British Expats

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-   -   Moving to Florida (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/moving-florida-761845/)

FinJojo Jun 15th 2012 5:39 pm

Moving to Florida
 
"I wanna move to Florida cos I love it soooooo much when been here on holiday" -posts you think? Nope, how wrong you could be! ;)

A week ago never even dreamed of coming here. And then when we landed, it was raining so much, we were doing less than 40 on the highway. And it carried on raining for another 2 days. Not fun, or what one would expect from Florida. (especially with very little knowledge of the place).

And reading all the hurdles and problems people have with visas and whatnots, I wouldn't move here voluntarily. Well, out my pocket anyway.

Yet here we are, visa application in (L1A) And house on the pipeline (as in offer in, just going back and forth with price. And yes, I know we can't buy it without Ssn, but luckily there are LEGAL ways and means around it ... Especially when hubby's company are rather keen for him to relocate).

So just saying hello really and will keep an eye on this board to see useful info and what not to do.

Getting excited about our new life in the near future ...:thumbsup:

Jojo

RICH Jun 15th 2012 6:00 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 
Hello

Welcome to BE & to Florida! Which part?

Rich

Bob Jun 15th 2012 6:08 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 
Welcome to BE and good luck!

Though probably didn't want to be buying straight off as it's never a good idea, hope it works out :)

Jerseygirl Jun 15th 2012 6:32 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 
:welcome: to BE.

I agree with Bob...best to rent first for several reasons. Plenty of Brits buy property to use in the winter months...I doubt they have a SSN.

ian-mstm Jun 15th 2012 10:51 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 

Originally Posted by FinJojo (Post 10121289)
I know we can't buy it without Ssn...

Really? That'll be news to the thousands who legally buy property in the US without a SSN.

Ian

AdobePinon Jun 15th 2012 11:44 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 
Good use of the smiley troll. :)

FinJojo Jun 16th 2012 4:00 am

Re: Moving to Florida
 
What I should have said Is that we can't get a mortgage here without Ssn, or that's what we were told. And buying a holiday home is a little different than moving to a different country permanently to work. And we don't want to rent at all, considering the house we are looking at buying is twice the size and half as much in pounds compared to our house in the uk (living in Surrey has its down sides) so we are happy to invest... Plus a small mortgage gets credit records going nicely... as we are still debating if we should get any credit cards other then the one each we have through our bank in the uk. And not often would you find a house big enough for our family (6 of us plus 2 cats and a med size dog) that the rent would be cheaper than getting a small mortgage. Usually it's the other way round, as long as you have a big enough down payment. And they didn't have any rental property in the right school catchment area anyhow... So our way might not be right for everyone, but it's what suits us :o

And moving about an hour south of Orlando, Brevard county.

So off to home we head tomorrow from the floridian sun to start packing the house and sorting everything out back in the uk ... Woohoo! So excited now! :p

Bob Jun 16th 2012 4:14 am

Re: Moving to Florida
 

Originally Posted by FinJojo (Post 10121958)
What I should have said Is that we can't get a mortgage here without Ssn, or that's what we were told. And buying a holiday home is a little different than moving to a different country permanently to work. And we don't want to rent at all, considering the house we are looking at buying is twice the size and half as much in pounds compared to our house in the uk (living in Surrey has its down sides) so we are happy to invest... Plus a small mortgage gets credit records going nicely... as we are still debating if we should get any credit cards other then the one each we have through our bank in the uk. And not often would you find a house big enough for our family (6 of us plus 2 cats and a med size dog) that the rent would be cheaper than getting a small mortgage. Usually it's the other way round, as long as you have a big enough down payment. And they didn't have any rental property in the right school catchment area anyhow... So our way might not be right for everyone, but it's what suits us :o

Good luck...but it's still usually a bad idea unless you've lived in the area for a while.

It's all the other things like realising the maintenance costs, property taxes, running costs with AC in particular for Florida, if HOA's are involved, those hassles too, and then flood/hurricane insurance etc.

Especially when selling a house is so much more expensive here compared to the UK.

You'd also want to sort out credit cards. A mortgage will help, but it's varied as well as length that builds your credit and it affects everything here, from needing to put down deposits on your utilities, to the rates for your loans, insurance and pretty much everything else.

You also don't need a SSN to get a mortgage, decent broker should be able to help. Of course you won't get the best rates going and it won't build you credit history until you have one, but without history, you wouldn't get best rates anyway.

GeoffM Jun 16th 2012 4:15 am

Re: Moving to Florida
 

Originally Posted by FinJojo (Post 10121958)
Plus a small mortgage gets credit records going nicely... as we are still debating if we should get any credit cards other then the one each we have through our bank in the uk.

Welcome.

There's stuff on credit in the Wiki here but for starters:
1. I'm assuming you don't have any US credit history. The chances of getting a mortgage without one are rather slim but not impossible if you have a huge deposit and there's an expat agency who claim to be able to help. [Edit - and as Bob says, high interest rates (because you're an unknown quantity)]
2. Same for credit cards. You ought to be able to get a secured card, by putting down a deposit which becomes your credit limit. If you've had AMEX for a good few months then you ought to be able to get an unsecured card through them - the official line is that you must have had the card for one year but some here have done it in 3-4 months. It also needs to be a genuine AMEX card and not a reseller backed by AMEX.

Basically your UK credit history is worthless to all except small, family businesses. My 999 Experian score in the UK worked in the latter case (house rental and car loan) but meant nothing to the big boys (credit cards etc).

GeoffM Jun 16th 2012 4:20 am

Re: Moving to Florida
 
Out of interest then, how did this come about? Company in the UK, got offered a transfer to the US? Have you got a green card written into the contract, if appropriate? Any idea of timescales, or when did the application go in? Good luck!

RICH Jun 16th 2012 4:30 am

Re: Moving to Florida
 
Sounds exciting! So you are just here scoping out the area? The visa is underway and the house is picked. Sounds like you are all set.

I was under the impression that a small mortgage could be obtained once one had a SSN and a credit history. I was not aware getting a mortgage would get the credit records going, that would have been useful when I arrived.

Do keep us up to date how things are going as lots of people read this to gain valuable information. Feel free to ask questions. Many people here have more knowledge than me.:)

edit: some of them replied while I was typing. I am a bit slow:p

Bob Jun 16th 2012 1:55 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 

Originally Posted by RICH (Post 10122010)

I was under the impression that a small mortgage could be obtained once one had a SSN and a credit history. I was not aware getting a mortgage would get the credit records going, that would have been useful when I arrived.

You start to build up credit history as soon as you pick up credit...it doesn't mean anything till you've hit six months mark when it starts to get reported, but won't count for much till you have a years worth of history.

One line of credit alone also doesn't mean very much, but a mortgage is better than just a credit card.

Getting a mortgage without a SSN is possible, generally harder to get, generally with a really shit rate and requiring massive deposits, but without a SSN you won't build up any history.

FinJojo Jun 16th 2012 2:31 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 
Visa application went in few days ago, and yes, we were here scoping.... On company expenses. The company is American that bought the small British company 18 months ago that my husband works for. Now they're closing that particular office completely and they asked if we'd like to relocate. I was rather against it before coming here, merely on the basis that it was a big unknown, like I said before I've never been here before. Now all for it ;) and yes, green card is in the offer letter, they are obliged to start the process within 3 months of us being eligible for it. And time scales as I've understood is early/late fall

Now I'm looking forward to a new experience as we've been far too long in the uk. We used to move a lot, We have lived in Spain, Belgium, luxembourgh, Germany (twice), scandinavia, and even Brazil. We know there's going to be a lot things that we don't know about and might even shock us, but life is about adventures, and we are ready for this one. We are both still young (early thirties) and are willing to risk things for this experience. It's not as risky as it might sound to some as my husband is in a good position in his job (he will be made VP) and we also have rental property in the uk that we will leave behind, so if we want to go back, there is somewhere to go to. Plus I will always have a place to go to in my country (I'm actually Scandinavian) that we use at the moment as a holiday home back there and I'm planning to go during summer vacation months with my kids when we live here.

Like I said in my second post, the way we do things doesn't suit everyone, or most likely no one, and I would never suggest doing it this way, as renting is a good way to start in a new place (my sisters hubby has also been asked to move to Florida, and I did say that renting is the way forward. But they don't have animals and only 2 children, so it's a lot easier for them to find a right size place). But we have moved around and do know to expect hurdles and problems, and as long as one doesn't expect things to be like they are back home, it makes things smoother. We have got the added bonus of me being Scandinavian, and the way they do things here, is more like the way they do it back home.

Well, for the next few months there won't be much to report. I will be reading things here to get tips and advice. And whilst waiting our visas and and everything to be sorted, I will be going back to my country as I don't want one of boys to go to school in England (he would have started reception) and don't see much point in that as they start that year later here and in my country not for another 3 years. So easier transition in regards to schools.

Gosh, I'm just rambling on and trying to justify our decisions, when I know no one will quite understand our decision on most things. So will stop now, and thank you all for you advice, look forward to more as anything and everything is helpful, even if we won't follow it. But at least it will give another perspective to look at things ;P

Jojo

GeoffM Jun 16th 2012 2:46 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 
Sounds like you have a strong basis for moving and have things well in hand! Good luck and keep us updated.

Bob Jun 16th 2012 2:53 pm

Re: Moving to Florida
 
Good luck then :)

Hope the company will be stumping for a good accountant, your taxes are going to be a nightmare to deal with, houses in two foreign countries and all that foreign income :D


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