Advice for returning ex-pat

jamesbooker

Hello,

Having bought a house in 2003 and paying a mortgage for 10 years, I received a job offer I couldn't refuse and we moved to the USA in 2013. After 5 years due to various work and social changes we decided not to stay and come back.

Selling the house we bought in the USA basically wiped out the equity we had built over the ten years in the UK and the minimal amount accrued in the US, once we'd paid all the fees and taxes etc.

This leaves us as renters in this country in effectively the same position as all the 'first time buyers' - except we are not eligible for the Help2Buy schemes (ISA or mortgage) because we have legally owned a house in the UK before.

Does anyone have any knowledge of other schemes that might help us get back on the ladder? We've got excellent credit scores, but saving for a deposit is increasingly difficult as the required amounts have increased significantly with the general house price rise since we bought our first in 2003!

Thanks
James

[Deleted User]

Unfortunately, credit scores aren't used in the UK as they are in the US. They're just a marketing gimmick over here, for entertainment purposes only.

You'll be assessed on your credit history - what do your credit files show? Or are they effectively empty?

You've going to need to use some time to build a credit history and save that deposit.

haras_nosirrah

With a small option for a deposit help to buy shared equity on newbuild and shared ownership are probably the options you are looking at unless you can save up at least 5% and fees on the open market.

To get a 95% Mortgage on the open market you would need to first build a credit history which may take a little while. Credit card paid off in full every month would be a good start

jamesbooker

Well I have a good history. I was only out of the country for five years and maintained an account (positive balance always) and still had two credit cards which i used to buy gifts etc for family and paid off appropriately.

When we first came back I signed up for CreditExpert for a couple of months, it helped when we first got back because we struggled to get mobile phone contracts (Virgin being the only ones who would give us one in the end) - when I inquired of the other networks why, it wasn't a 'gap' in my history that meant they wouldn't give us a contract, it was the previous address being in the USA that caused us problems.

jamesbooker

"With a small option for a deposit help to buy shared equity on newbuild and shared ownership are probably the options you are looking at unless you can save up at least 5% and fees on the open market."

As I pointed out, I can't use Help 2 Buy because I've owned a house in the UK in the past - I called the helpline and asked.

foxy-stoat

You cannot use help 2 buy ISA but you can use help 2 buy equity loan, if that is what you want to do.

I would first assess what you can get using traditional means, deposit, standard mortgage, salary multiplier and what is affordable to you at the moment.

You may need to reduce your expectations on what you can buy for the first few years.

nik_k

Also don't forget the fact that, due to no longer being FTBs, you'll be liable for SDLT. You'll need to factor this into any calculations