opening a bank account and transferring money, buying a house
Jan 15th 2003, 1:03 pm
#1
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Joined: Jan 2003
Location: uk
Posts: 25
opening a bank account and transferring money, buying a house
We're wondering if anyone has transfered any money across to America with them? How'd you go about doing it? Since he can't open a bank account without a social sercurity number, how is he expected to establish some sort of credit rating?
Also, we're going to be able to put down a pretty good down payment on a house. What can of troubles have you run into with getting a house financed without a credit rating in the US?
Also, we're going to be able to put down a pretty good down payment on a house. What can of troubles have you run into with getting a house financed without a credit rating in the US?
Jan 15th 2003, 5:04 pm
#2
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Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Ft Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 4,792
Not sure why you do not have SSN#? At least one of you?
Transfering money is easy, wire transfer $20 - $40. Depends on your Bank & what your account status is. Of course you would need to open an account in USA, so you can transfer too. Ideally a major Bank, that handles foreign transactions Chase/City/HKSB etc.
If you transfer funds from UK Bank to USA, then usually no questions asked. If you carry cash/bonds/money orders/travel checks totalling more then $10k, you will need to fill out forms. And may need to prove where you got it from. If you walkin to a bank & deposit more then $10k, the bank will notify the FED's. Therefore wire transfer is least intrusive/safest/quickest.
When applying for a mortgage, the bank will want proof of where the deposit money came from if, it has been in your account for less then 60 days. The reason for this, is they don't want you to have borrowed the deposit from someone else or credit cards/other loans. They will sometimes except gift letters, ie. you put down 10% get matching gift from family. 25% deposit will get you a "No Income Verification Mortgage".
Reg. Frank R.
Ps. if you do a search on this site there are many threads on the subject of opening bank accounts & building up a credit rating.
Transfering money is easy, wire transfer $20 - $40. Depends on your Bank & what your account status is. Of course you would need to open an account in USA, so you can transfer too. Ideally a major Bank, that handles foreign transactions Chase/City/HKSB etc.
If you transfer funds from UK Bank to USA, then usually no questions asked. If you carry cash/bonds/money orders/travel checks totalling more then $10k, you will need to fill out forms. And may need to prove where you got it from. If you walkin to a bank & deposit more then $10k, the bank will notify the FED's. Therefore wire transfer is least intrusive/safest/quickest.
When applying for a mortgage, the bank will want proof of where the deposit money came from if, it has been in your account for less then 60 days. The reason for this, is they don't want you to have borrowed the deposit from someone else or credit cards/other loans. They will sometimes except gift letters, ie. you put down 10% get matching gift from family. 25% deposit will get you a "No Income Verification Mortgage".
Reg. Frank R.
Ps. if you do a search on this site there are many threads on the subject of opening bank accounts & building up a credit rating.
Jan 16th 2003, 1:07 pm
#3
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Joined: May 2002
Location: Living in Oblivion
Posts: 3,668
Here you go, we just did it. We just bought a house in the US. Because Ellen has been living in the UK for 7 years they won't accept her credit score from America so they did an international credit check on us both (they asked us for the name of all the credit cards we had and accounts we held in the UK).
Transferring money is easy, you need a US bank account but if you open it in person it is very simple, if you open if over the phone (like we did) it was a bit more difficult. I take it one of you has a SSN, if not you have to open it in person.
As for building up a credit rating there are several ways to get one quite quickly.
1. get a secured credit card
2. get a sears store card
3. make sure the non-american is put on all the utilities.
They cannot give you a credit rating based on your UK credit score, even though they can check it for the mortgage - its a one time deal for the sole purposes of giving you a mortgage, I asked.
I have a MBNA credit card in the UK and MBNA US said I could have one here based on my UK credit with MBNA bank - another step on the ladder.
Good Luck
Patrick
Transferring money is easy, you need a US bank account but if you open it in person it is very simple, if you open if over the phone (like we did) it was a bit more difficult. I take it one of you has a SSN, if not you have to open it in person.
As for building up a credit rating there are several ways to get one quite quickly.
1. get a secured credit card
2. get a sears store card
3. make sure the non-american is put on all the utilities.
They cannot give you a credit rating based on your UK credit score, even though they can check it for the mortgage - its a one time deal for the sole purposes of giving you a mortgage, I asked.
I have a MBNA credit card in the UK and MBNA US said I could have one here based on my UK credit with MBNA bank - another step on the ladder.
Good Luck
Patrick
