Loans for buying property in a foreign country

[noelm]

Hello folks,

One of my retirement goals is to buy a house in India. I have been in the US since Oct 2009 and have had only one loan ($8K car loan) which I paid without any problems. I have a secured credit card ($2K limit) which I use about 30-50% every month and pay the bills in full. So I think my credit history is clean, its just not that old enough so I don't know where I stand with respect to the credit score.

I would like to take advantage of lower interest rates here in the US (If I get loan in India, I may end up paying 15% and up due to my non resident status). I am just not too sure how do I go about with the loan that I would like to use in India. Almost everywhere I read, the author suggests to shop around for loan. At the same time, I have heard that if you make a lot of loan applications, it may lower your credit score. In such case, how do I really 'shop around'?

Any pointers are welcome.

 

[NYEXPAT]

You can get a free credit score at www.quizzle.com to get you started. US Banks will not give you a mortgage for overseas property, so you will be looking for an unsecured loan with the higher rates they entail. Some overseas banks will give you a mortgage based on your income (in the US) and credit score. This generally how foreigners (in the US) are able to buy in their home country. Typically, countries with a more mature mortgage industry, will give you a mortgage if you make payments for 6 mos-1 year (= to the proposed mortgage payment) then that money is used as the down payment and you are granted the mortgage. Also, look into builders loans in your home country. Builders of new properties will typically finance you with 40% down and 5 year duration.