For those who have bought a house in the US

How long after you arrived did you buy a house using the American credit history you built up? Did it take a few years to build up enough credit so they would not have to pull your canadian credit record?

When my cousins left Canada and came to the U.S in 2006, they were on temporary visas at the time. During that time, they bought a house in New York. Every lender / bank required their credit history come from Canada because they weren't green card holders at the time. They didn't need cosigners but ALL of their credit history came from Canada (Transunion & Equifax). They also had a credit history in the U.S. from credit cards from years prior to them migrating as they went to University in New York, went back to Canada, worked for a few years, then went back to New York where they permanently settled.

So in other words, even if you build a good credit following in the U.S., as long as you're not a permanent resident, they will want a credit history from your home country.

Oh crap. 2 years ago my husband lost his job and we ran into some problems which are still on our canadian credit. I was hoping for a clean slate I could build back up in the U.S.