Where To Start When Moving To The USA from UK

[George Hak]

Hey everyone. I’m soon to be moving from London England to Fort Worth, TX. I’m 26 years old with a small fortune of inheritance and have recently come across the bigger pockets community.

In the UK I’m currently an electrical engineer but my original plan was to move to FW, buy a reasonable sized family home in cash and use the rest of my money for Pilot School. However after more and more research into the US housing market and the more I listen to real estate podcasts and view real estate on YouTube, I am certain that real estate is the place I want to be.

Real estate is something I’ve always wanted to invest in but the prices in the UK along with the type of bank loans, and govt legislation have been making it more and more difficult. 

Ive always been ‘good with money’ i,e never been in bad debt, always paid my credit cards and bills early etc etc. 

A couple of questions to the community I’m in hope of getting advice on,

1. Is there a way I can either ‘transfer’ my credit score from the UK to the US. If not is there a way I can start building my US score before I move??

2. Is it worth studying for a realtor license. If not to save on fees but for the access to the MLS? Or will there still be deals on sites like Trulia and Zillow?

3. Does anyone recommend starting off with SFR or going straight into multi-family? My ultimate goal is large multi rental and commercial. I know it is a matter of whatever suits the investor best but if anyone has experience of going down this path would they still start small or recommend going as big as able to from the start?

George

[Benjamin Aaker]

Hi George, welcome to BP and to the States! I don't have an answer to question #1, but for #2 right now is not a great time to become an agent unless you want to do more than just invest for yourself. The market is so hot that deals for investors won't make it to the MLS. In other times of the cycle, having MLS access is really helpful. Disclosure: I have my real estate license.

For #3, I recommend small multifamily. When you get to 5 units and up, you can avoid the value bubble we are in right now and you can still find value. It'll be more difficult to get a loan to be sure, but your financials will help. Do this first deal and you will gain a lot of experience to get larger. Good luck.