Hi,

What would people recommend - to buy or rent a house?

We're hoping to relocate to the Port St Lucie area of Florida in July 2019 and would really appreciate some guidance on renting a 4 bed house (3 kids and 2 small dogs). Other than the monthly rent, what other expenses can we expect to pay both monthly and upfront.

Also, Would it be possible to get a mortgage with a small (£10k) deposit?

I've contacted a few Realtors but their feedback has been limited!

Thanks

Ceri

https://www.realtor.com/apartments/P.../beds-4/pets-2

Chances are slim-to-non of getting a mortgage with only £10k deposit. You'll have zero credit history. Credit history is king here.

The above link is for pet-friendly rentals. Most rentals do not allow pets. Expect to put down 2-3 months rent as a security deposit.

In addition to the rental, expect anything from $250-$500 per month in utilities. In Florida, you'll be running air conditioning at least 10 months of the year.

I would say you'd be extremely lucky to get a mortgage here with no credit history and arriving from overseas. My advice would be to research thoroughly any neighbourhoods and neighbours where you consider if renting there's plenty of unpleasant ones! My total utilities are probably in the middle of chawkins estimate. Auto insurance will be much more expensive than you're used to in the UK and they don't take into consideration driving history. Most sub-divisions do not have fenced in yards as you have dogs to worry about and if its a pool home make sure to have a pool safety fence if you have very young children.

Can't talk about Port St. Lucie, although I have a cousin living there and two good friends, but I know in Ft. Myers where my sister lives, their gated community has plenty of houses for rent. Most are three bedrooms and 2-1/2 baths, but there are some like hers that are four bedrooms and allow pets. The house next door to her is rented because the doctor wanted to move to a gated community where the other doctors at the hospital live and they opted to rent out their house because the housing market wouldn't give them a good return on the many upgrades they did to the house. It is rented with animals allowed. In sis's community, all property must be fenced in. So I'm sure there are places like that in Port St. Lucie. Look at gated communities for rentals. They offer nice amenities, i.e. tennis courts, golf, pool, club house, social activities and the opportunity to learn about the various neighborhoods where you might like to own a home in a year or two. Sample of Ft. Myers, rental in a gated community: https://www.realtor.com/apartments/B..._Fort-Myers_FL

Get busy with building up your credit and many Brits start that with an Amex card in the UK that they can switch over to an American one later.

There certainly used to be an International Credit Report for Mortgages.

Also, 8 years ago, I got a mortgage at 3% down payment on a $63k property, FHA loan, but I was a PR at the time.

We moved to the US in June 2017 and were approved for a mortgage with 20% deposit in March 2018 so it is possible in a short space of time with good credit management.

Rent first is the general and well-regarded advice for all new arrivals.

Rent a place for 1-3 (or 6-12) months to get yourself settled and situated. The money you spend on rent will be evened out by the lower interest rate you'll get on a mortgage that more credit history you have. You'll also get a feel for neighborhoods and the area and even living in the USA. Grabbing a house with the artificial deadline of "we have to OWN a house now" can be problematic.