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Hi guys, was wondering if any of you could answer my question. My family and I are hoping to relocate to Chicago (from Ireland) in the next 6 months to a year, we are looking at some of the suburbs west of Chicago.
Are there any restrictions on buying property, eg; mortgage conditions, do we need to be residents for a certain period of time before being allowed to buy, etc.
Would appreciate the help, thank you.
I believe you have to have 2 years residency in the U.S. and 2 years of employment history or have established U.S. credit. You also need to have a tax id number of S.S. number. There were exceptions before the lending rules changed such as getting an international credit report, but I think those programs are pretty much gone. A lender could tell you a little more about the requirements. Of course, there is always cash, which you would need a U.S. bank account.
If you sell your home and haven't paid taxes over here, they will withhold 28% from the sales prices for taxes. If you can proof you file your taxes here and have tax id # and/or a soc.sec. # that will change a lot.
It also depends if you pay cash or need a mortgage. There are mortgage plans for foreigners who haven't established a credit score but that is not a very nice mortgage rate you will get. I don't know to much about that you might want to ask the same question on the mortgage forum.
Many foreigners are or have bought properties over here but I don't know how they did that. We have soc. sec. and tax id # and are also foreigners and we have a good credit score so that is not similar to you case, and we paid cash.
I do have a CPA who is specialized in this matter and you might want to check a CPA in the area where you want to buy since State laws are different every where.
Good Luck
Thanks for the answers guys. We hope to moving as soon as my husband gets a job, so he'll be paying tax once he starts employment and I presume he will have a social security number then so that might be a start for us. I'll pop over to the mortgage forum and see what they have to say. Thanks for all your help
As a mortgage underwriter, it would be required that you have a green card, or a resident alien card before buying. Your husband will probably have a work visa, which is not the same thing. The previous poster that said a 2 year history of work, bank accounts, etc is correct.
Unless you have cash (which you can verify where it came from), you probably will need to rent initially. sorry.
Non permanent resident aliens routinely buy and finance primary and secondary property in the U.S. Such loans are usually perceived as a higher risk because foreclosure proceedings, should it be necessary, are more challenging. As such, the down payment, escrow and interest rate paid on borrowed funds may be more than otherwise, imposed by a lender.
Requirements vary lender to lender, dependent upon the source of loan funds/ disposition of mortgage paper. Not all lenders will finance such loans. Private placement loans are also another possibility.
You local banking institution will probably be the first logical source for U.S. financing contact. You will also do better with a Real Estate Attorney and Realtor who have experience with international relocations.
Having said all this, why not rent for a while and figure out, first hand, where you want to live and if ownership makes sense?
There used to be programs that only required 30% down in a US account and proof of ID (Patriot Act), but those are now gone (offered by Wachovia on the Pick-a-Payment program no less, just kept adding in the risk factors) with all the other low document loans.
You can buy with just an Work Visa/Employment Authorization Card, but as the underwriter posted you need to satisfy the 2/2/2 requirement. You have to show that you have lived, worked and established credit/income history in the US for 2 years. This is for ITIN and SSN borrowers that are non-permanent residents as well, I can not think of any program now that does not ask for 2 year verification.
You can buy with just an Work Visa/Employment Authorization Card, but as the underwriter posted you need to satisfy the 2/2/2 requirement. You have to show that you have lived, worked and established credit/income history in the US for 2 years. This is for ITIN and SSN borrowers that are non-permanent residents as well, I can not think of any program now that does not ask for 2 year verification.
This is applicable to conventional financing, loans qualifying for sale to FHLMC/FNMA.
Portfolio lenders/ private placement financing create their own underwriting criteria.
This is applicable to conventional financing, loans qualifying for sale to FHLMC/FNMA.
Portfolio lenders/ private placement financing create their own underwriting criteria.
Yes, while that is true... almost every portfolio lender (those that are left) are following the same guidelines now. You can try for private financing from equity based lenders... they do not care about credit, income, jobs or anything else but that is a way different subject.
Expect hefty down payments, points, fees and high interest rates. Their security is purely the equity you have in the home... and they make up for the risk with the fees and rate. It is always an option, but usually it is best just to rent and decide if its worth the price before you delve into that arena.
Thanks for the responses, it's great to get information as we are still trying to educate ourselves in the whole process. I think we are going to take your advice and look to rent for about a year or two in the area that we are interested in buying in eventually and see how that goes.
Thanks once again.
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