Mortgages For British Expats

1. Who qualifies as an expat?

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An expat is a person residing in country they are not a national of. For instance, a UK national living in Spain. 

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You must be a UK national or citizen to qualify as a UK expat. If you only have permanent right to reside in the UK, you will be classed as a foreign national. 

Usually, you will need expert assistance to get an expat mortgage as most high street lenders do not offer these products. Our team uses specialist lenders that have an understanding of complex international incomes, such as multiple foreign currency investment incomes, offshore investments and international wealth. 

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2. Mortgage types available

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Residential purchase or remortgage  - You may be returning to the UK in the near future and want to purchase a new home, have family living in the UK while you are working abroad or wish to remortgage to raise money for a second home abroad. 

Buy-to-let purchase or remortgage ​- You may wish to purchase a buy-to-let property for investment purposes and / or aim to live on the property in the future. Or, remortgage your residential into a buy-to-let as you are moving abroad. 
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​3. How much can I borrow as an expat?

 

As with every mortgage, how much you can borrow depends on the affordability or interest cover ratio (if it is a buy-to-let). For instance, if you were residing in the United States, a lender will request your income verification documents (such as pay slips) and bank statements to calculate how much disposable income you have after all your expenses. This will then be used to determine how much you can afford to borrow. Typically, this is between 4 and 6 times your income.

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4. How much deposit or equity is required?

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You will also need to have at least a 15% deposit or equity in the property. However, we would usually recommend you have at least a 25% deposit to achieve a better rate of interest. Typically, only specialist lenders will be able to help if the deposit is between 15% - 25%.

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5. Do I need a good credit score?

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Lenders will run a credit check on your before issuing a mortgage offer. It will only be a UK credit check, therefore, if you are residing in Australia, a lender will not review your Australian credit report. They will, however, review your bank statements to ensure credit commitments are paid on a regular basis.

 

You need to have a credit history in the UK. At the very least, this would be a UK bank account.

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6. Does it matter that my income is another currency?

 

If you are paid in another currency, the lender will 'stress' your income to allow for currency fluctuations. This isn't an issue for stable currencies, such as the US Dollar or Euro, however for volatile currencies, this could present an issue. Some lenders will look at the value of the currency over the last 2, 5 or 10 years, and use lowest value throughout this period. This will the impact affordability.

 

7. What happens when your documents are in another language?

 

If your documents are in a foreign language, usually the lender will request you to get these translated and certified by a local lawyer or solicitor. 

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8. Does my country of residence matter?

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Expats based in certain countries will have a higher chance of success than others. This is based on a few factors:

• Level of corruption.

• How developed the country is.

• Crime rate.​

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9. What happens if I return to the UK in the future?

 

If you return to the UK during the term of the mortgage, many lenders will waive any early repayment charges and allow you switch to a standard residential or buy-to-let product. However, this depends on lender and their criteria.

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10. How we can help. 

Each lender has a list of countries they will consider. Often lender will not consider ‘risky’ countries so it will depend on the country that you are residing in. It is best to seek advice as we can match you up with a lender that can assist. We can help you regardless of the country you are living in (apart from a few exceptions, such as Russia and North Korea). 

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Lender's policies and loan to value restrictions will vary depending on the country the applicant is working in and the nature of the employment. Furthermore, it can be difficult to do everything associated with getting a mortgage while abroad, especially when return is imminent and time zones are different.

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Experience in this niche marketplace is key to a successful application. The understanding of the lenders criteria and products, and the ability to present your case positively needs an experienced human hand. Whilst, most of the process can be email based, it is crucial to have a person, and not computer at the other end.   

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Whether you're employed by a multinational company or self-employed, we can provide the mortgage assistance you need.