What Happens when my UK Expat Mortgage Expires?

As an expat, what happens when my UK mortgage expires?

Many expats move abroad and rent their flats or houses out, without advising their existing UK lender. Whilst strictly  speaking this can be a breach of the lender’s terms and conditions, in many cases the current mortgage company will offer a short term limited “permission to let,” which can provide a temporary solution.

For those with a fixed rate mortgage or discounted rate mortgage which has a given maturity date, what happens when that date arrives, if you are now living aboard as an expat, or what happens when your permission to let expires?

If you are a customer of one of the major banks such as HSBC expat, Barclays International, Santander or Lloyds International, some will offer an expat product, but they will only offer from within their own portfolio. So expats with HSBC mortgages will only be offered HSBC expat mortgages, Barclays International offered Barclays expat products and so on. Some lender such as Lloyds International and Santander cannot offer loans to expats or international residents at present.

At this point, you will need to find a new UK expat mortgage. You will need to advise the lender you are no longer UK resident – this will become obvious too, once you start communicating from abroad from an overseas address. It is likely the lender may wish to update the data they hold on you, so they could for example, ask for an up to date bank statement and evidence you are still employed. Again, this will show you are now living as an expatriate.

Most UK high street lenders cannot offer expat mortgages to customers living abroad – expat lending is a specialist lending field. The job of an expat mortgage broker such as Offshoreonline is to find lenders who can support you with the correct expat mortgage type, while you are living and working abroad.

Should you return to the UK, you can always convert your UK expat buy to let mortgage back into a main residential loan, subject to the conditions in force at the time.

When a fixed rate, special deal or permission to let period ends, you will need to apply for an expat buy to let mortgage. This is a simple process and we can offer a range of lenders and products to choose from. Expect to be asked to prove your identity with a copy of your passport, prove your address with a utility bill and provide evidence you are have an income, as well as up to date statements for all loans you hold. Thereafter, the process simple and can be completed online or over the phone, with original signed documents being sent at the end of the process.

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