# Moving to USA and obtaining a mortgage to buy property as an expat



## UKUSAMarriage98 (Jun 10, 2018)

First time posting on this section of the board- exciting times!

I am English and have an american wife who is currently with me here in England and nearing permanency on her visa. We have been married over 5 years and as such are considering moving to the US in the next couple of years and doing my visa the other way. As I understand it I'll be on a 3 year spousal visa before I can apply for full citizenship.

My main question at this early stage- I own a property here in the UK and have a current mortgage- I am trying to financially plan what might happen surrounding the move:

1. How difficult will it be for me to obtain a mortgage in the US on my wife's existing credit score? Which is pretty high luckily. Can I use UK proof of credit and mortgage obligations etc?

2. I am toying with the idea of keeping the property in the UK and renting it out, then starting again with a new mortgage in the USA- but I am sure this will bring with it a lot of complications regarding taxes and capital gains etc.. has anyone seen any articles which might explain the pros and cons?

3. Is there any limit to cash amounts you take with you into USA? IE if we decided it was easier to sell our property here to pay off a larger amount of the mortgage downpayment in USA. Presuming/ hoping there are no fees associated with this?

4. Is there any way I can start building my US credit score already from the UK as a UK citizen? Might be a stupid question but you never know.

Many thanks for your help everyone! Would love to hear about other peoples experiences when buying/ selling property as an expat if you have the time!


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

1. I generally advise working with a smaller bank or credit union, as branch managers seem to have far more latitude on decision making on these sorts of things. 

2. Once you are a tax resident of the US you will be taxed on your global income. UK rent will be considered UK sourced income, and I would imagine that the UK would have the primary right to tax it, and you could claim a Foreign Tax Credit on the UK taxes paid or accrued. CGT will be a thing if you eventually sell the property. The other item that you will not have thought about is that the USD will be your functional currency and that you could potentially have phantom currency gains as a result of currency fluctuations. Any gain of $200 USD is taxable - this can be an issue if you decide to sell before you have paid off the mortgage.

3. No limit, but you must declare currency or equivalent over $10,000 USD.

4. No. Not really. Convince a bank to give you a credit card and use it to build up a local credit rating. (see my point above on smaller banks and credit unions and branch manager decision making)...


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