In the US, in order to qualify for a home mortgage loan, you need to have “four concurrent open lines of credit” for the previous two years. That means credit cards, car/student loans, another mortgage…
So, to sum up, you need to have copious existing debt in order to qualify for more debt.
Also, if you have the inexcusable impudence to have lived and spent your money abroad for four years, your credit rating comes back saying “no credit”, effectively erasing your previous sterling credit rating and rewinding you back to the financial standing you had when you were 18 years old.
I’ve been a very, very bad consumer and now I’m being duly punished. On the plus side, during those four years abroad, I learned how to curse extravagantly in multiple foreign languages, which has been super handy skill to have lately.
[See the full “What I’ve Learned” list here. Start at the bottom and read up.]
Now, just think what you would have to do to get a mortgage in Romania
What? A one-time 100 euro bribe? What’s so hard about that?
r u serios? i need to look into this if i ever want a house. thanks for the heads up
allow me to teach you some excellent execution-worthy statements in Farsi!
Aww, seriously, that stinks. Are you now hosed out of your Minn/St.Paul condo thingie? What a crappy time to come back into the market for a mortgage.
Hanson – I figured you know the best way to get into trouble in every foreign country.
Sheila – Actually my credit union came to the rescue. Despite the US foreclosures debacle going on and my terrifyingly erratic and unpredictable income stream, they’ve agreed to take a chance on me. Otherwise I would have had to ask my parents to co-sign. I’m 37 years old, I have (had) flawless credit and I’ve never been in debt in my life, yet a normal bank would require a co-signer for me to get a mortgage. It’s just cruel.