Expats do you know your mortgage?

As many as one in three expat homeowners in the UK don’t know what mortgage rate they are on, potentially costing them thousands of pounds each year, according to new research. Are you one of these?

The survey covered over 1500 expat homeowners with a mortgage in the UK and found that one in three (34%) didn’t know what rate they were on. A further four in ten (41%) only knew the approximate figure.

One in four (25%) of those who took part in the survey were on their mortgage lender’s standard variable rate (SVR), usually costing more than other products available from the same provider. The survey showed that only 35% of expat homeowners were on a fixed rate deal.

Looking deeper into the findings they reveal that borrowers with an average-priced home could end up paying as much as £450-£800 a month (over £4000 per year) more on their lender’s SVR.

Of those on SVR who had been on the same mortgage for at least the past five years, when asked why they hadn’t switched one in five (22%) said it wasn’t worth the hassle and one in seven (15%) claimed that they hadn’t thought about it.

There is a clear level of apathy when it comes to mortgage deals, over 70% said if re-mortgaging was made easier they would change immediately.

The re-mortgage market is competitive at the moment, so there’s a good chance that re-mortgaging will save you money. Speak to an independent expat mortgage adviser is a great place to start to find out your options, they will help make the prosses run smoothly and limit the paperwork you have to do.

Can we help?

If you would like to know more about a new or re-mortgage please do make contact and one of our qualified advisers will be happy to help.