Expat mortgages

urrrbanfox

Hi all,

Newbie so be gentle - haven't been able to find anything in the forums that answers this...

I'm currently living in France and am looking to buy a flat here, for which I have a deposit already saved.

Unfortunately, the French being French, they have a rule that unless you are on a permanent employment contract (rather than a fixed term one) you can't possibly get a mortgage (or any other type of small loan!)

After doing some research I've learned that I could get a mortgage from a UK bank in euros.

I'm only at the beginning of the hunt, and I came across a website which gives a nice list of lenders. It is the sixth result from google uk when you search 'expat mortgages' (I can't post links on here as a new user).

However, I've hardly heard of any on this list apart from Barclays, and I just wondered if anyone had any experiences with any other expat lenders or advice to share on this issue? It will be my first time buy so am a bit nervous!

Thanks in advance for any help,

Alice

Fairdo_2

Hi Alice

Welcome. I may not be the best to advise, as I haven't touched Ex Pat for a while, but there are also some International Mortgage Brokers around aswell, that you could utilise.

One was Conti Financial and for the life of me, the other I used to deal with has escaped my mind now.

I would imagine HSBC may be a good direct bank to check with as they profess to being a Worldwide Bank. I used to also used Royal Bank of Scotland International, based in Guernsey.

But also make sure you are well aware of the Legal differences of buying abroad and the costs involved.

I'm sure more Posters will be more au fait with current situation, so wait it out and I'm sure they'll be along soon.

Good luck.

urrrbanfox

Many thanks for this useful reply

Alice