US Mortgages/Credit Card

[Jan]

Hi
As a new member I am finding your site really useful and welcoming.
We arrived here in November after waiting 40 weeks for our E2 appointment and we just can't beieve how difficult everything is.
I have 2 questions today:
1.How can I get a US Credit Card???? I have called all of the US Banks and none of them are prepared to even offer us a "secured" card, despite the fact that we have significant savings on deposit with one of the big US banks. They all say that because we have no Credit History/Score that they cannot give us a CC. How can we get a Credit History if no-one will give us a card???? Also why can't they access our UK Credit Record??? I am getting so friustrated....if anyone has been there, seen it, done it, please, please let me know if there is a solution.
2. Question 2 is about how we get a US mortgage. I had a meeting with one of the biggest US lenders last week, and she told me that because we are self employed (E2 Visa Holders) and don't have 2 years accounts coupled with the fact we have no credit score that we will struggle to get a US mortgage at all.....Please help me before I pull my hair out!!!!
Trying not to be disillusioned but it seems that every time we take one tiny step forward we take 25 back!!!
Thanks for keeping me sane!
Jan

[Grumpy]

Hi

Contact Bank of America

They used to allow you to give them x amount which is secured against you defalting againt the credit card. They will only give you a credit card up to the amount you deposit with them

After you have had the card for about 12 months, providing you make all payment on time they will give you your secured deposit money back

Bank of American, is to issue credit card to illegals and read about it on the web, sorry cannot remmebr the link, can anyone help find and post

[lorraine]

Hi Jan been here nearly 2 years and have just got a credit card with 500 limit which I am using and paying off to build credit score. I have a mortgage with world savings bank and will be changing it 1st June to another lender as we would have been here 2 years then and the options are better. Be very careful when applying for credit you will get loads of post saying you have been pre appoved when you apply and get turned down your credit score goes down also. Our bank manager who is british advised us to not apply for any store cards etc for at least 1 and half years. Put your social security number with everything you pay ie electric water etc so as to build your credit rating. I also have heard same with Bank America that you can use your own money in holding account and get card which will build your history quicker.
Good luck kind regards Lorraine

[chris]

Jan,
Can I make this suggestion? Go to the smaller banks for your banking business. Some are community banks and you also have creidt unions too. The big banks such as Bank of America treat you as a number, just like the big banks in the UK. By contrast the smaller banks treat you as a person, you'll get closer to your banker and you'll get more out of them. God, I go to my Bank Managers birthday parties!
We banked with BoA for over 7 years and get very little out of them apart from hassle and poor drive thru service. Our bank now is CenterState Bank Central Florida and I can't speak too highly of them. My Manager gives me free business banking too. We get all the whistles and bells of debit/credit cards, etc. Give the smaller ones a whirl. You've nothing to lose and everything to gain.
As a newbie you will find building up your credit difficult to start with. We gor a Sears Card to start with and that helped. We also got a CCard through MBNA as was, as we had MBNA cards back in the UK. I wasn't automatic and they took some persuading but we got them. Maybe try something like BP for a fuel card too.

[Nick]

I managed to get a credit card via Natwest on their expat service, albeit a few years ago now. This helped me build credit and eventually the US unsecured cards started flowing in!

[DEE F]

Hi Jan yeh Chris is absolutely right, go to Centrestate they are brilliant,what we did when we first got here was deposit $1000 dollars as Bobby says,and you get Card, albeit you are spending your own money, it all helps with credit ratings,btw Centrestate also do mortgages, cant paraise these people enough,they listen amd deal with every case on their merits, real people woohoo, go see em , you have nothing to lose.


Dee xx

[Jax]

When we came over we were told to transfer our Uk amex card to a Us amex card and that worked as we started from day 1 getting a credit score

[britcan]

Hi
As a new member I am finding your site really useful and welcoming.
We arrived here in November after waiting 40 weeks for our E2 appointment and we just can't beieve how difficult everything is.
I have 2 questions today:
1.How can I get a US Credit Card???? I have called all of the US Banks and none of them are prepared to even offer us a "secured" card, despite the fact that we have significant savings on deposit with one of the big US banks. They all say that because we have no Credit History/Score that they cannot give us a CC. How can we get a Credit History if no-one will give us a card???? Also why can't they access our UK Credit Record??? I am getting so friustrated....if anyone has been there, seen it, done it, please, please let me know if there is a solution.
2. Question 2 is about how we get a US mortgage. I had a meeting with one of the biggest US lenders last week, and she told me that because we are self employed (E2 Visa Holders) and don't have 2 years accounts coupled with the fact we have no credit score that we will struggle to get a US mortgage at all.....Please help me before I pull my hair out!!!!
Trying not to be disillusioned but it seems that every time we take one tiny step forward we take 25 back!!!
Thanks for keeping me sane!
Jan
You should be able to get them to access your credit bureau in the UK. equifax is all over the world and thats who most financial institutions use. You can get your credit report yourself online in front of them in their office and then get them to print it out, that way they can see that you have not altered any of the contents.

#Type in 'secured visa usa' into Google and you will see a link to a secured visa card, try this as well.I work in Canada in a bank and I can access USa credit bureau for Canadians who are returning to Canada from USA and want a mortgage.

[lorraine]

Sorry that doesnt work they not interested in UK history at all. I gave them equifax report, mortgage company I actually paid for a full on ref no one over here interested. You need to build history here. World savings normally give brits mortgage. Good luck

[britcan]

Thats too bad. The American banking system seems to be very arrogant not to be able to use oversea's credit bureau's. I can even get bureau for UK citizens here in Canada.

Well try the secured credit card visa via the google link.Please let me know how that goes.

[McSporran]

Hi Jan,
Chris is right CentreState are great, so are Wachovia (although i think this definately depends on which branch), I'm not sure where you are, but if you want me to pm you our contacts details at our branch I will definately do that. I also have a good mortgage contact, who has experience dealing with ex-pats and she gives great advice on building your credit score too.
Let me know and I'll pm you.

[floridapete]

Hello Jan, so there you have a variety of answers on the credit card question. Now what about your US mortgage problems ?

Well, in retrospect, it would have been wiser and easier for you to have sourced a US mortgage on a Florida property whilst you still had the benefit of your UK employment and UK credit status profile. That would have counted while you were still there (buying a 'second home' or a 'vacation home').

But now you are in Florida, with no other US income than your E2 business which is so new that it won't count for two years yet, I don't see any way that you will get a US mortgage for quite a while - until you can qualify on your US circumstances alone.

I would imagine that most people on here emigrated AFTER they had bought their Florida home on the strength of their UK income.

Or am I wrong - are most of you renting ?

[Bobby]

My mortgage adviser sets me up on what they call "stated income" loans for our homes. I'm sure Pegasus (or anyone else in finance) can fill us in on the specifics.

Basically all I've had to do was tell them that I earn x amount and show 6 months future payments in the bank as well as a 20-25% deposit. It's possible to do.

They are actually getting tighter underwriting loans, as my mortgage broker says that when people are foreclosed on now, they are blaming (and able to take action against) the company that financed them! How bizarre.

Anyway, back to the original request for mortgage info for a relatively newbie. It IS possible to get a mortgage. If you'd like (or anyone else) my mortgage broker's details then please PM me. He has successfully got me 4 or 5 loans over the past 2 years or so without any W-2's or inside leg etc.

Bobby

PS. I'm not on commission either :)

[DebbieM]

We too purchased our house 3 months AFTER moving here and it was approved in two weeks, we did put a chunk of change down though as we felt this was the best way to invest our money rather than let it dwindle away in rent - if my memory serves me correctly I think it was 25%. We knew the house we brought would be for the long term so the falling property market doesn't worry us too much.

Credit offers came flooding in after we had a mortgage for about 4 months although in the beginning I did feel a bit like Julie Roberts in Pretty Woman (my husband tells me in my dreams but I only said feel and NOT look) where you have a wad of cash in your pocket and no one will give you anything.

We kicked off our credit history by loaning the bank $25,000 to purchase a truck with an interest rate of 3.25%. They then lent us back 90% at a rate of 7.25%!!!! Work that one out - needless to say once we were established we paid it off pronto. It was a way of getting on the ladder and it worked so no regrets.

Do you realize that the electricty and phone people wont even turn your services on without you putting a deposit down with them? Our power supplier is Progress Engergy and they have had $500 of mine for nearly two years - I'm hoping for a rebate soon.

How the tables turn though, we couldn't even get cell phones on contract without a $500 per phone deposit for 2 years. We opted for pre paid which worked well, but now we have just migrated over to contract and when they ran a credit check on me I was eligible to have 10 lines!!! Take whatever credit you can get and pay promptly, it wont take long for your payment history to do the rounds and you will soon start getting that annoying junk mail.

Remember though no SS# no credit history.

Debs

[Bobby]

Debbie,

You can get a credit history with an ITIN (Tax ID #).

Bobby

[DebbieM]

Hi Bobby

My kids have ITIN numbers but cannot get credit from them. My eldest has pre approved credit cards dropping through the door but as soon as she is unable to supply a SS # she is denied.

I'd be interested in how to get her on the ladder if you have any ideas.

Debs

[InnVic]

We were faily lucky here in VT - our attorney has lunch with our bank manager and they 'arranged" the mortgage for us before we arrived - we just turned up and signed :-) Jon bought a BMW motorbike and used their finance to establish credit - as he had bought BMW bikes on credit in the UK and we had paperwork to prove all paid off on time thank you they arranged to give us their prefered rate (4%) we now have apretty good credit rating and so are now getting a credit card from our bank. We did get Citibank and Capital one cards in the UK before we moved out here thinking they'd transfer over - no such luck!