Go Back  British Expats > Living & Moving Abroad > USA
Reload this Page >

Mortgages & Credit Score

Mortgages & Credit Score

Old Apr 11th 2012, 9:01 am
  #16  
Banned
 
Joined: Apr 2012
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 8
bambieboy is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: Mortgages & Credit Score

Originally Posted by Mark Ridley
Good question. However, I will have no overseas income because I would have quit and already moved to, say, rented property in the States. I could sell my uk home and use that as a deposit on a house in the States whilst renting here thus showing an ability to repay. However, the home will be classed as either a buy to let or a holiday home and will attract a higher rate of interest which will already be high as it is an overseas property.

I have since found out that Wells Fargo offer a 'secured' credit card. So, you place up to $10,000 with them and they offer a credit card up to that value. However, ironically they will still credit score you to see if you are eligible.
As you are still working now, you do have overseas income and the bank will approved your mortgage based on your current situation.

As you are not moving until next summer, I presume you would rent out your property to have some rental income to support for your mortgage repayment. You could notify the bank once you move to US and occupy the house for own use so they could switch the classification into "owner occupied" instead of a buy-to-let mortgage. What sort of interest rate are you looking at?
bambieboy is offline  
Old Apr 11th 2012, 2:48 pm
  #17  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Apr 2010
Location: Issaquah, WA
Posts: 274
AddyLaddy has a spectacular aura aboutAddyLaddy has a spectacular aura aboutAddyLaddy has a spectacular aura about
Default Re: Mortgages & Credit Score

Originally Posted by Mark Ridley
I have since found out that Wells Fargo offer a 'secured' credit card. So, you place up to $10,000 with them and they offer a credit card up to that value. However, ironically they will still credit score you to see if you are eligible.
I have one of those with $1000 down and it did help build my score. But be warned, I've had it over 1 year now and it's not easy to get your original money back - apart from closing the account or applying for a new unsecured one. I don't want to do either of those currently, whilst we get a mortgage approved.
AddyLaddy is offline  
Old Apr 11th 2012, 7:11 pm
  #18  
Septic Sprout
 
tonrob's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 7,993
tonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond reputetonrob has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Mortgages & Credit Score

Originally Posted by Mark Ridley
I have since found out that Wells Fargo offer a 'secured' credit card. So, you place up to $10,000 with them and they offer a credit card up to that value. However, ironically they will still credit score you to see if you are eligible.
Originally Posted by AddyLaddy
I have one of those with $1000 down and it did help build my score. But be warned, I've had it over 1 year now and it's not easy to get your original money back - apart from closing the account or applying for a new unsecured one. I don't want to do either of those currently, whilst we get a mortgage approved.
I used a BOA secured card when I arrived and that was a piece of piss. They unsecured it without me having to ask after 6 months and I just popped into a branch to reclaim my money.

By the way - a common school of thought is that it's actually better to go for a lower limit on one of these rather than a higher one, as there seems to be a 'sweet spot' in terms of credit utilization that will go best in your favour. The figure seems to be about 33%. I asked for just a $500 limit with my card, so I spent $160-$170 a month, paying off in full each time. The most difficult part was keeping track so that I spent that amount - the rest was easy.
tonrob is offline  
Old Apr 12th 2012, 2:47 am
  #19  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Apr 2012
Location: Boston
Posts: 18
Mark Ridley is an unknown quantity at this point
Smile Re: Mortgages & Credit Score

Thanks all. Super helpful.
Mark Ridley is offline  
Old Apr 12th 2012, 4:55 pm
  #20  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Apr 2010
Location: Issaquah, WA
Posts: 274
AddyLaddy has a spectacular aura aboutAddyLaddy has a spectacular aura aboutAddyLaddy has a spectacular aura about
Default Re: Mortgages & Credit Score

Originally Posted by AddyLaddy
Our mortgage approval was a little painful too as they wanted to validate our credit history in the UK. We had to let them ring all our UK CC companies and get them to detail our account status and history over the phone (with us asking the questions).
Also, they have demanded 2 years IRS tax returns to get approval. We've just submitted #2, so hopefully final underwriting will now be good.
An update. We were told by the IRS our 2011 filing would take up to 12 weeks to process as we needed to get ITIN numbers for the kids. Having 2 year's tax returns, fully processed by the IRS, was a condition of our loan put on us by Fannie Mae and the underwriters.
So with 2 weeks before closing this was bad news. Thankfully some further negotiations with the underwriters and Fannie Mae (and a big deposit) have meant they have dropped that condition on our mortgage. Phew!
AddyLaddy is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.