Gifting $$ to my fiancé to buy a house together (contract, deposit, states)

[NY Annie]

I'm not going to jump on the complete scam bandwagon, but I am still not understanding how the OP believes that fiance is taking more risk in this venture.

You see, if he stops paying the mortgage while you are out of the country, the bank could foreclose.

If he doesn't have the money to make repairs, then you lose.

There are so many other ways it could happen.

[mic111]

Originally Posted by lvoc

From the ridiculous to the absurd. Now we have the boyfriend committing felonies.

Don't you guys have anything better to do.

Here is a ridiculous scenario for you.

Your sister loves everything France. She has always wanted to live in France. On vacation or through an internet forum she meets a French guy who says he loves her. She flies over to meet him in person. He proposes marriage and that they buy a house together. He can't marry her right now but they shouldn't pass up the chance to buy their dream home. She doesn't have a proper visa so she thinks he is right they can't get married right now. Not to worry he says. If she gives him her, your's and your parent's life savings as a gift in the form of a cashiers check he will purchase their dream home and she can come live with him in a year when the visa comes through. Your parents have worked their whole lives and saved $1.2 million dollars for their retirement and they too would like to live in France someday. In fact your whole family is all about France. You've dreamed of moving there yourself. Your sister is just out of school but has the $50K that her grandparents left her as an inheritance. You have $100K because you saved $50K in addition to your inheritance.

This man lives in Paris where homes are very pricey. He can match her payment and then some. He tells her that this should make her comfortable giving it to him. However he cannot buy the chateau on his own. He doesn't qualify. She is smart but French is not her first language and she doesn't understand the laws but the man's friends are telling her it is OK. She goes to a free French lawyer and shows him a purchase contract for the chateau. He verifies that it is in fact a French purchase contract but does not verify if it was signed by a seller who owns the chateau and intends to sell it. She sends a copy to you to look over. Do you:
A. Send her your money and tell your parents to do the same so that she can gift it to her boyfriend via a cashiers check? (Effectively your whole families life savings which is what this poster is putting up as a gift to her boyfriend)
B. Tell her to get her come home right away without giving the man anything and advise your parents to not give her any money.

Many of us are choosing B. You are choosing A. That seems odd.

[mig1]

If the money is of legitimate means, it does not seem plausible that anyone in their right mind (esp. a foreigner) is going to risk/part with $50K with soley a promise of marriage.

[lvoc]

So the nonsense continues.

This appears to be a home worth a substantial amount of money. We are talking FHA down payment in the order of a $100,000.

She is a joint tenant with right of survival. That says she is a legal owner of the entire house. To sell it anyone will have to have her signature. Forged quit claim deeds are a substantial felony.

The only way she loses her money is if the house goes into foreclosure. That happens married or not.

Worse practical outcome is the relationship crashes and she spends some years before she can recover her money. The good news is she also recovers a good portion of any appreciation that occurs.

Let's all wish her a happy marriage and to live happily ever after and knock of all the silly BS.

[NY Annie]

Get married, buy the house. Do not buy the house until you are married and free to live here. People who live overseas and have no one here to monitor have been duped out of homes they own. In fact, there is a thread here by a child of immigrants who spent a year across the pond (in Europe). When they returned, they found that their home had been sold by someone to someone else. It isn't a simple matter to just say, "hey, that's my house", rather they now have to prove it is theirs and was sold fraudulently.

Nope, I would not put down $50K to someone when I was unable to even return to this country for a long time.

[cully]

So as far as being on an FHA loan, I believe non-U.S. citizens who do not have lawful permanent residency in the U.S. are not eligible for FHA-insured mortgages. The property would have to be the borrower's principal residence...which it wouldn't be in your case. And you would need that employment document stating you can work in the US that also indicates this is for the future, not just interim period. So it doesn't look like you can get an FHA loan anyway.

So you say you will be on the contract to purchase and on the deed. But not on...what...not on the mortgage and not on the promise to repay, which is the Note? I understand it is more typical in NY for the lender to require both spouses who are on the Deed to sign the mortgage. What about this?

I understand it is not so typical for both to have to sign the Note/promise to repay. Because then it is easier to foreclose/sell if payments are not made.

[mix98]

Originally Posted by cully

So as far as being on an FHA loan, I believe non-U.S. citizens who do not have lawful permanent residency in the U.S. are not eligible for FHA-insured mortgages. The property would have to be the borrower's principal residence...which it wouldn't be in your case. And you would need that employment document stating you can work in the US that also indicates this is for the future, not just interim period. So it doesn't look like you can get an FHA loan anyway.

So you say you will be on the contract to purchase and on the deed. But not on...what...not on the mortgage and not on the promise to repay, which is the Note? I understand it is more typical in NY for the lender to require both spouses who are on the Deed to sign the mortgage. What about this?

I understand it is not so typical for both to have to sign the Note/promise to repay. Because then it is easier to foreclose/sell if payments are not made.

Yes you are right. I wasn't simply eligible for FHA loan. The only way the bank would accept my contribution towards the house is through gifting. They don't care if I can show my money is legit with tax records as it is not US tax records.. They wanted it to be seasoned anyway and gifted. How we ended up here is due to cultural difference and misunderstanding.

I could have married this guy.. back in 2014 when my student visa expired and he proposed in a desperate effort to keep me in the US. My parents did not approve at first and requested me to come back home. I told my fiancé that let s not rush if what we have is real we will be in contact. I was right. Distance relationship was hard but we talked everyday. After 6 months he came to my country and met my parents. He stayed in my parents house for two weeks. I think my parents got to know him better and gave him permission to marry me ( this idea used to surprise my American friends). Once my fiancé got their OK he was working on what my mom asked, that was showing my parents where we gonna live. It is commonly understood men provide a house and women provide furniture and bed stuff. This is not a set rule.. but in my case my family wanted to do this way... My fiancé as American man couldnt have known how pp settle down in another country. I stood up by him and offered him that I will help you get a house (my mom wanted him to get a house on his own and put my name on the deed). This talk took a place while he was in my parents' house and then he went back to do what we discuseed.

I had no idea back then what it will bring to me. I don't think he had any idea back then how difficult for non us citizen to do mortgage etc... After we had this talk my family accepted him 100% and started treating him like son in law.. it is another thing that is different from America. My parents even suggested if my money isnt enough they would back us up to get a nicer house. (((( I dont know what to say.. just complete misunderstanding... It s very common a future bride and gloom settle things with both families in my country.. It wasn't him who insisted on getting a house (

[Lauriedeee]

Mix, do you have a lawyer handling your k1 visa application? Did you ask for his input on this? I'm just concerned that if your fiance is paying the mortgage loan that he may not be deemed financially stable enough to support you over here and that it may interfere with getting the visa.

[mix98]

Originally Posted by Lauriedeee

Mix, do you have a lawyer handling your k1 visa application? Did you ask for his input on this? I'm just concerned that if your fiance is paying the mortgage loan that he may not be deemed financially stable enough to support you over here and that it may interfere with getting the visa.

They don't require the petitioner to be rich or anything. Monthly mortgage is a real financial burden but I think he can manage considering his monthly income. My fiancé initialy paid about $340 when he filed (I received the recepit) and later we have to pay like about $1,200 at the end. I am also thinking to carry some cash when I visit here again on K1 visa. May not be a great help but I can pay for our bills and groceries for a while. I think it will be fine.

[Lauriedeee]

Originally Posted by mix98

They don't require the petitioner to be rich or anything. Monthly mortgage is a real financial burden but I think he can manage considering his monthly income. My fiancé initialy paid about $340 when he filed (I received the recepit) and later we have to pay like about $1,200 at the end. I am also thinking to carry some cash when I visit here again on K1 visa. May not be a great help but I can pay for our bills and groceries for a while. I think it will be fine.

I'm sure he can manage to support you, but does he have enough leftover income after paying the mtge to support you according to K1 guidelines? You really should run this by your immigration lawyer to be sure. The last thing you want is to be denied a visa because of income requirements.