Nylon

Well I'm happy to say that my husband had his interview last Friday and all went perfect (of course working at the Embassy did help things a bit ) he now has that infamous manilla folder and that awesome visa sticker in his passport which will be officially stamped in the coming weeks.

His transfer to NYC has been verbalized and just needs to be put in writing. We have friends/family who have given us names of agents back in NY for house-hunting and we're on our way. We couldn't have planned it any better.

Now the next HUGE worry is a mortgage!! :scared: We have a joint account in NY with a major bank and he already possess a major C.C.

Just trying to get a few suggestions for information about obtaining a mortage especially in NY (Westchester County). If any of you can share your experiences it would be great as I have no idea of where to start. I do have a friend (back in NY) who is a mortage broker and it just so happens that the company he works for does have mortgage programs for alien residents. So we'll see where that takes us.

His boss said just today (hence this post since it has hit a panic button in me) that we're better off renting first which now leads me into panic mode. I am sick of renting (we've been doing it in London for three years now) and would like a place of our own especially with our first baby on the way. He said that he (my husband) probably won't be able to get a mortgage at first and if we do, it won't be much. His advice is to rent first. The thought of renting for another year is aggravating and throwing our money out the window is even more so. (I don't even want to think about what we could have made (which turns into a huge loss) if we brought our apartment first and not rent especially being in a prime real estate location of Canary Wharf :scared: .)

BritGuyTN

www.bankrate.com

I personally think mortagage brokers are crap

I am a real estate agent and I think direct lending is the best way to go as long as you don't have damaged credit etc - some brokers call themselves direct lenders and they are frankly lying

when it comes to renting - its not throwing money away - you are paying someone for a service and all circumstances are different - you MAY be better off renting

strim

[QUOTE=Nylon]QUOTE]

I guess the suggestion to rent is so that you can build up a credit history. When I first came over I couldn't even get on a mobile phone plan as I didn't have a credit history!

When I got my mortgage over here, I had already lived here for a couple of years so CH wasn't a factor and the fact that I was on a visa didn't matter. I ended up getting a mortgage with Citibank. There rates were pretty much the same as everyone else and I liked going with a big, well know company.

I suggest that you speak with a mortgage broker to clarify what you need to do to qualify for a mortgage. The guy I used at Citi seemed pretty experienced so may be worth a call -- he also didn't over-promise or pressure sell like many others. He is based in White Plains, but once the initial mortgage is arranged it just gets handed off to for central processing. If you want his contact details send me a pm.

fatbrit

Extra info required here:
Your work history in the US.
Your credit history in the US.
Down payment available? How much?
Approximate price of property you intend to buy.
Will you both have jobs at the time of application?

Elvira

My advice would be to rent at least for the first few months. That way you can take things calmly, one step at a time, and not risk getting panicked into buying a place which may ultimately turn out to be not quite what you wanted.

That's what we ended up doing. Like you, we initially tried to buy from the UK. Hubby saw what he thought was the perfect house in the perfect neighbourhood when he came for his job interview. We set things in motion on his return to the UK but - luckily as it turned out - the deal fell through.

Once we moved here we realized that the area, though nice, would have been just a little too far from DH's work and kids' schools. (And the house probably was the proverbial money-pit...)

After less than 5 months in a rented apartment, we moved into our present house. Yes, moving twice was a nuisance, but I'm extremely glad that we ended doing it this way.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Nylon

Thank you everyone for your info and Strim I may take you up on that number (White Plains huh, I'm a Harrison gal born and raised) when we figure out exactly what we can qualify for. The renting bit is so we can take our time and look for something we really like. I guess I'm just being impatient and realistically that would probably be the best option so we don't feel like we have to rush.

As for Fatbrit well of course being a U.S. citizen I have a long work history there up until three years ago (when I moved to London) my credit is great but I can almost make a bet that it's definitly not enough for a front a mortgage. We're gonna probably put down I'd say over 100 but less than 200. Property we intend to buy well it's not going to be a mansion but it's also not going to be dollhouse either **hopefully** and no I will not be working. I'm 4 months pregnant and fully intend to enjoy this first pregnancy.

The good thing I guess about where were moving to is that I am very familiar with the towns since I grew up there. So I know what's good, what's crap, etc. So at least there's really no research when it comes to that. I guess it will all work out in the end.

fatbrit

Here are your issues as I see them:

If the downpayment can reach the 20-25% range, you will get a mortgage without too many problems, albeit a non-conforming one! In Arizona, such a property would be magnificent to behold, but where you're going I would think probably not.

The underwriting is all muddled up. The one with the long, good credit history and US work experience won't be working and...

Although I certainly agree with BritGuyTN's assessment of mortgage brokers, I feel you might benefit some of their more obscure products for those that don't quite fit in properly. I'd actively shop it around everywhere. Do it all at the same time and it won't keep dinging your credit history. And don't trust any of them -- especially 'friends'.

BritGuyTN

yeah

its weird how 'friends' 'deals' often don't turn out that great!

look at the cold hard figures, and if you go to a broker and they start talking about

'points'
'origination fee'
'lenders fees'

then walk away

a committment fee refunable against the closing costs is perfectly reasonable
as is an appraisal and an underwriters fee (and $20 for a credit check etc)

apart from that closing costs should be restricted to countty transfer taxes, property taxes etc.

dunroving

I have to agree. Renting makes more sense if (a) you're not sure how long you are going to stay in the area, (b) you think you may only stay in the area for a couple of years, (c) you have no clue where you want to live and need time to look around, and/or (d) house prices are stagnant.

Remember that every time you buy/sell a house in the US through a realtor, they take 6% - that's why short-term home ownership is not always a good idea (unless the market is booming in which case increase in value will offset realtor's fees).

BritGuyTN

completely agree with the above - we rented for a year and then bought a house we would live in for many years

strim

Couldn't agree more. Also, the more quotes you gett the easier it will be to negotiate. I found that most lenders were prepared to match other offers and they were also prepared to drop fees, issue credits or adjust the rates in order to win the business.

Philgr

Is your husband going to be working for an established company? If so, ask their HR department if they have deals with any mortgage companies or Credit Unions. They often will.

If they do, these institutions are often be more willing to lend you money without a "normal" credit/work history as they can confirm your employment prospects with the employer. Once you have confirmation from one of these lenders that you can borrow the money it is easy to shop around with others and see if they will match/beat it. What's on offer may not be the best deal possible but you will at least know what you can get and work to improve it or just plan to refinance as soon as you become a more attractive prospect for other companies.

Good luck!

redlobster

Hi BritGuy,
We are hard working mortgage brokers, who gain a lot of business from repeat customers.
We love working closely with realtors as its a known fact that they never lie, and work for nothing.
Redlobster

rogerpenycate

I'm moving to Stamford, Connecticut (about 25 miles north of New York) for a new job,and looking at renting again.
The standard procedure in CT seems to be one month deposit + 2 months security deposit.
On the type of place we need to rent, that'll be about $5,000 deposit and nearly $20,000 a year to rent.
To me that's 'dead money' and I looked into buying.
My credit rating, it turns out is at last high enough for me to be offered a 100% mortgage (through Coldwell Banker) up to $200,000 and therefore the total deposit will be almost the equivalent of the closing costs.
There are some nice properties for sale in and around Bridgeport (if anyone knows the area some advice would be appreciated) in that price range.
It also seems to be a booming area so with prices still on the up buying seems to be my best option.
Any other advice abouot the area would be gratefully received
Roger

NC Penguin

Be aware that with each quote involves checking one's credit report and these enquiries appear on the credit report thereafter (for 18 months?). This is not seen positively by subsequent entities that obtain a copy of your credit report (they tend to think the worst., i.e. you were denied credit so that's why you've approached another mortgage provider).

Personally, you shouldn't need more than a couple of quotes, provided you do sufficient research about mortgage providers before obtaining the quotes.




NC Penguin