Expat mortgage brokers – Your guide
If you want a mortgage and live overseas, you really need the help of a professional. This week, we take a look at three UK based mortgage brokers experienced in the art of securing expat mortgages.
I did the research so that you don’t have to. Why? Well, co cut a long story short, I failed to secure a mortgage with UK broker. Not once but twice. The same broker. And a big well known name (that shall remain nameless) that had successfully got me one quickly in the UK.
But as I know now, and should have known then, successfully securing a mortgage for somebody living overseas is a different ball game to securing one back home. There are all kinds of hurdles that we face abroad.
Things like lack of recent UK credit history, currency fluctuations and proof of address to name but a few.
The good news is. It doesn’t have to be like this. It turns out there are specialists out there, with access to accommodating lenders that can provide the help we need.
All three in our shortlist are FCA regulated, come highly recommended by their customers and have dedicated teams of experienced mortgage advisors to find you the right deal and come.
If one of these three can’t get you what you want nobody can.
Lets get into it.
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Why you need a specialist
When you move abroad anything money related quickly becomes a lot more complicated than it used to be. Nowhere is this more true than with mortgages.
There’s a key reason for this. High street lenders shy away from applicants that don’t have a current UK credit history.
This can be doubly annoying when you first move overseas because you don’t have a decent credit footprint in your country of residence either.
However, that doesn’t mean you don’t have options. It just means you need to find specialist expat mortgage advice aimed at people in your situation.
And this is where a good professional is worth their weight in gold.
They have access to lenders not available on the high street and are used to dealing with complex situations that involve non residency, multi currency and alternative ways of generating income.
This type of specialist lender can even provide bespoke products, especially for you.
But they’ll also have vanilla expat mortgages. Quite simply, mortgage products aimed at British expats.
The only difference between these and those aimed at UK residents is that deals can be less competitive.
But just to be clear. That’s not always the case. There are lenders out there that will give you the same deal as they give to residents, providing you meet their usual criteria.
Financial Conduct
Our short list of the three best expat mortgage brokers are all UK based.
Whilst there are international alternatives out there that aren’t UK based, we think mortgage advice is often superior when it comes from companies that are located in the UK.
There’s a simple reason for this. Overseas brokers don’t have to meet the stringent requirements of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
FCA regulated brokers must qualify before they can practice and this is important.
You need somebody you can trust.
Whilst mortgages facilitate better properties, and superior investment returns they also come with risk. The main one being taking on more debt than you can handle.
Whilst it is tempting to borrow as much as you can, in many cases, that’s not going to be the best course of action. You need to make sure you are being fiscally responsible when you take on large amounts of debt.
This means it is critical to speak to an advisor that is both experienced and qualified to find you the right deal.
LDN Finance
LDN Finance are a London based mortgage brokerage offering specialist advice to property buyers, both nationally and internationally. With specialist experts in expat mortgages, LDN Finance are renowned for their award-winning customer service and dedication to finding competitive mortgage terms for British expats and foreign nationals living overseas.
Why we like them: LDN Finance have over 150 lenders on their panel ranging from high street banks to private and alternative funders. This means they have access to an unrivalled amount of property finance products and have exceptional relationships with these lenders ensuring the best possible terms can be obtained.
What their customers say:
Another 508 reviews on Trustpilot have given them 4.9 out of five. That’s excellent!
What they say: We are award-winning UK property finance professionals whose unique approach to business centres on relationships:
John Charcol
John Charcol are based throughout the UK having offices in London, Southampton, Birmingham, Newcastle and Northampton.They are one of the oldest and biggest UK independent mortgage brokers and with that have 45 years of providing mortgages. Many of which to expats and non residents.
Why we like them: John Charcol have been in the business of providing specialist mortgages for over 45 years. In other words, they’ve seen it all.
What their customers say:
775 reviews on Trustpilot have given them 4.9 out of five. That’s excellent!
What they say: We work around your schedule to help you arrange a mortgage that suits your circumstances, no matter how complex.
Pinnacle Finance
Pinnacle Finance are an Essex based mortgage brokerage offering mortgage advice to UK residents and expats alike. They have experience, a dedicated team and a desire to provide excellent customer service.
Why we like them: If you mention British Expat Money in your application they will hold back their initial application fee until the mortgage offer is issued. In other words, you don’t pay unless they find you a mortgage successfully.
What their customers say:
476 reviews on Trustpilot have given them 4.9 out of five. That’s excellent!
What they say: Our team of dedicated mortgage professionals offer a wealth of experience and provide clear, diligent, expert mortgage advice, that is perfectly suited to your individual mortgage needs.
The mortgage process
Though, some people find a house before they secure funding, its usually better to do things the other way around ie get your finances firmed up first.
There are a couple of key reasons for this.
- You need to know how much you can borrow so that you know how much you can afford.
- In any kind of competitive market approaching a seller with a mortgage in principle is the next best thing to paying cash. If multiple offers come in for the same property at similar values, the vendor is almost always going to choose the one with a mortgage in principle over somebody who can’t prove funding.
So, the mortgage process begins with finding the right mortgage advice, but that’s usually just the start of the process. Here are the steps you will usually take:
- Find an expat mortgage broker that can get you the best deal
- Get a Decision in Principle (DIP), which is a promise of a loan from a lender
- Make your offer
- Provide all your documents to the lender
- Lender verifies your information and values the property
- Get your mortgage offer
- Conveyancers take over
- Complete your purchase and get the keys
Tip: Save up as big a deposit as you can. Not only will this help you get a deal in the first place, but all things being equal, the more you put down of your own money the better the deal you are likely to get.
