Getting a mortgage in the UK while living in the UAE can be challenging enough. Throw in the fact that you’re self employed with only one year’s trading history and you have a complex gifting arrangement in place on the property, and it becomes almost impossible. Almost.
The Client
A few years prior, our client had helped his father-in-law purchase a right-to-buy property, and had gifted him the funds to complete the purchase.
The time had come when he wanted the money back as they’d agreed. So, they had transferred the property into our clients’ name.
However, upon the transfer he wanted to immediately raise funds against it to repay a bridging loan he’d taken out elsewhere – hence coming to us for help.
The problem here, is that you cannot remortgage a property within 6 months of it transferring ownership. It’s known as back-to-back remortgaging, and is generally not allowed due to anti-money laundering regulations.
Not only that, but our client had also recently moved to Dubai with his partner and had closed down their UK companies, opening new business in the UAE. Despite having a solid income, they only had one years’ accounts – just one third of the typical three year requirement.
How We Helped
Our solution was for the clients’ father-in-law to also be present on the mortgage via a JBSP (Joint Borrower, Sole Proprietor) arrangement with him and his wife.
Upon completion, the father-in-law could immediately gift the funds raised to the client to repay the bridging loan.
While a bridging lender wouldn’t normally be happy with this type of repayment process, we were able to speak to them directly to explain the case in more detail and assuage any concerns.
With regards to our client’s lack of trading history, we worked closely with the lender to smooth over the cracks. They asked for extremely detailed information on the clients’ business, how he secured clients, accountant references, and more – perhaps the most due diligence we’ve ever seen for a mortgage.
Thanks to our strong relationship with the lender and detailed explanation of the broader situation, we managed to get the deal over the line. The client raised £176k against the property value of £325k.
Needless to say, this case would be nigh-on impossible without the help of a specialist expat mortgage broker that’s very familiar with the international mortgage landscape.
