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Old 04-23-2013, 01:07 PM
 
25 posts, read 54,200 times
Reputation: 38

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Hi all,

My wife and myself are looking to relocate to Tampa from the UK. I have done a lot of reading on this forum and other sites, and whilst there is a lot of good information out there, I haven't been able to get a few answers.

1. Being new to the country and wanting to rent at the begining, would I only need to pay the one month rent in advance and the deposit (seems to typically be one months rent), or would I need to pay for 6 or 12 months up front?

2. Getting a car, again without credit history would I be able to get a loan (even if we paid a dece nt deposit e.g. 30%) or would we need to buy it outright?

3. Banks like HSBC that tout themselves as being true global banks indicate that they offer products where you can transfer your overseas history to other countries, if you open and continue your banking through them. Has anyone ever done this between the UK and US? Does it actually work?

Thanks.
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Old 04-23-2013, 01:26 PM
 
4,586 posts, read 5,591,741 times
Reputation: 4369
You will need current car insurance before buying car here, (this is for all people), and of course a drivers license. In order to obtain one you would need to have some sort of immigration status I presume. I doubt you can walk into a DMV with a British license and they'll switch it over to a US one.

The credit history doesn't matter if you don't have insurance here, or a FL drivers license.
You would have to call the banks and ask them regarding all of that history.

With rent I think it will be first/last and security deposit. I don't know of anyone charging 6+ months up front. I know people who paid 6+ months up front but not because they were required to.
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Old 04-23-2013, 02:35 PM
 
Location: Toledo, OH
1,725 posts, read 3,454,479 times
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I would ensure that you can get the loans you require before trying to do this. Not sure how it works coming from the UK (hopefully someone will post on how they did it).

Recommend looking at the AAA website for an International Drivers License. I did this when I moved to the Middle East and Japan (Japan still required a local license there), but never the other way around. The International Drivers License helped me A LOT!

To expand on the above, auto insurance companies can give you coverage while you are at the dealer. May be a good idea to see if you can rent a car for a couple of weeks upon arrival (turn it in early if you purchase) so you have a way around. Without transportation, taxi's will be very expensive. I see many locations (even along the side of the road) with good looking (not sure about under the hood) cars for less than 5K.

I don't know if auto loans are different than mortgage loans, but I have seen to Lenders recently require a Florida pay stub before the mortgage loan was approved.

A little curious (you don't have to post) so I will just mention, I hope you have some money saved up to arrive here. Depending on your spending habits and what you want to rent/purchase, but I would be concered if I didn't have about 10K available.

First month, last month, security deposit, auto downpayment, auto insurance (may be able to go month to month but plan for 6 month payment) is not cheap, utilities deposits, and things like that add up quickly.

Good Luck. Keep asking questions so you don't arrive without at least a couple opinions.
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Old 04-23-2013, 03:24 PM
 
25 posts, read 54,200 times
Reputation: 38
Thanks for the quick replies.

I have been doing a fair amount of research and understand the following:
- I have 30 days to get a Florida license.
- Understand i will need insurance to drive.
- I need a car to get around.

I have contacted a company called autosource who seem to do Expat car sales, which appear good value and i have only heard good things. But i just wanted to think about the situation of not having this option to better understand what i would need to do otherwise.

Housing is my main concern, as i have friends who moved to New York and they were forced to pay 12 months rent in advance. So whilst we can do this if we had to, I would rather not. Most other people we know that have moved to America, are all US citizens returning, so they havent had the same considerations as they had only been out of country for a few years.

When we arrive, looks like we will have 30 days of house and car available for us. So that will definitely make it a bit better. But ultimately i want to try and be as prepared as possible, as in those 30 days I will also be beginning my new role.

We have funds available and expect there to be an upfront hit, so I am kind of prepared for that. Depending how big it is of course
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Old 04-23-2013, 08:50 PM
 
Location: Native of Any Beach/FL
35,487 posts, read 20,841,123 times
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I think rental is Ok one ot 2 months,, but the rest a social security number will be needed or cash. I cant even renew my DL with out my B-cerificate and I am 60. best to check out MYFLORIDA web site and go directly to the source.
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Old 04-24-2013, 05:54 AM
 
6,599 posts, read 4,978,564 times
Reputation: 3680
Quote:
Originally Posted by gulfer View Post
I would ensure that you can get the loans you require before trying to do this. Not sure how it works coming from the UK (hopefully someone will post on how they did it).

Recommend looking at the AAA website for an International Drivers License. I did this when I moved to the Middle East and Japan (Japan still required a local license there), but never the other way around. The International Drivers License helped me A LOT!
I always found this interesting, I traveled a lot for work and I never needed an international license, it was always you need a passport and a license, thats it, once i needed a translation of my license. We (US) dont extend the same courtesy to other nations, more than a couple of times I known of clients who came in from overseas with their AAA license and the cops here detained them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Danoz View Post
Thanks for the quick replies.

I have been doing a fair amount of research and understand the following:
- I have 30 days to get a Florida license.
- Understand i will need insurance to drive.
- I need a car to get around.

I have contacted a company called autosource who seem to do Expat car sales, which appear good value and i have only heard good things. But i just wanted to think about the situation of not having this option to better understand what i would need to do otherwise.

Housing is my main concern, as i have friends who moved to New York and they were forced to pay 12 months rent in advance. So whilst we can do this if we had to, I would rather not. Most other people we know that have moved to America, are all US citizens returning, so they havent had the same considerations as they had only been out of country for a few years.

When we arrive, looks like we will have 30 days of house and car available for us. So that will definitely make it a bit better. But ultimately i want to try and be as prepared as possible, as in those 30 days I will also be beginning my new role.

We have funds available and expect there to be an upfront hit, so I am kind of prepared for that. Depending how big it is of course
You should also look into renting a car. A couple of years ago I wrecked my car, and I kept the insurance rental for a month so my point being you can probably find a weekly rental for $80 they are often willing to work out a monthly rental, that way you can figure out your options long term when you are here.
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Old 04-24-2013, 07:24 AM
 
34 posts, read 51,897 times
Reputation: 36
Your football is called 'soccer' here. Our football is God so referring to soccer as football will only confuse anyone you talk to.

Other than that, drive on the correct side of the road, and you will fit in just fine. Welcome to the US......I hope it is good to you.

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