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House dream slipping away

House dream slipping away

Old Apr 7th 2007, 9:00 pm
  #1  
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Default House dream slipping away

Hello Expats
I am hoping someone can help with advice here, I am having some trouble and I put myself at the mercy of your advice. My wife is a US citizen. We have recently signed a contract on a house in the US, we currently are living in Ireland for the past 2 years, unwittingly this will remove my conditional status on my resident card (idiot,, yes I agree). To finalize the purchase we need $65,000 from a lender. Dealing with the realtor they are offering 8.625% on the loan. Its stretching us and my wife spent most of the week crying as our dream is slipping away. Please if any of you have bought property in the US while resident in another country can you offer advice.
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Old Apr 7th 2007, 10:16 pm
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Originally Posted by Oscar
Hello Expats
I am hoping someone can help with advice here, I am having some trouble and I put myself at the mercy of your advice. My wife is a US citizen. We have recently signed a contract on a house in the US, we currently are living in Ireland for the past 2 years, unwittingly this will remove my conditional status on my resident card (idiot,, yes I agree). To finalize the purchase we need $65,000 from a lender. Dealing with the realtor they are offering 8.625% on the loan. Its stretching us and my wife spent most of the week crying as our dream is slipping away. Please if any of you have bought property in the US while resident in another country can you offer advice.
Forgive me, but what exactly is your question? Are you asking how you can obtain $65k from a lender? Are you asking how to get a lower interest rate loan? Are you asking what you need to do in order to regain your permanent residency status (if, in fact, you've lost it)?

What is it that you need advice on??

~ Jenney
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Old Apr 7th 2007, 10:23 pm
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Originally Posted by Oscar
Hello Expats
I am hoping someone can help with advice here, I am having some trouble and I put myself at the mercy of your advice. My wife is a US citizen. We have recently signed a contract on a house in the US, we currently are living in Ireland for the past 2 years, unwittingly this will remove my conditional status on my resident card (idiot,, yes I agree). To finalize the purchase we need $65,000 from a lender. Dealing with the realtor they are offering 8.625% on the loan. Its stretching us and my wife spent most of the week crying as our dream is slipping away. Please if any of you have bought property in the US while resident in another country can you offer advice.
Hi Oscar -Welcome to BE!

So just to clarify - the problem as you see it is that 8.625% to finance $65,000 is too high an interest rate (because you live abroad/have no credit history here)?
Or are you worried about actually living in it because of your green card status?

Last edited by farmerwife; Apr 7th 2007 at 10:25 pm. Reason: sorry Jenney, I cross posted right after you
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Old Apr 7th 2007, 10:44 pm
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Sounds like all of the above to me.
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Old Apr 7th 2007, 10:47 pm
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Looks like a cart before horse situation...

First sort out PR status.

Return to US, rent apartment, get jobs, build up credit.

Then look at what sort of mortgage you can get.

Only then start looking for a house.

As for dreams slipping away: dreams are all very well once the reality is sorted.

Herewith endeth today's sermon. Happy Easter!
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Old Apr 7th 2007, 11:08 pm
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

As a general rule, I never recommend buying a house first and moving to the country second, but I'm going to make the assumption you know something about the property, neighborhood, etc such that this might be possible. It is usually better to rent and get a feel for areas from spending a few months in that town (i.e. how is the traffic between that house and your favorite restaurant, do the ambulances use your road as a main conduit to the hospital, etc--stuff you won't know until you are there). But anyway...

As for buying a green card, I think you will pay a bit more vs. a USC on a mortgage. I think your credit history would actually have more to do with it than your status, but I think they are also looking at the GC as a slight problem. Did you wife co-sign on the mortgage? That might negate the GC issue if she was a party to the mortgage as well.

Have you considered shopping around for a mortgage? LendingTree.com or something? There are plenty of places to find a mortgage, if you do a bit of digging. Another option is to go with the 8.x % mortgage and re-finance once you are in the states and in a more stable position.

You've been away for two years. Are you sure they aren't going to seize your GC at the border for abandonment? You might want to sort that out. You don't want to buy a house in which you can't live...
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Old Apr 7th 2007, 11:30 pm
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Thumbs up Re: House dream slipping away

Hi
I better add clarity I suppose. LendingTree, is a great idea by the way. Anyway I should be able to get a visitors visa, I never did anything wrong with immigration, I was put on a conditional permanent resident, life took a sudden twist we ended up living in Ireland. If they take the card and they're entitled too,I've been out too long, then I'm confident I will be able to obtain a visitors visa. Thats fine with me, we are pretty settled here for the short term.
This house is for her, she does miss home and I get her back for 3/4 months every year. I usually stay for a month and love it. I know the area. We've held an account at Mid America for years, her credit history is good and mine should be too. As we are both living outside the US will a regular bank deal with us or should I just accept the offer from the realtors tied agent at 8.625%. We are putting up 70% of the money, would a US bank deal with us, my father in law, says no way. Its not an immigration question, more if your non resident, is it worth pursuing a regular bank for the remaining mortgage, has that ever been done or heard of.
Thanks again
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Old Apr 7th 2007, 11:59 pm
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Originally Posted by Oscar
Hi
I better add clarity I suppose. LendingTree, is a great idea by the way. Anyway I should be able to get a visitors visa, I never did anything wrong with immigration, I was put on a conditional permanent resident, life took a sudden twist we ended up living in Ireland. If they take the card and they're entitled too,I've been out too long, then I'm confident I will be able to obtain a visitors visa. Thats fine with me, we are pretty settled here for the short term.
This house is for her, she does miss home and I get her back for 3/4 months every year. I usually stay for a month and love it. I know the area. We've held an account at Mid America for years, her credit history is good and mine should be too. As we are both living outside the US will a regular bank deal with us or should I just accept the offer from the realtors tied agent at 8.625%. We are putting up 70% of the money, would a US bank deal with us, my father in law, says no way. Its not an immigration question, more if your non resident, is it worth pursuing a regular bank for the remaining mortgage, has that ever been done or heard of.
Thanks again
If you are resident and presumably working in Ireland - why not get a mortgage for an Irish bank? Even a BTL mortgage is likely to be less than the rate you were quoted (which seems horrendous!). or just say it's for 'home improvements'
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Old Apr 8th 2007, 12:07 am
  #9  
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Yes one would think that would be easy, however the title of the house is not a security in europe and seemingly vice versa. It is under the jurisdiction of the USA and Europe is the same. I tired that route already, but there's no security in the title being here. In two years thats set to change we should all be able to apply without borders. Belive me I've been planning this for a longtime, worked every hour I could get, worked days, nights etc. However tougher than all that work, is trying to iron this out in a final manageable solution. I'd rather reinsert my wisdom teeth and have them extracted again than do another excel sheet on finances. Resistance is futile indeed
thanks though.
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Old Apr 8th 2007, 12:07 am
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Originally Posted by Oscar
Hi
I better add clarity I suppose. LendingTree, is a great idea by the way. Anyway I should be able to get a visitors visa, I never did anything wrong with immigration, I was put on a conditional permanent resident, life took a sudden twist we ended up living in Ireland. If they take the card and they're entitled too,I've been out too long, then I'm confident I will be able to obtain a visitors visa. Thats fine with me, we are pretty settled here for the short term.
This house is for her, she does miss home and I get her back for 3/4 months every year. I usually stay for a month and love it. I know the area. We've held an account at Mid America for years, her credit history is good and mine should be too. As we are both living outside the US will a regular bank deal with us or should I just accept the offer from the realtors tied agent at 8.625%. We are putting up 70% of the money, would a US bank deal with us, my father in law, says no way. Its not an immigration question, more if your non resident, is it worth pursuing a regular bank for the remaining mortgage, has that ever been done or heard of.
Thanks again
Why not try with Mid America? It can't hurt to ask. Lending Tree is not the actual lender anyway, more like a broker, and the places working with them anyway are US banks and credit institutions. One reason the rate is so high it may be based on you being non resident, and therefore is a sub prime loan. There has been a lot in the news recently about the sub prime loan companies having problems.
You "think' your US credit history is good. Why not find out for sure? How do you know for sure your wife's is?
Also why not raise the money in Ireland as a home equity loan or other loan there?
Perhaps either you or your wife have family members who would lend you the money. The interest they would get would be probably better than they would receive on savings account deposits, and yet less than 8%+ for you.
If you were to go that way, be sure to get it all drawn up legally etc.

Last edited by farmerwife; Apr 8th 2007 at 12:08 am. Reason: grammar
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Old Apr 8th 2007, 12:10 am
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

On the CPR status front, if you are indeed a conditional permanent resident, you were to apply via form I-751 to remove conditions 90 days before the green card expired. If you didn't then you have relinguished your residency. Another issue is that when you left the US as a CPR and if you knew you were going to be gone for more than 1 year, you were to apply for a re-entry permit via form I-131. This would have allowed you to be aside of the US for up to 2 years and a 90% chance that you wouldn't have abandoned your CPR status.

Now in your subsequent posts you confuse the issue even more by stating you have been back and forth over the years.

Seek immigration assistance from a US Immigration attorney.

Originally Posted by Oscar
Hello Expats
I am hoping someone can help with advice here, I am having some trouble and I put myself at the mercy of your advice. My wife is a US citizen. We have recently signed a contract on a house in the US, we currently are living in Ireland for the past 2 years, unwittingly this will remove my conditional status on my resident card (idiot,, yes I agree). To finalize the purchase we need $65,000 from a lender. Dealing with the realtor they are offering 8.625% on the loan. Its stretching us and my wife spent most of the week crying as our dream is slipping away. Please if any of you have bought property in the US while resident in another country can you offer advice.
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Old Apr 8th 2007, 12:14 am
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Oscar

Here is the official site where you can check your US credit annually at no cost.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
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Old Apr 8th 2007, 1:34 am
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Originally Posted by Oscar
Hello Expats
I am hoping someone can help with advice here, I am having some trouble and I put myself at the mercy of your advice. My wife is a US citizen. We have recently signed a contract on a house in the US, we currently are living in Ireland for the past 2 years, unwittingly this will remove my conditional status on my resident card (idiot,, yes I agree). To finalize the purchase we need $65,000 from a lender. Dealing with the realtor they are offering 8.625% on the loan. Its stretching us and my wife spent most of the week crying as our dream is slipping away. Please if any of you have bought property in the US while resident in another country can you offer advice.
8.62% sounds like a prime equity loan which is based on prime rate which is at 8.25% now. You should try and get a loan attached to the LIBOR rate instead which is lower and allows you to get 6% rates.
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Old Apr 8th 2007, 3:31 am
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Resident living overseas have no trouble getting a mortgage on a
US property..based on their home income ...thousands do it every year in Florida ...

Of course you may not get the lowet rate possible ..
try herefor info... http://www.expressfinancial.biz/
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Old Apr 8th 2007, 3:13 pm
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Default Re: House dream slipping away

Tell you other half not to worry. House prices are falling (in many places) in the USA and will continue to do so IMHO until the end of the year.

The bad news is interest rates are rising and you may have read in the news the risks (lenders are collapsing) lenders are prepared to take are also reducing. Thus rates are going up because lots of lenders are defaulting.
Fixed 30 year rates are atill around (just < 6%) but you will get some points unless you can show quality "income". Living out of the US does not help either (they see increased risks) but you are putting a lot down too and proof of income is key.

Try and find a bank associated with your UK bank - that can help a LOT too.
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