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ernie · 03-13-2009, 02:28 PM

Recently moved to the States and purchased a home.

It wasn't that bad for us because our canadian mortgage was with RBC, so we just used the american wing of the bank. They were used to such things and being on the same computer system as the rest of RBC, they simply used our Canadian credit ratings. Most banks will not check a canadian credit rating and some banks with a presence in both the US and Canada don't talk to each other. So I'd advise using a bank that has Canadian and American arms that talk to each other, or using a bank that is willing to use the canadian credit rating.

If she's not going to be using it as a residence or living fulltime in the states there are certain rules on how much money needs to be put down on a down payment. I think it's more than if you are a foreigner on a Visa buying a house to live in (like we were...mandatory 20% I believe). We do pay a slightly higher rate (talking 0.2 % higher not multiple percentage points) but i believe that is again tied to being a foreigner.

Also be aware that they do closings differently than in Canada and that each state has their own way of doing things and it's important to have a real estate agent or broker that understands that and will keep you up to date with what needs to be done. Not all agents fully grasp that and you can be left hanging in the wind on closing day when you haven't done everything that's needed.

For us, we were told it was necessary to have a US based bank account. From what I understood they can not legally issue a mortgage otherwise. Could be wrong.

03-13-2009, 02:28 PM	#14
ernie Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Exp:	Recently moved to the States and purchased a home. It wasn't that bad for us because our canadian mortgage was with RBC, so we just used the american wing of the bank. They were used to such things and being on the same computer system as the rest of RBC, they simply used our Canadian credit ratings. Most banks will not check a canadian credit rating and some banks with a presence in both the US and Canada don't talk to each other. So I'd advise using a bank that has Canadian and American arms that talk to each other, or using a bank that is willing to use the canadian credit rating. If she's not going to be using it as a residence or living fulltime in the states there are certain rules on how much money needs to be put down on a down payment. I think it's more than if you are a foreigner on a Visa buying a house to live in (like we were...mandatory 20% I believe). We do pay a slightly higher rate (talking 0.2 % higher not multiple percentage points) but i believe that is again tied to being a foreigner. Also be aware that they do closings differently than in Canada and that each state has their own way of doing things and it's important to have a real estate agent or broker that understands that and will keep you up to date with what needs to be done. Not all agents fully grasp that and you can be left hanging in the wind on closing day when you haven't done everything that's needed. For us, we were told it was necessary to have a US based bank account. From what I understood they can not legally issue a mortgage otherwise. Could be wrong.