deaks

Surfing the web in work today, I stumbled on this lot. http://www.imortgagematch.com/

We are hopefully moving to Berks county PA at the end of this year.

When we move we will be in a zero debt situation and will have a fairly reasonable chunk of US dollar funds ($200k ish) from the sale of our house in the UK.

Now, I'm afraid that a few years ago my business closed due to a serious eye problem that I developed (sorted now ) anyway this unfortunate situation caused me some major financial issues and it has taken me almost two years to get anywhere near sorting it out. Therefore my credit report (from experian UK) is pretty shite even though I have paid many of my creditors off.
(The shit sticks with you for some time that's for sure).

I know that when we come to the states we will effectivley have no credit rating at all (better than bad credit I suppose). We really want to buy a house as soon as possible to minimise the upheaval for our two teenage daughters.

Anyway.....This imortgage.com lot reckon they can do me a mortgage (as long as I put down 30%) with no checks or verification whatsoever !!!!!!

The rates seem OK (but not great) at between 5.5% and 6.5% for a 5 year ARM.

Has anyone dealt with these guys, or know anything that I should know about them.?

I think I might be worrying about my crappy UK credit rating too much. I have had my UK mortgage with Northern Rock for years and it only shows that I missed one payment, when in actual fact I made two payments in one month and instead of crediting one to each month they put two in one and none in the other ( I hope that makes sense).

I also have a secured loan that I have always paid bang on time every month for the last year. (that was to pay off barclays from my closed business )

So I am pretty sure that I can get two decent payment history letters from them or at the very least show mortgage statements with payment history.

What other documentation would a 'more mainstream' lender require from someone who has only just moved to the USA to ensure a decent rate?

Someone on here suggested that it is a good idea to open a bank account at the same bank as yaur US employer (susquhala (sp) patriot bank in my case)

I'm going to need a whole range of services from checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards (secured if I need to) etc etc.

I'm getting so confused about all this shite and my labor cert is due to be approved (hopefully) soon, so I need to start sorting things out.

Please help

Deaks (andrew)

ladylisa

Your UK credit history is completely irrelevant here, thats actually a problem for most of us but luckily not for you I would shop around for a mortgage before committing to any one company.

fatbrit

Rule #1: The US mortgage market is very different from the UK one. I recommend a minimum of The Mortgage Professor for your background reading before you even start.

There is no such thing as a mainstream lender. There are however 2 distinct sorts of persons who can arrange your loan: those such as the banks and building societies in Blighty (here: banks, credit unions and Savings & Loan/Thrift), and independent brokers who will shop your loans both around the both the public and private institutions (like an independent insurance broker in the UK). The banks generally have narrow criteria and not as much choice but can sometimes offer the best deal provided you fit within their box. Independent brokers usually have a much more flexible portfolio, and this is where you are with imortgagematch.com. Do note that no-one in the US arranging your loan has a fiduciary duty to you – caveat emptor!

Generally, you will not qualify for a standard prime loan with your lack of US history for at least 2 to 3 years. Some suggestion on how to start building your credit history are available here and also by searching this forum. Do not delay!

However, you are outside the mainstream of US mortgages and in the niche area. A 30% down, no-documentation loan is your best (possibly only!) bet as you have been offered. The rate sounds reasonable, but you need to take into account the upfront fees for the loan since the broker will make at both the front (on fees) and back (on the rate) of your loan. Some front fees are necessary (e.g. title company, title insurance, recording), while others are mainly the broker’s profit (e.g. loan origination, broker’s fee, points). While nobody is going to sell you a loan for nothing, it helps if you understand that you cannot judge the loan merely by the rate.

Whether a 5/25 ARM is right for you is difficult to say without knowing your outlook. To highlight the differences between the two systems though, my younger sister called me a while back from Blighty to tell me the good news that she had bought her first house and she was very pleased with the loan since in was fixed. Further questioning from me determined that it was fixed for two years! She seemed taken aback when I explained that in the US that is an adjustable loan, and when I talk about fixed I mean 15 or 30 or even 40 years.

BTW, as luck would have it your crappy UK credit history has no bearing on a US credit history whatsoever. I don’t think I’d go as far as stating no history was better than a bad history, but welcome to your new start, anyway.