Buying a House

My husband and I have a brand new family and are moving to Houston at the end of this year.  We would like to get a house as soon as possible, but we have no idea how to go about getting one.  The main problems are these:

1. Though I have previous credit history in the US, I have not lived in the US for the last 2.5 years.

2. My US credit history is bad.  Quite bad.

3. My husband and I have great credit here in the UK, but he has no credit in the US whatsoever.

What are our realistic options for buying a house?  Are we going to be laughed at when trying to buy one or get a loan?

No ideas about house buying in the US.  But on the subject of credit history...

Your credit history doesn't follow you from one country to the other.  So whereas your bad credit history didn't follow you over here, the good won't follow you back over there.

Depending on what your definition of 'Quite bad' is...  Bad credit history tends to stay on your credit report (US) about seven years & eventually will drop off.  Good credit history (US) generally stays on it.  If you filed bankruptcy, that stays on your US credit report for ten years, and sometimes longer in some circumstances.  Not sure how long court judgements stay on the report - may depend if they have been satisfied (paid) or not.

My husband and I have a brand new family and are moving to Houston at the end of this year.  We would like to get a house as soon as possible, but we have no idea how to go about getting one.  The main problems are these:

1. Though I have previous credit history in the US, I have not lived in the US for the last 2.5 years.

2. My US credit history is bad.  Quite bad.

3. My husband and I have great credit here in the UK, but he has no credit in the US whatsoever.

What are our realistic options for buying a house?  Are we going to be laughed at when trying to buy one or get a loan?

Unfortunately with the US market the way it is right now it could be difficult to obtain a loan. You may have to do it in only your name if your husband has no US credit, but I am not sure how your bad credit history will affect you. Lenders are really cracking down due to the market being so bad right now.

Good luck!

Can you get some help from family? 

My dad and aunt have clubbed in together to snap up a few properties at auction in Houston, but you need some capital to ride out the slump.

If you could get some capital, perhaps you can try auction properties?  You need to have cash or a business loan for them, however, for the most part, instead of a mortgage.

It's very difficult to obtain a mortgage at this time if you are considered a credit risk - no credit or bad credit, for example, but that can be helped if you have some capital for a large deposit or can buy a home with a family member who has good credit, for example.

Have you figured out if it makes financial sense to buy right now? Look around the prices to rent and own in the area you want to move to and see if renting for a few years won't end up being cheaper in the long run.

As for getting a loan, a steady job and a hefty down payment should ameliorate some of the issues you're having with your credit history.

If the prices for houses are very low its always a good time to buy because they do go back up again and then your in a situation of having very good equity in you home, the other thing is it depends on how long you are going to live there if you can wait till the house prices go up then that is great and sell on when they do, its a good investment.

Sorry can't help you on getting money off a bank, but if you have money to put down you can only try.

good luck

Indy

Loans on new mortgages and first time buyers is tight, real tight.  You will need credit without a doubt (good credit) and without that credit, there will be no offer of a mortgage unless you can pay cash. If you are an investor, it is a great investors market because prices are lower.  My sister just bought a house with iffy credit and it took her almost a year to secure a loan but with something like 20% down payment.

You could always rent for a year and build up your credit over that year and then see about purchasing. 

Another way forward could be a rent-to-own type offer.

Getting in with a good agent would be your best bet.

~BEG

Have you figured out if it makes financial sense to buy right now? Look around the prices to rent and own in the area you want to move to and see if renting for a few years won't end up being cheaper in the long run.

As for getting a loan, a steady job and a hefty down payment should ameliorate some of the issues you're having with your credit history.

We are so tired of renting!  The reason we're moving to America is so we can buy a home and settle down and start are ever growing family.

I won't be getting a steady job as I am staying home and taking care of the kids, and as for my credit history, it won't disappear by now as I still have debts in America.

When my husband was finally able to get a job after moving to the US, we needed a second car so he could get to work.  When I went in to apply for a loan, my bank told me that none of his income could count until he had been in the country for two years and was a more permanent resident...something to that effect.  He was making the most money and I had a fair amount of student loan debt so we were easily denied a paltry loan to buy a used car.