How Immigrants From Nigeria Can Buy A Home In The US In 36 Months
In recent years, a lot of Nigerians have been relocating to different countries around the world and most especially the United States, Canada, England etc.
Most of these countries have a lot of job opportunities where Nigerians are the best fit for the jobs and so it has made a lot of Nigerians want to immigrate there.
The United States is one of the countries where Nigerians love immigrating to because it offers immigrants a lot of wonderful opportunities.
If you are wondering on how you could get a home in America when you immigrate there, we will be showing you that and giving you other information on living in the United States.
Why Is Buying A Home Important
The paper titled “The distribution of wealth in the United States and implications for a net worth tax” which is a paper by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth has its authors talking about the sources of wealth in the US and who holds that wealth.
The home equity is the source of wealth of the 25% to 99% percentile in America and this shows that homeownership is a major way to wealth in the US. Buying a home and deriving equity (the difference between your house is worth and what you owe) is a proven pathway to wealth of America.
How You Can Become A Homeowner In The US
You will have to first understand that the West has clear ways to which you could own a home. The mortgage sectors are also well developed and identification and credit scoring are also taken seriously.
The West is also a credit economy which means that most transactions are conducted on a credit basis and not cash basis.
Let’s look at how you could immigrate and buy a home in America…
Ensure that you have a paper trail showing how funds have left Nigeria to the US. You will have to should that you have enough funds in your bank account to repay a mortgage loan and so if you want to immigrate to America and you are selling off your properties in Nigeria, make sure that the sellers write a cheque or Direct Deposit and deposit it into your bank account. There are no cash transactions.
You will also have to create a clear paper trail. If you have funds in your retirement savings account and you are leaving employment but not yet at the age of 50, you can request up to 25% of your retirement savings account balance from your Pension Funds Administrator.
Make sure you pay these funds directly into your bank account, convert it to dollar by buying from the banks and then transferring to the US.
Let’s outline the steps and discuss them properly…
- Keep a paper trail:
Since there are no cash transactions, you will have to keep a paper trail. If you receive a cash gift from your parents or employers, you should make sure you have a letter saying these funds represent a “gift” and will not be paid back. Make sure you do this before traveling out.
- Open a bank account in the US
It is very important that you open a bank account as soon as possible and use it. Those funds from the sale of your properties in Nigeria, you will have to transfer them from your Nigerian bank to your US bank.
Invest in the bank product like a Certificate of Deposit and leave it there. With this, you are showing that those funds are yours. You don’t need to be a legal immigrant to open a bank account.
Most of the banks in the US accept an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) from you to open a bank account.
- Get a job
Certainly, you will have to get a job in the States. You must get a position to provide verifiable proof of income. If you work for a formal entity, you will be given a paystub and W2; that is easy. Remember that there are no cash transactions as cash do not have paper trail unlike cheques and Direct bank Deposit that have verifiable paper trail.
If your employer offers a retirement account like a 401k and matches your contribution, you should contribute because you get your employee match and reduce your taxable income.
You can also tap into these savings to make a down payment towards your home.
- Pay your tax
Even if you don’t have a Social Security number, you can still pay your tax. You will have to obtain an ITIN and pay taxes. Your tax return is essential because it captures your verifiable income. Most banks in the US will ask you for two years tax returns.
- Apply for credit
Remember we said that the West runs on credit and so to get a loan, you will need a credit score but you also need a loan to get a good credit score. If you are a new immigrant in the US, you will certainly not qualify for a loan but you have options.
You can ask your bank for a secured personal loan or credit card. A secured loan means deposit your funds in the bank and take a loan using the cash deposit as a loan. Request for a secured loan if you have deposited your Nigerian assets sales proceeds.
A most secured loan will not pull credit before offering you a loan. When you take a loan, you must pay it back on or before the repayment date of your loan. Getting a loan means you can then start to build your credit, Credit scores begin from 450 to 850 and there are four-credit bureaus.
Your loan payment history and delinquencies are reported to the bureaus when you take any loan and the more consistent and promptly you repay your loan, the higher your credit score “ceteris paribus.”
You target should be to get at least 700 and the higher your credit score, the lower the cost of any loan you take.
If you have a credit card, you can max it out but by the cycle date end when you are to repay, ensure your card balance is rough back to a maximum of 30% of line unitized.
After you must have done all the above we have discussed, you can approach your bank to request to be preapproved for a loan to buy a home.
As a first time buyer, you can put a lower amount down as an advance payment for a home. Also, if you pay less than 20% as an advance payment for a home, you may be required to buy Primary Mortgage Insurance (PMI) which will add to the cost of your loan.
You should always work with professionals and also seek advice on the location to buy a home. The location and affordability are factors to consider in buying a home and also if you have children, you should choose a home in a school district.