Buying property in the US with limited US credit history

[richakn]

Hi,

My wife and I are considering a move back to the US (she is American, I am English) in the future and I wondered if anyone had any idea on how easy it is to obtain a respectable (rate wise) mortgage with limited credit history.

I have a SS no and lived in NYC for 3 years and so I have some credit built up but nothing substantial. My wife has good credit.

We would have a combined income of $200-$220k a year and would be looking to borrow around $600k (On a property of $800k (ish) , so around a 75% LTV)

How feasible is this with a limited credit history?

I am a HSBC customer in both the UK and USA, so not sure if this will help

Any thoughts welcomed

Rich

 

[Albufeira_Paul]

Hi Rich,

When getting a mortgage in the U.S. credit is everything. It's good that you have a SS number already. But hopefully you have some open lines of credit in the U.S.

My first suggestion would be to go get a credit report. There are plenty of companies that can give you your FICO report. Ideally your credit score should be at least 700. Anything above 770 is considered A+ and the top score is 850.

If you do not have US credit cards get some, even if you don't need to use them. Charge a few things with them (never above 20% of the total) and never carry a balance. This can build up your credit score. However, for your first 6 months or so your credit score will take a slight hit, so never open a credit card within 6 months of applying for a mortgage.

A credit score is calculated as follows:

35% Payment History
30% Amounts Owed
15% Length of credit history.
10% New Credit
10% Types of Credit Used