Expat Buy To Let Mortgages
Can I get a UK mortgage as an expat?
Even if you live abroad, getting an expat buy to let mortgage is a lot easier than you think, but beware the pitfalls
Why do I need an expat buy-to-let mortgage?
If you live and work in the UK, mortgage lenders will view you as lower risk than if you live and work abroad. From a practical perspective, a lender can check the Electoral Roll, for example, to verify your identity or they can interrogate one of the many credit agencies to check your loan repayment history. All of these steps lower their risk, which allows them to reduce the cost of lending money.
But if you live and work abroad, underwriting your loan is more complex. In practice, it will be carried out on a very personal and individual basis, which means the service is often better and importantly, there is scope for flexibility around the lending decision which might not exist with a loan underwritten onshore in the UK.
Expat mortgages for people who want to buy property in the UK are a specialist market. Not all the major banks offer international mortgages and many change their criteria for accepting customers regularly during the year, so it pays to use an online mortgage broker who will stay on top of these market changes.
Just as a normal buy to let has long been a specialist sector within the UK mortgage market, so it is no surprise to learn that an expat buy to let mortgage can be even harder to find. We work with all the major UK banks and building societies which offer international mortgages.
Once established, an expat buy to let portfolio can be an ideal core for international pension planning, offering as it does the potential for both capital gains and income.
How quickly can you arrange a UK expat remortgage?
A remortgage on a UK house will be far quicker to complete than a purchase, as you are not dealing with a seller or their potential property chain. Very often, we can find expat mortgage lenders who will offer free valuations or free legal conveyancing services when you switch your mortgage whilst living abroad.
Property investments increasingly follow some stock market investments in terms of their characteristics, but people prefer investing in property as they view it as lower risk and they feel they can understand the process more easily. Often, those properties with a high rental yield may have a poor capital appreciation potential, whilst low yielding rentals can grow significantly in capital terms. So it is important to think about what you want from your expat property portfolio, ask yourself, why are you investing, for income or for growth?
Location is everything, so it pays to think about where you want your expat buy to let mortgage portfolio to be based – often choosing an area where you have friends or family or one which you know well can pay dividends and if family are nearby, they can keep an eye on your asset and help out from time to time or in emergencies.
If you’d like more advice concerning expat buy to let mortgages, simply contact us, or call: 0208 333 9125.
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Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
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