hannahjane86

Hi

My husband has been offered an inter company transfer via L1 to relocate to New Jersey. I have a few questions if anybody is able to assist....

We know the area extremely well and we will look to purchase a property ASAP. I have seen on other threads Wells Fargo and Bank of America offer mortgages within the first 12 months of relocating. Does anybody have a contact at either bank as their website requires a US phone number ( which I’m yet to obtain) for a call back and I wanted to have initial conversations whilst still in UK?

Does anybody have any recent experience of HSBC as I wondered if they offer mortgages based on UK credit score via their premier service?

How is the amount of mortgage US banks will lend calculated- is it the same as the Uk 3/4 x salary as a very approximate guide?

Has anybody recently had their L1 filed and can advise on their current timescales?

Do L2 visas have to have an interview at the embassy or is it just L1?

Thanks!

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE. Can't help with the mortgage side of things but yes, you will need an interview for the L2 as well. Timescales are all over the place at the moment due to the visa ban only having just ended and a year's worth of people now applying - we were supposed to be moving in the summer but have been told it'll be next year now. I saw mention the other day of January being the earliest appointments are available at the moment, but perhaps more may open up when Covid restrictions are lifted more.

Best of luck.

tht

I did not feel safe purchasing on a visa, I waited to have my GC in hand. Employment at will and a property in a country I would have no right to remain in was not a risk I was comfortable with.

I am HSBC premier and tried to use them to do the mortgage once my GC came through. They were terrible and almost cost me the deal. Luckily I found a broker who was able to secure a loan quickly (and at a better rate). Despite me putting 25% down they were offering me a loan that had PMI. I already had almost 18 months of US credit history by that point so I am not sure if they used my UK score, they had access to it.

If the market is as hot in NJ as it is in CT right now it could be an interesting experience buying... houses are going over ask here within a day or 2 if being listed if they are desirable.

TexanScot

I can't speak specifically to Wells Fargo, but my understanding was that you needed to provide two years worth of tax returns in order to prove income and employment stability, plus of course your credit history (or lack thereof as a new migrant) will have a pretty significant impact on the interest rate that you get offered.

You could certainly refinance a mortgage further down the line once you have a longer credit history and a better credit score, but the closing costs involved in refinancing can be significant.

It might be worth speaking to an independent broker who can advice you better for your specific set of circumstances.

yellowroom

How have you arrived at the decision to buy asap - are you fully aware of the differences between the UK and US housing market? There are several calculators out there that help you evaluate whether you are financially better off to buy vs rent https://www.calculator.net/rent-vs-buy-calculator.html or https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages...buy-calculator to start with.

I tend to agree with a previous poster that waiting to buy until you have a Green Card in hand would be a less risky proposition, as the family's permission to stay in the US is dependent on the job of the L1 visa holder.

robtuck

I purchased while still on the L1A, although Green Card application was signed up to by the company (the lawyers were working with me on the application at the time we closed on the house).

They usually ask for two years of tax returns, which you won't have but you can still go through the underwriting process with many mortgage providers - it just takes a bit of effort in pulling together documentation from the UK. I think Wells Fargo are one of the banks you would likely have success with.

We did find our options were limited in terms of rates to begin with, so we took out a mortgage on 4.99% initially and re-mortgaged two years later for a 2.5% rate.

hannahjane86

Thanks for all of your responses.

I appreciate our decision may make sense to some people but risky to others. We have a few other options in the background should my husbands employment cease in the future, so this is very much a permanent move.

does anybody have a contact at Wells Fargo that they could share with me?

interesting about embassy interviews- I wonder if that is for L1- I can’t imagine my husband’s work wanting to wait until next January, I will see what the lawyers say and keep people updated with our progress.

thanks again!

postbox134

When you lose your job as L-1 you have 14 days to leave the country. You can't transfer to any other employer. Unless you have some US family or similar, then you could be stuck very quickly. I know that's always in the back of my mind here currently as L-1B.

You should get in writing a greencard commitment from your husband's employer before you move if you think this is permanent.

hannahjane86

Yes I have a family sponsor pending but the priority date is not yet current so L1 route first so worst case if we had to return to Uk it would be temporary until family sponsor became valid.

christmasoompa

Yes, for L1. That's what we were due to be moving on too, our lawyers have said with a year's worth of people trying to get the appointments (and less available anyway due to Covid restrictions), they're not coming available for a long time.

Best of luck.

hannahjane86

Thank you- fingers crossed with restrictions lifting there maybe more available. At least it gives me more time to plan!

civilservant

28% front end ratio, 36% back end ratio is typical for conforming mortgage.

If you make $10,000 a month, maximum mortgage payment (plus tax, insurance etc) would be $2,800 month. This is then added to all other outstanding debt obligations to get back end ratio, that would beed to be below a total of $3,600 a month.

hannahjane86

thank you for explaining this so simplisticly- it makes complete sense and will give me a rough guide as to prices we can look at.

tht

Scroll past the adverts, and read about the different types of mortgages, in many areas of NJ you may be into the jumbo’s, but if not you need to pay attention to PMI (private mortgage insurance) on the 1. Conventional Loans. This can add from 0.5-1% to your rate and is to benefit the lender and not you. It is based on your loan to equity ratio and can be avoided with a 20% plus deposit.

https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/types-of-mortgages/

Also pay close attention to the property tax, these can be very high in NJ,NY,CT (Tri-State), and are often linked to the quality of schools if that’s a consideration.

LegalEagleTX

There have been some underwriting changes at the banks since COVID and they are a little more cautious. Both HSBC and BBVA don't require 2 years of U.S. tax returns for expats but their deposits are 25% and 30% as of November last year and I can't recall if a FICO2 credit score was required or not, I have a feeling it was. Getting a mortgage without a U.S. credit score and no U.S. tax filings will be very difficult and your options will be limited. Your rates will be significantly worse too. Just note that when it comes to calculating your mortgage affordability, your property tax is added to your mortgage payments. If in NJ it's 2.5% then on a property of $500,000 that is about $1,000 per month. Insurance is added as well, but that is less significant. Good luck - very exciting !