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Just moved to the US from Canada and my excellent credit rating unfortunately is not recognized here (go figure .. TransUnion and Equifax are in both countries, but don't talk to each other!!).
So I would like to purchase a home as soon as I can and need to establish my credit as quickly as possible to take out a loan/mortgage.
I managed to obtain a Platinum Master Card but that is pretty much all I have to build my credit. Any other things I can do to establish credit quickly? Typically how long does it take to establish a decent credit rating for banks to be satisfied with my credit history to give me a loan or a mortgage?
You can use your international credit to get a mortgage here in the US. I just had this with a client, you can't get mortgage insurance that I know of so 20% down will be needed.
Are there no Canadian banks that will mortgage U.S. properties? I know the U.K. has a number of banks that do this for UK citizens wanting to buy property worldwide. The practice may have been curtailed somewhat (or entirely - I don't know) during financial crisis.
Other things you can do:
Get a cell-phone contract
Get another credit card (two should probably be your limit)
Buy a car if necessary (but not for the sake of credit rating alone )
Marry an American who has excellent credit and have that person co-sign the loan.
Honestly, I wouldn't be in any rush to buy a house, though. Prices are still expected to decline in most markets, and it looks as though interest rates are going to be low for quite some time, so you have time to build savings and a credit rating.
Cell phone, ultities, gym contracts will nto report to credit bureau's unless they go to collections. As a general rule, because nothing is absolute, if your credit report is not obtained as part of qualifying it will not report. Even though credit is run there is no guarantee that your payments will be reported- for example rent.
A secured credit card/line of credit from a bank is a great way to get a score. We had a borrower who had not scores and got a $500 secured line of credit from his bank and within 3 months had a score.
Also, we've had borrowers in the same situation as you and we were able to use an international credit report to show that the borrower had established credit in the UK.
Yea, I suggest the bank credit card as well. Another way is if you have a really good friend or relative have you as a co-card holder. I did this for my sister with my card, her credit is over 700 and she is only 20! Getting a car is a good way to boost it as well. I would get on the bank card ASAP. You will need a few months of paying ontime to improve your rating.
I think the real estate market will start to recover at the end of this year.
You will get a score with authorized user accounts but not approved for a loan because you don't meet tradeline requirements. It is more than just a score to get an approval- it has to be your score. This used to work but you also could buy no money down with a 580.
You can use your international credit to get a mortgage here in the US. I just had this with a client, you can't get mortgage insurance that I know of so 20% down will be needed.
I know that if a lender wants to give me a loan, they can go the extra mile by doing the international credit check, but I've talked to 3 major banks and a couple of credit unions around town here and they didn't even know how to go about doing international credit checks.
It's frustrating because another friend across the country using the same major bank as myself got a mortgage because her bank used an international credit check.
I guess it's hit or miss.
I managed to apply for a Capital One credit card. CCapital One apparently have a few no annual cards for people with no credit history.
I know that if a lender wants to give me a loan, they can go the extra mile by doing the international credit check, but I've talked to 3 major banks and a couple of credit unions around town here and they didn't even know how to go about doing international credit checks.
It's frustrating because another friend across the country using the same major bank as myself got a mortgage because her bank used an international credit check.
I guess it's hit or miss.
I managed to apply for a Capital One credit card. CCapital One apparently have a few no annual cards for people with no credit history.
Find a reputable mortgage broker in your area and they should be able to take care of this for you. Some banks have different guidelines for their retail operations than they do for brokers.
If you want to DM me I will send you the name of the national lender that I know does this with their brokers.
having just arrived in the states last year, my husband and i are having problems establishing a credit history too. we've tried applying for bank credit cards, secured cards, store cards but all got rejected. so how else can we establish any form of credit history? we've been paying everything (i.e. bills, car etc) with cash/debit card. if we've no need for credit cards or get a loan...is it alright to go without any credit history?
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