're a good way to get a credit record - like Pulaski said, though, pay 'em off every month.

Next, in the immediate-term you say you need credit for a car. I don't think car companies are the best finance companies to borrow from. These offers of zero credit are usually attached to you paying full price for the car - if you pay "cash" (i.e., have the money already, either in cash or from a bank loan), I think you'll find you can drive the price lower. You didn't say whether you were looking for a new car - finance deals on older cars are often not very good either.

How about buying a cheap-model, older (4-7 yrs) car? You can pick them up pretty cheaply. My truck cost me $4,000 and was 6 yrs old with 90,000 miles, careful owner, etc. My intention was to take time to look for a new car but I've never bothered - me truck works just fine! But you might consider this for a year or two until your feet are on the ground.

And lastly, don't know how big your company is, but it may have a special relationship with a particular bank that will consider giving you a small car loan based on your work contract and nature of your job as an indication of "security".

As for mortgage stuff, hold on! You say you have no money - buying a house involves several thousand dollars "up front" (closing costs, deposit, etc.). Be careful not to live the "American Dream" of being in debt up to your eyeballs too soon. Just my opinion.

DaveC

Hello and welcome Limbo! Do you work in oil & gas by any chance?

With regard to mortgages, check this thread out:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=mortgage

This situation would appear to be the only time US lenders are interested in your UK credit history.

All the best!

MrIntarnet

The wife and I went out looking for a car yesterday, we've been in Florida (Coral Springs) for a couple of months now, but the frustration at trying to get anything done, finance-wise, is incredible.
We started at a large dealer, but they pretty much refused to have anything to do with us unless I coudl provide details of my job, proof that I was defintely going to stay in the US for the term of the lease, proof I'd never defaulted on a loan, IN THE UK, while never considering our credit history there. Two faced or what?

We eventually called it a day when we went to the used section of a dealership, found what appared to be a great deal. I told the guy, all I wanted was a rough estimate of the monthly payment. 40 minutes of form filling and questions, including the need to provide 3 references (for a $10,000 loan? What's wrong with these people?).
I was hopeful, as they'd mentioned that another Brit had been in and they'd contacted the UK bank for details of mortgage, etc.

To cut a long story short, they told me my SSN had never been issued by the ISN, at which point I showed it to him (my SSN, not something else ), and that the only company that would be willing to take the loan on would require 50% up front and the interest rate would be 25%.

I laughed at him and walked out.

We're off to the bank on Monday to see what we can get, otherwise we;ll be forced to bring money over from the UK, it's lucky the exchange rate is so good at them moment !!

Patrick

There is one way to get a car dealership to take your UK credit into account and that is to go to Ford, they can check with Ford UK on your credit and give you a favourable deal but you have to ask (and be persistant) as they are may not be aware they can do it. Pity its Ford but if you want a car you can't be too choosy. This will also start your credit history rolling.

If you had an MBNA card in the UK you can do the same with that, call them and get them to check to your UK credit history and they will give you a card.

Patrick

roberttmms

As far as mortgages go, i believe that as long as you have 25% deposit you should be able to arrange the finances, well so i believe from reading other threads and i have spoken to a realestate agent in indiana who said they should be able to sort something

MrIntarnet

Well, after the problems we'd had before, I tried another car firm yesterday and they agreed to handle the financing. The loan is at a pretty high 18%, but the downpayment is low.

From talking to the finance manager, it's pretty much a case of most places just don't want to bother dealing with 'ghosts'. Far easier to just say 'no deal, sorry' and show them the door.

This place initially said no, then another finance guy looked at the application and decided that it was just possible I might be able to afford the $300 monthly payment with my $65k salary.

So, we collect the car this weekend, we have a car loan and through it, should have a credit history in a pretty reasonable timescale. Things suddenly start to seem better, even if it's cost us a little more than we thought it would to get it...

dunroving

Congratulations! Now you can sing on the way to work every morning ("I owe, I owe, ....")

MrIntarnet

Well, yes, but we plan to refinance when our credit score becomes something other than 'You don't exist'

We reckoned it was worth paying over the odds for something in order to get a jumpstart on the credit ladder.

Besides, everyone else in the US lives on credit, we thought we'd try and fit in !!

dunroving

Took me forever to get a credit card (b/c I was a student and expat "ghost" for 6 years), but once I got one, I was getting "preapproved" credit card offers about every 3-4 days! You're doing the right thing, won't be long before you exist (of course, you exist to us already ) And in the meantime you can enjoy all the fun stuff associated with house hunting... good luck with the mortgage stuff when the time comes!

Limbo

Just wondering who you went through, as that salary looks very familiar
(snap) and we just dont have the contacts, the best we have had so far is the suggestion of using my companies credit union but the problem begins when my wife doesn't work and can't get a SSN (yet).

Rockgurl

I can't believe the trouble you had finding a car loan. My charge nurse at work is taking me to the car yard where she got her car. She bought one after only 4 days in the country with no down payment, and a rate of 12%. If one company doesn't give you what you want, then walk out the door and go somewhere else. That's what my boss did. She was actually in the car and attempting to drive away when they knocked on the window and said they might be able to help after all! Be a bit butch about it...after all, they want your money. I tried buying with Autosource before I left England but they wanted $1000 down, and then all of a sudden it turned into $1500 and after they referred me to some stupid insurance comapny that wanted to charge me $4000 for 6 months insurance I cancelled the whole thing. I just refuse to be ripped off now, and I'll keep looking until someone gives me a good deal.