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Expat Case Study

The case study below shows a case for an expatriate client and how we were able to assist them with their finance needs.

In this particular case the client was a resident of Vietnam and had an existing portfolio of 3 properties and was looking to capital raise on an unencumbered property to fund the purchase of further investment properties, to raise the funds required the client needed to take a 5 year fixed interest rate to use the lower stress rate applied to draw the funds from the property. The application was accepted by the lender and the process ran smoothly, through underwriting and valuation.

Contact us today to discuss Expat Mortgages and how we can assist you.

Buy to Live OR Buy to Let?

These are the two types of expat mortgages that are available to clients, with Buy to Live being for clients that are working abroad but whose family live in the UK, some believe that they can buy the property for them to live in when they are in the UK and leave it empty when they are abroad but this is not the case, any mortgage company will require buildings insurance to run alongside he mortgage and this would be invalidated if the property is left unoccupied for a period of 30 days or more, they can also not let the property whilst they are abroad without the consent of the lender.

Expat Buy to Let applications work in the same way as those for UK residents in terms of the rental income and loan to values. With Expat mortgages the important factors that need to be considered for the client are;

Buy to Live (at date of writing)

  • Maximum loan to value is 80%
  • Minimum loan as standard is £100,000.
  • Lenders have restrictions on which countries they will accept applicants from, typically any country with international sanctions is prohibited.
  • When assessing affordability lenders will take a shaving off the client’s income to allow for any fluctuations in the currency exchange rate
  • Clients must hold a UK bank account for the mortgage payments
  • If documents need to be certified this can be done at a notary public in their country of residence

Buy to Let

  • Maximum loan to value is 80%
  • Minimum loan as standard is £100,000
  • Clients must hold a UK bank account
  • Some lenders require the client to have a UK credit footprint to allow for a credit scoring on their system
  • First time landlords can have their loan to value restricted, typically to 65% If you have any questioned regarding some of the more detailed criteria applied, we will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Please note our fee structure for Expat mortgages is higher than our standard pricing, so a great opportunity to earn higher broker fees for Licensees, but always please check with an Advisor before quoting any fees to the client.

To know more and speak to one of our Expat Mortgage Experts, call us now on +44 1494 622 555. You can also fill in this short online form to get started. Our team of Expat Mortgage Experts will get back to you straight away.

Prime outer London Expat Remortgage Case Study Overseas investors
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Expat Remortgage – 2 Flat Multi-unit block Case Study

An Expat client submitted an enquiry to refinance one of their portfolios, in this case a 2 flat multi-unit block on one freehold. The client had bought the property for cash and was looking to release the equity in the property to fund further purchases.

The challenges around Expatriate mortgages usually tend to be around credit score (or lack of) and whether the clients have any open lines of credit in the UK – all lenders will require the clients to have a valid UK bank account as this will be needed for the direct debit for the monthly mortgage payment once complete.

Contact us today to discuss Expat Mortgages and how we can assist you.

Another thing to consider is that most lenders will have a minimum income requirement that will need to be satisfied and as ex-pat clients will invariably be paid in a currency other than Sterling. Most often you will find that ex-pat investor has good income but the thing to bear in mind is that lenders will shave a portion of their income off to allow for fluctuations in the exchange rate, whilst others will look back at the performance over the last 5 years and take the exchange rate at its worst to underwrite on a worst-case scenario.

Things to consider when discussing Expatriate finance with a client:

• Rates are higher than standard

• Lender’s arrangement fees are usually a percentage of the loan rather than a flat fee

• Check to see what credit they still have in the UK – will need an active bank account

• Certain countries will not be accepted by lenders, below are 2 links to the financial action task force for countries with increased monitoring or calls for action. Other lenders will use the Basel scale, the second link:

Financial Action Task Force
Basel Scale

• Certain Currencies will not be accepted by Lenders, usually if the currencies is volatile

• Loan to Values can be restricted

To know more and speak to one of our Expat Mortgage Experts, call us now on +44 1494 622 555. You can also fill in this short online form to get started. Our team of Expat Mortgage Experts will get back to you straight away.