A recent survey has claimed that thousands of expat borrowers could be missing out on a better deal by not speaking to an independent mortgage adviser when looking for a mortgage.

Its survey of over 1,500 expats found that 31% of consumers who went direct to a lender didn’t understand how a mortgage adviser could help with their search.

The findings also showed that 69% of borrowers who went straight to a lender hadn’t re-mortgaged in the last five years and 74% stayed put because they felt they had ‘a good deal’. However, without seeking independent mortgage advice, these individuals would have missed out on mortgages deals that are only available through an independent mortgage adviser.

There are plans to use the research to tackle the misperceptions about independent mortgage advisers and raise awareness about how they can help borrowers to find the right mortgage for their needs.

Borrowers going through an independent mortgage adviser have access to many more mortgages than those going direct to the lender, including specialist mortgages for the self-employed and later life lending solutions such as lifetime mortgages..

Homeowners who benefitted from a mortgage adviser searching the market for the best mortgage deal were more likely to have switched in the last five years (29%), compared to just 19% of those who went direct. 

Borrowers who used a mortgage adviser were also overwhelmingly in favour of doing so again. 98% said that they found the support of a mortgage adviser ‘valuable’ and a further 95% said they would recommend using a mortgage adviser to family or friends.

Help required?

If you would like to review your current expat mortgage please do make contact and one of our expert independent advisers will be happy to guide you.

September this year has seen a record level of expat buy-to-let mortgage approvals as landlords look to increase their portfolios. Our recent survey of expat landlords clearly reveals they are in the market to increase their holdings as quickly as possible. The reasons are numerous for this trend, but landlords are very encouraged by the demand for rental property plus rents are increasing annually.

The survey revealed that over 50% of current expat landlords are achieving net returns of between 6.5% and 8.75% on their current portfolios. This is obviously a much larger return than any traditional savings account can currently offer.

With house values still on the increase year on year landlords are also seeing the equity within their properties increasing at a very good rate. So with all this positivity it is little wonder buy-to-let mortgages are increasing rapidly.

Home ownership in the UK has fallen to its lowest level for over 25 years which may well shock some people. When you look at the overall cost of buying a property in the UK perhaps it is not quite so surprising.

Buy-to-let mortgages

UK and expat landlords are reaping the rewards of lower mortgage interest rates and set up fees. With so much competition in the marketplace lenders are being forced to make very attractive offers to lure clients towards their product.

We always recommend being very selective before deciding on what mortgage best suits your needs. With so many deals on offer it always pays to look at all the options, for example a long-fixed rate deal may be very prudent with the fear of a rate rise looming.

Need some help?

If you need assistance when choosing your next mortgage call one of our experienced independent advisers and we will be pleased to assist.

The number of properties in England and Wales owned by foreign citizens has tripled from 88,000 in 2010 to nearly 250,000, according to new analysis by the Centre for Public Data.

Over 247,000 residential properties across England and Wales are now registered to individuals with an overseas correspondence address, nearly 1% of all registered titles compared to 0.4% in 2010.

The data was obtained from HM Land Registry on the number of property titles owned by individuals with an overseas correspondence address.

Three-quarters are registered to individuals with addresses in just 20 countries, with the main groups being the Crown dependencies and British Overseas Territories, namely Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and the British Virgin Islands, and also more recently South-East Asia and the Middle East, and English-speaking countries.

This is borne out by the current statistics from Guernsey-licensed bank, Skipton International, which specialises in buy-to-let mortgages for non-UK residents.

At the end of October 2021, 35% of their mortgage pipeline was from Hong Kong residents, with Singapore and the UAE also featuring heavily.

The growth in interest in cities such as Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds has also been notable, particularly since 2016.

Skipton mortgage manager Lorraine McLean says: “The UK is viewed by many as a solid, stable jurisdiction and many global investors are looking to the UK residential market.

“In 2019 we extended our UK mortgage proposition to include applications from overseas non-UK nationals and we are now seeing interest from a range of nationalities resident in countries around the globe.”

There seems to be no stopping the buy-to-let expat market, applications for the first 6 months of this year were up again on this time last year. Expats seem to be determined to get a foothold in the UK property market and existing expat landlords are not shy to increase their portfolios either.

Even with all the new legislation including tax changes doesn’t seem to dampen expats enthusiasm for the buy-to-let market.

The general consensus of opinion is that UK property still offers good long-term potential. One expat landlord commented “our UK property returns a good rental income annually even with the new tax laws and the value since we bought it has increase by £51,000, so it’s not all bad”.

Buy-to-lets may well be in for a rocky ride over the next few years but the general feeling is that in the long-term potential is still very good.

Are good interest rates for expats still available on buy-to-lets?

Well, the simple answer to that is yes! if you have a sizable deposit then rates are even better. Mortgage lenders are currently fighting to secure your business in a very competitive marketplace.

We have seen an increase in longer term fixed rate mortgages recently as clients want to set their outgoings of their investment property. There is also talk of rate rises later this year so this route would seem a very sensible one to consider.

It is commonly known with buy-to-let mortgages the larger the deposit you can put down the better the deal that can be secured.

Need assistance?

Our professional independent advisers are used to dealing with all types of buy-to-let mortgages, they have vast experience in this area. Please do call to discuss your requirements and we will be happy to help.

Re-mortgaging has reached record levels and now accounts for 41.5% of all expat mortgages conducted according to recent research.

The proportion of expat re-mortgages has risen by nearly 13% over the last 12 months, as homeowners are increasingly switching mortgage companies to find more attractive rates.

The promise of increased interest rates has no doubt helped drive demand for re-mortgaging. More and more expats are re-mortgaging to save money but also raise capital which is locked in their properties.

Many expat homeowners and landlords who have been saddled with lenders on less than competitive interest rates or stuck on higher standard variable rates are switching to more attractive fixed term deals. Rising property prices has also had an impact on re-mortgage growth, especially in the Southeast of the UK.

It is expected the demand for re-mortgaging will continue to rise in 2022, especially if there are rate rises. There is likely to be a shift towards more consumers considering fixed rate deals as the risk of rate rises remain for the time being. Expat buy-to-let re-mortgaging has also risen and now represents 12.8% of all mortgages, up by 6% year on year.

As a general overview, if you are an expat and not locked into a penalty mortgage deal good advice would be to review it with a view to saving money.

Can we assist?

If you would like a new or re-mortgage, please do make contact and one of our fully trained independent advisers will be happy to help.