Buying a house with new greencard

MarkJD

I had a quick question maybe for anyone that has gone over on the Green card.

How does it work if you want to buy a house in the US when you first get your Greencard? If you have been saving in Ireland does that have any relevance in the US? Are you expected to start a bank account over there and save for a number of years first?

Talking in terms of getting a Mortgage for a property and not having all the cash up front.

silja

**** OP- I moved your post to it's own thread as it had nothing to do with the DV lottery process itself. ****

If you have enough savings to buy a house outright, then being new to the country and just having a new greencard won;t mater. Don't laugh at the idea- depending on where you move to, buying a house with small garden can be very affordable! Lots of foreclosed properties around still.

Your savings in Ireland won't matter in terms of your credit score (ie likelyhood to get a mortgage), but having a good job will, and of course the more money you can put in yourself, through your savings from Ireland, the better the chance you will get a mortgage. That being said, it is fairly unlikely to get a mortgage in your first few months of being here unless you have a great job and only a very small mortgage. Many people suggest renting for a year in your chosen area anyway, to get used to it, find out the good and bad areas to live, and figure out if the area in general truly suits you before buying a home.

MarkJD

Thanks for making the thread sorry should have made a new one myself and thanks for the reply!

Sounds fairly reasonable and what i would expect. Main reason for asking was that ultimately the plan is to buy here but that could change so I wanted to get an idea of how it worked. Fair point on the renting, I just hate renting iv done it for over a year and when i look back it was just money wasted.

Are you currently living over there yourself on a greencard?

rockonollie

Get yourself established first, open a credit card as soon as you arrive and pay it off every month.......your credit score will appear after 4-6 months and will be pretty good. With no credit history, you'll need to look at secured credit cards (where you give the company a security deposit on the credit card), most banks offer one.

Even with that, you may have to wait a little longer before applying for a mortgage, even with a good credit score, loan applications can be denied because of a lack of credit history. Silja has a point about trying out where to live.......houses are easy to buy right now, but selling one is a different story.......two neighbourhoods a mile apart can be like night and day in terms of living standard, you won't want to committ to a home until you're more familiar with the area you'll be living in.

Darren1o1

I have a mortgage without any greencard. The key is a regular source of income (same career track, good wages etc) and a good credit score. I hear allot of talk of secured credit cards but I used capital one. Typically they will give you a small one (~$500) and can build from there. Asset based loans (such as a car loan) are pretty easy to get but I would start with a small credit card. It will take 18-24 month to get to a credit point for a mortgage realistically unless you work super hard at it or have a cosigner. Do you have a significant other who may have credit?

rockonollie

Darren1o1 wrote: »

I hear allot of talk of secured credit cards but I used capital one. Typically they will give you a small one (~$500) and can build from there.

It's possible, but in the past year or so, financial institutions have gotten very strict on credit cards. I got a card with a $1000 limit within a month of moving here, but the bank that I work for no longer will issue an unsecured card to someone without an existing credit history.

Darren1o1

rockonollie wrote: »

It's possible, but in the past year or so, financial institutions have gotten very strict on credit cards. I got a card with a $1000 limit within a month of moving here, but the bank that I work for no longer will issue an unsecured card to someone without an existing credit history.

My cousin who just came over got one last month of capital one, the same company I started with ~7 years ago. Certain lenders focus on this area. I would give capital one a try for that reason.

rockonollie

Darren1o1 wrote: »

My cousin who just came over got one last month of capital one, the same company I started with ~7 years ago. Certain lenders focus on this area. I would give capital one a try for that reason.

Interesting.......can't argue with something that recent......

sleepyescapade

+1 for Capital One I am here just over a year on different visas and I got their $500 card with no problems. My goal is to use it monthly to build credit. Their $500 card is recommended for people who have just moved to US and are wishing to build a credit score http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/cash-rewards-for-newcomers/

silja

MarkJD wrote: »

Are you currently living over there yourself on a greencard?

I got my US citizenship in late 2011, but was on a greencard before (through marriage to a US citizen). We bought a home before moving over, it was part of the "financial sponsorship" required to get a family member over. We were able to buy it outright thanks to an inheritance I got, and savings- the 4 bedroom/ 2 bathroom home with a 1/2 acre of yard/ garden here in Arkansas cost less than half of my one bedroom flat in Dublin city

silja

Darren1o1 wrote: »

My cousin who just came over got one last month of capital one, the same company I started with ~7 years ago. Certain lenders focus on this area. I would give capital one a try for that reason.

Another vote for Capital One
I have no regular income (stay at home mom), but we put a few of our regular bills in my name, and about 8 months after we moved here, I started getting credit card offers in the mail. I took one up with Capital One and they are steadily increasing my limit.

BTW, if you are not planning on staying long term, or have Irish income (such as from Irish property you are renting out), it is worth keeping your Irish bank account and credit card open. I've done that, because my Irish credit card has a rediculously high limit- we never needed it, but it's good to know it's there in case of emergency.

ProudDUB

OP. As others have said, your credit score is far more important in getting a mortgage and getting a decent rate than your having a green card. When I moved to the US, I was able to hugely boost my credit score by buying a car. It was just an old banger for $2500. I paid cash for half and financed the rest. I got absolutely screwed on the interest rate, but seeing as the amount of the loan being financed was just over $1200, the monthly payments were perfectly doable. After a year of on time payments, the car was fully paid off and my credit rating soared. Getting a license and buying, taxing and insuring a car in the US is much, much cheaper & easier in the US than it is here, so don't let that put you off.

Also, be very, very careful of any household bills that you incur in your name, using your social security number. The US does not have the strict data protection laws that we have here. Companies there can and will report you to the 3 credit bureaus for any that debts that you incur and refuse to pay. For example, If you switch cable companies and leave an outstanding balance with the old one, you'll get reported, usually once the debt goes past the 30 days mark. The same thing will happen if you don't pay your last electricity bill after you move, or you don't pay your last months rent. So try not to let the day to day stuff have an impact on your credit score, especially if you are planning on applying for a mortgage any time soon.

dave2pvd

About the small car loan, I did the exact same as ProudDUB. I recall it seemed like such a waste art the time - I could have paid for the car outright, but had to finance half of it at 8% APR. 2 years later, my credit score was very good.

IIRC, mortgage brokers, banks, etc want to see at least 2 years continuous employment before approving mortgages.

Lastly, I would caution against being hasty in buying a house too soon. As others have said, you need to figure out where you'd like to live. It takes plenty of time. And what if you don't want to stay in the US? Some people come over and just don't assimilate.

Ponster

Darren1o1 wrote: »

I hear allot of talk of secured credit cards but I used capital one. Typically they will give you a small one (~$500) and can build from there.

+1

I also have a $500 secured Capital One card.

MarkJD

Thanks for all the replies and information plenty to go on here. Ultimately the ideal scenario would be to win the greencard lottery but iv also been looking into to moving over with Work on a L-1 Visa. Currently looking into all the ins and outs but that would more than likely be my easiest route within the next year.

Is there any restrictions that anyone is aware of when currently on a visa such as this and applying for the greencard lottery?

silja

No restrictions- if you are currently in the USA on a valid visa and win the lottery, you can adjust status in country, no need to return to Dublin for interview.

MarkJD

Even better... Thanks

From what iv read too the L-1 visa would entitle you to apply for full citizenship after 3 years anyways.

Darren1o1

MarkJD wrote: »

Even better... Thanks

From what iv read too the L-1 visa would entitle you to apply for full citizenship after 3 years anyways.

Greencard, I believe, not citizenship. Also I believe that is the management one although I am not sure.

Ponster

MarkJD wrote: »

Even better... Thanks

From what iv read too the L-1 visa would entitle you to apply for full citizenship after 3 years anyways.

AFAIK after 3 years you can apply for an extension of 2 extra years to the L2b and from there apply for the GC (which may take some time to process) as well as go through the PERM labor certification to prove why you deserve a GC.

The L1a -> GC required just papework while the L1b -> GC requires a validation from the Dept. of Labor which you may or may not get.