Buying a house in the US

[DrIng]

Hi, This may be an odd question, does anyone know, if i'm doing my residency in the US or an H1B visa, am I able to buy a hosue or am I only able to rent? Thanks for any help!

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[tlew12778]

This is a good question bc I have been thinking about this as well. I am American but FH is Italian and when we move to the US, I want to buy a place... only I think he will not qualify for a mortgage bc he has no US credit history. While I could take out the mortgage in my name, we will need his income to qualify for a larger amount.

So... I think we might have to wait a year or 2... enough time for him to get a SSN and a establish a credit history.

I'm not sure about this, but I definitely would like to know the correct answer.

 

[Energon]

why would you buy a house when a stay in the country is technically on a temporary basis? Rent for now, and when you have solved your visa problems and are holding a green card in your hand buy a house.

 

[DrIng]

Your point is valid. However, I could also put, sure the visa is 'temporary' but temporary is for at least 4-5 years ans why would I want to be paying someone else's mortgage in that time when I could be paying off my own...

 

[BellKicker]

This is a good question bc I have been thinking about this as well. I am American but FH is Italian and when we move to the US, I want to buy a place... only I think he will not qualify for a mortgage bc he has no US credit history. While I could take out the mortgage in my name, we will need his income to qualify for a larger amount.

So... I think we might have to wait a year or 2... enough time for him to get a SSN and a establish a credit history.

I'm not sure about this, but I definitely would like to know the correct answer.

This sounds a lot like me and my wife. I've been told by someone who was in the same situation somehting like 6 years ago that it was impossible to get a loan (at first). Then again, I've heard loose reports of IMGs buying houses. If your (future) husband is starting residency this summer, I think there are several of us who'd like to hear how it goes.

To the OP: I'm almost certain there's no law stopping a non-resident from buying a house. I'm saying this because a friend of mine almost bought one but decided to rent instead. I know he looked at several houses and I imagine the realtor would have mentioned somehting about his immigrant status.