Islay Robinson
Arranging mortgages for British expats can be incredibly challenging, particularly if they receive their salary in a foreign income. Fortunately, the Enness team in London were able to achieve this recently for a client who was a UK national living and working in the UAE.
This individual owned three properties in the UK, two of which were buy-to-lets and another residential property. This client hoped to remortgage their residential property, but was having trouble finding a lender and a good rate due to his expat status. His work also meant he was very busy and often working unsociable hours, so he approached the Enness UAE team to find out if a brokerage could find him a solution.
The property in question was located in the British countryside, and was used as this individual’s residential property for his family, and himself when not working. I therefore referred this client’s case back to our London office, where they set to work scouring the market for a suitable lender.
OUR SOLUTION
Often when sourcing mortgages for British expats, the Enness team places such clients with private banks. Although more expensive, private banks are usually able to offer more flexible terms for individuals not resident in the UK, or earning their income in a foreign currency.
In this instance, the London team were able to source a high-street lender who were able to offer high-street products to British expats earning in Dirham. This was a fantastic result, because whilst high-street lenders are usually much less flexible, they do offer the cheapest rates on the market and are very appealing in this regard.
The Enness team in London were able to secure a fantastic 2-year fixed rate of just 1.25%, which would be an excellent offering for any client, let alone an expat paid in foreign currency. This case highlights how mortgages for British expats need not be prohibitively expensive, allowing such clients to keep a foothold in the stable British property market.
We also referred this client to our in-house insurance brokerage, Enness Insurance, to discuss his insurance requirements.
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