Mortgages for British expats living abroad buying residential property in the UK
Buy to Let mortgages for expats looking to invest in the UK property market.
Remortgaging existing UK property for expats living overseas and earning in foreign currency.
If you’ve struggled to get a mortgage or agreement in principle from your bank, or even with another mortgage broker, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Book a free, no-obligation call with our expats to see if you’re eligible for a UK mortgage and how we can help.
Luther has been an extremely diligent and helpful mortgage advisor. He was able to offer advice on mortgaging a property that other advisors had told us was not possible.
Luther took on my remortgaging case despite several complexities (expat living in a higher financial risk country, requiring a loan to purchase property here, through remortgaging my UK house). Luther delivered in every regard, maintaining excellent communication throughout.
Louis has been brilliant from moment one. Very personable, kind, knowledgeable and thorough. Working across different time zones was not a problem at all and Louis was always ready to help guide me through any jargon that I had to decipher – he knows what he is talking about!
Book a free call with one of our expat mortgage brokers so we can explore your borrowing potential. We’ll need to know where you’re based, your income, and your property aspirations.
If you’re eligible, we’ll compare options from multiple expat lenders, high street banks & international building societies to find the best fit for your situation. We are whole of market and fully independent.
When we’ve found the best terms for you, we’ll present you with your options and provide your Agreement in Principle to solidify your buying position.
We’ll submit your full mortgage application. We do the heavy lifting, keeping it as simple and stress-free for you as we possibly can – and we’ll keep you updated every step of the way.
Enjoy your new UK property, with the peace of mind that you got the best deal on the market for your mortgage.
An independent, whole of market, UK expat mortgage broker.
We can help expats living in the below countries buy property in the UK:
Find out How Much You Could Borrow
Our calculator is designed to give you a rough indication of how much you could borrow with an expat mortgage, depending on your income and the currency in which you’re earning.
We provide 3 figures: a low, medium, and higher estimate.
At UK Expat Mortgage, we can take your application to multiple lenders and package it in the best way possible to ensure you get the maximum borrowing potential available should you need it for your property purchase.
We also negotiate rates on your behalf, and handle your application from start to finish until you own your UK property.
The expat mortgage process varies depending on whether you’re:
When returning to the UK after living abroad, you’ll generally have two main paths to explore:
These mortgages typically offer the best interest rates and most favorable terms.
You’ll find them advertised by high street banks like Santander, and the main advantage of these products is their competitive rates and terms.
However, they come with a significant caveat: they usually require a solid UK credit history, which you may not have if you’ve been living overseas for an extended period.
If you don’t have a strong UK credit history, expat mortgages become a viable alternative. (We’ll cover how you can build a UK credit profile quickly later, as sometimes it can be worth delaying your application to do this).
Here’s what you need to know about expat mortgage products:
Despite the slightly higher costs, expat mortgages remain a popular and viable option for many returning expats to get their foot back on the UK property ladder.
If you’re aiming for a standard UK mortgage, establishing or re-establishing your UK credit history is key.
At UK Expat Mortgage, we can advise on the best approach for you and roughly how long it may take, but here are some generally effective strategies across the board:
Alternatively, you could consider renting and applying this same strategy, but with most rental contracts lasting a minimum of 12 months (or 6 months at best), this is a longer-term approach and might not be worth the costs.
Getting a buy-to-let mortgage in the UK as an expat has its challenges, but it’s far from impossible.
There are specialised lenders who offer mortgages specifically for expats looking to invest in UK property.
These mortgages are designed to accommodate the unique circumstances of expats, including overseas residency, earnings in foreign currency, and lack of UK credit history.
Consider exploring interest-only expat mortgages.
These can provide more flexibility for your cash flow while you’re working overseas and are generally popular among expats, especially those earning large annual bonuses, for example.
You can repay the mortgage ad hoc in line with your earnings, or simply service the interest until you sell the property further down the line, hopefully taking profits from rental income and asset apreciation.
Many expats face rejection when approaching high street banks for mortgages while living abroad.
This is because most of these banks aren’t set up for expat mortgages – they lack specialist underwriters and focus on generic UK mortgages.
Remember: A mortgage advisor from a high street bank can only advise on that bank’s own products. If they can’t offer an expat mortgage, they might tell you it’s not possible, when in fact it is through other lenders.
This is where specialist expat mortgage brokers come in. We have connections with:
These connections allow us to facilitate a wide range of expat mortgage solutions. We can compare rates across the market to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible for your situation.
Expat mortgage rates in the UK are generally slightly higher than standard mortgage rates due to:
However, specialist lenders and international building societies that cater to the expat market may offer more competitive rates.
High street banks often offer the best expat mortgage rates, but only a small number accept expat mortgages, and their lending criteria are typically the most strict.
We do our best to fit our clients’ applications into high street lending criteria if the rate saving is significant, but if this isn’t possible a competitive solution from a building society or specialist lender is still affordable.
Be prepared for potentially higher costs in terms of:
The expat mortgage process generally takes about the same time as a standard mortgage, ranging from 2 to 6 weeks, but sometimes slightly longer due to:
A good expat mortgage broker with an understanding of the international landscape can help speed up this process.
You generally need a 20% deposit for a residential expat mortgage.
Some lenders are willing to go higher than this for some applicants depending on your income and situation, while others won’t.
For buy to let expat mortgages, you generally need a 25% deposit.
Again, some lenders can go above this threshold in some cases, and others will cut lending off below this – it depends on the lender and your specific application.
To understand exactly how much you can borrow, how much deposit you’ll need and how much it could cost you in terms of rates and fees, book a free call with an advisor and we can walk you through the details.
For help with the process and to get a clear picture of your borrowing potential, speak to us today.
You can generally borrow from 3 to 5.5 times your salary with a residential expat mortgage, provided you have the necessary deposit to facilitate the loan size.
Note that if you’re not earning in GBP, your income will be docked roughly 15% to account for currency fluctuations.
Use our expat mortgage calculator for a rough idea.
Buy to let expat mortgages are based on the projected rental income of the portfolio and stress testing by the lender, so this is a separate calculation. Speak to us if you have a buy to let property in mind and want to work out whether you can afford to purchase it – or if you just want an initial idea of what you may be able to afford.
Working with a specialist expat mortgage broker can significantly improve your chances of securing a loan with favorable terms and rates. Here’s why:
Perhaps most importantly, they provide end-to-end support for your application. This includes: