Mortgage for those without indefinite leave to remain

raistlyn

Hi there,

I am first-time buyer and have spoken to a number of banks who have informed me that as a non-EU national without indefinite leave to remain in the UK, they may not be able to lend to me.

I have been working here since November 2007 and am on a visa which expires in 21 months. I am looking for a mortage of 75% to 80% LTV. I have been on the electoral roll since end-2007, I think.

Given that my visa expires in less than two years, are there lenders out there who will consider lending to me?

I am a little frustrated that when I was looking for a mortgage, not one bank or broker brought this up. I had several in-principle approvals, but was never asked the question about my leave to remain or visa, so am just a little downhearted right now... especially as I am about to make an offer on a property!

Appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks!

Senior_Paper_Monitor

There are only a very small number of lenders who will consider your case (and that depends on a number of circumstances).

These should be identified by you/your broker before any AIP

You may have done your credit rating no favours "with several in-principle approvals".

I suggest your case really needs a broker - ensure they are fully aware of your circumstances before any 'application/decision in principle' (AIP/DIP) is made (although their own processes should do this anyway) and they prediscuss the case with a lender before AIP/DIP.

herbiesjp

You should have a few options available - assuming you fit all other criteria i.e. income/debts, etc

I would suggest speaking to/using a mortgage adviser that does understand the importance of residency when it comes to a lender's lending criteria.

There would have been no point in getting approvals with lenders who would not agree the mortgage for you in the first place.

VT82

What are your plans for when your VISA expires? What if you can't stay?

Wouldn't owning a house just mess everything up? What is your motivation for home ownership - are you fairly sure you will be remaining here then, are you expecting home ownership to boost your chances of citizenship, or do you expect it to go up in value in the time you have remaining here and want to make some money?

I know it isn't relevant to your question, I'm just curious, and surprised no one else asked.

Eton_Rifle

I'm in a sort of parallel situation and will eventually be approaching a whole of market broker and bringing up the residency issue at the first contact.
In the meantime, I'm working on building a credit record from scratch.

I have several friends in the same situation who have already secured mortgages based on very hefty deposits.

raistlyn

VT82 wrote: »

What are your plans for when your VISA expires? What if you can't stay?

Wouldn't owning a house just mess everything up? What is your motivation for home ownership - are you fairly sure you will be remaining here then, are you expecting home ownership to boost your chances of citizenship, or do you expect it to go up in value in the time you have remaining here and want to make some money?

I know it isn't relevant to your question, I'm just curious, and surprised no one else asked.

My motivation is primarily that I think it is a decent investment.

As for the question of my visa expiry... well, when it expires, I will have spent close to four and a half years in the UK.

Best case scenario: my employer agrees to sponsor me for a work permit, and I get to apply for indefinite leave to remain once five years are up.

Worst case scenario: I don't get to stay here, I am forced to sell the flat in order to repay the mortgage. Again, I am pretty certain that the value will have gone up. If it hasn't, I do have other options.