maxs mom

My husband and I will be moving to the Houston area (via the UK on a K3 spousal visa-I'm a US citizen) by the years end and are looking to secure a mortgage before moving permanently - although many bloggers say to rent first (we have a newborn and 2 year-old so easiest path is best). We've been to Houston before to look at houses and we're very optimistic about both jobs and the housing markets, tilting in our favor so renting is not priority for us. I've read various blogs the Well's Fargo offers international mortgages to people emigrating to the US...without their SSN first. Does anyone have experiences with Well's Fargo mortages for British citizens?

By the way, before anyone comments or asks, my credit was tarnished when I moved to the UK 3 years ago, which is why I'm not the one seeking the mortgage (poor credit rating, I won't qaulify).

Any advice, experience or opinions on foreign mortgages or moving experiences is greatly apprecitated.

'Cheers'!

Duncan Roberts

A poor credit rating will probably still be better than what your husband would be able to get, if they even will deal with him since he will have no credit rating.

SpoogleDrummer

Have you checked it? Unless you said "Bugger it" and left a bunch of unpaid bills behind it may not be too bad. As already stated a bad credit score is better than none. My wife had medical bills against her yet they still prefered her score to mine as I had no history. Can't you get a co-signer? My father-in-law had perfect credit and co-signed my mortgage. This was despite him being on disability so there was no way he could pay our mortgage should I fail to pay it, but apparently a good credit score is more important than actually having the means to pay.

Bluegrass Lass

As other's have said, bad credit is better than no credit. You can go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com and see what is outstanding (if anything) on your credit history from all 3 credit bureaus. It won't give you a score (you'll need to pay for that probably), but will show judgements, etc you may have against you.

There are tons of threads on here about relocating, moving companies, etc. so just do a search and I'm sure you'll come across plenty.

Good luck!

maxs mom

Thanks for the quick responses.

In a word (or two): it's buggered. With the lending habit's in today's climate there just no way for me to get a mortgage. Yes, there's good 'old mom to fall back on...if all else fails. But that's not the path I'd like to take.

I've read that if his UK credit cards (banks) are also in the US, then there's a possibility of 'transferring' his credit to an account there. That may help our cause as well. We have enough assets to be deemed credit worthy for a mortgage. And if it still a no go...then we go mortgage free - on a cheaper house

I'll find out soon enough and update this thread; I have an appointment to speak to a mortgage specialist with Well's Fargo this week and will be calling Amex tonight.

Thanks again.

rew1000

I would suggest that having no US credit record is not necessarily a problem if you're putting enough money down - a colleague of mine moved over and bought a house without a problem. This was a couple of years ago, in different times, but still...

MsElui

i came over with a three year old and a 11 month old and we moved into 2 rentals before we bought. Im very glad we did rent - it was hassle but it meant we ended up with the perfect home in the perfect area as we understand far more about the various locales now and also what we want in a house here (now we have lived here and seen whats important - not just relying in what we did in the uk).

Giantaxe

In a word - rent - until either you've improved your credit and/or your husband gets a credit record. No financial rush to buy given the current housing/economic mess and you'll likely have a much better idea of where you really want to live by looking around at neighborhoods for a while before buying.

maxs mom

Well, I must say that I am a fan of renting first before buying, for all the obvious reasons stated...and then some. However, I have a husband that thinks differently! So to avoid conflict and to eventually have the privilege of saying 'I told you so' down the line, I'm willing to try it his way. I have however, set very strict guidelines to where we'll buy. As I'm currently on maternity leave, I've been doing loads of research about all the pertinent areas and we were in Houston for 3 weeks last X-Mas so, I'm not flying totally blind.

cranston

As an alternative, hsbc offer such a mortgage service to their premier clients.

Giantaxe

Why is he so insistent on buying? In your (lack of) credit circumstances and the current financial market, I can't see a financial rush to buy at all. Are there non-financial reasons that are making him so insistent?

maxs mom

Thanks Cranston.

I was aware of this as they are a prominent Uk bank as well. We don't hold an account there, or Well's Fargo for that fact, but generally speaking, banks tend not to stray too far apart from one another. So, I figured I'd start with one and find out what they say before going to the other - if necessary. And most of the Internet blogs I've read speak more about Well's Fargo than HSBC so that's why I'm starting there.

Cheers!

celticgrid

Be aware that having assets does not translate into credit worthiness. You could spend the assets tomorrow if you wanted. Only applies if you effectively tie your assets to the loan...

See below.

Yes, still seems to apply. Got a mortgage from Wells Fargo at the start of this year with effectively no credit rating but I was putting a substantial percentage down in cash. And some help from my employer in dealing with Wells Fargo.

lansbury

We purchased our house in 2005 a year before moving to the US.

The mortgage was arranged all online and by phone with Wells Fargo with whom we had US checking and savings accounts in both our names. I am the UK citizen they would not take into account any of my earnings nor allow me to be on the mortgage because I did not have a SSN. It had to be done only in the name of the US citizen.

cranston

https://www.wellsfargo.com/inatl/con...rsonal_banking

contact number for Wells Fargo London