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Buying house in the UK when working abroad
professorpjcornucopia
Posts: 1 Newbie
Long time lurker, first time poster (no innuendo intended!).
Apologies in advance for the length of this post-I sincerely hope someone might be able to help/point me in the right direction.
First, a little background: due to the lack of jobs in the sector I work in (and projections for cuts for the next five years or so), I've been relegated to working abroad, and, by the looks of things, will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I'm not in the remotest sense a "wealthy" expat-I'm not a lawyer or in finance and do not command the expat packages that often get a lot of press. That said, I'm capable of making some savings and as a result I've been giving some thought on buying back home in the UK as a form of security (I've always rented before).
My idea would be to obtain a mortgage for a flat (I've got around a 15% deposit) and pay off a substantial amount each month through my earnings abroad. My younger brother would live there and contribute a token sum towards rent (which would allow him to save) and pay council tax, so the property itself is not a buy-to-let, although he could maybe take on a flatmate to share costs. Ultimately, I would be aiming to have the property paid for in around 8 years (if not less) with minor help from my brother.
I'm aware that banks won't give out mortgages to those who are on "temporary" contracts (my contracts typically last 2 years each), but are there any options available to me?
On one level, I'm aware that it would probably be far more prudent for me to transfer my salary to a savings account and then, in around ten years or so, just buy an apartment outright, but that would be ignoring two fundamental aspects-the benefit to my brother during that time, and also the fact that I have nowhere to live/stay/store my belongings when I am back in the UK (generally a couple of weeks in summer and Christmas). I'm also cognisant of the state of the market right now and that house prices are not guaranteed to rise in the future.
This is a particularly messy situation, I feel, and bar approaching big expat banks who require fantastic sums of money just to open accounts with them, I'm not sure what my next steps should/could be.
Anyone out there who has been in a similar situation/could offer some advice? It would be much appreciated.
Apologies in advance for the length of this post-I sincerely hope someone might be able to help/point me in the right direction.
First, a little background: due to the lack of jobs in the sector I work in (and projections for cuts for the next five years or so), I've been relegated to working abroad, and, by the looks of things, will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I'm not in the remotest sense a "wealthy" expat-I'm not a lawyer or in finance and do not command the expat packages that often get a lot of press. That said, I'm capable of making some savings and as a result I've been giving some thought on buying back home in the UK as a form of security (I've always rented before).
My idea would be to obtain a mortgage for a flat (I've got around a 15% deposit) and pay off a substantial amount each month through my earnings abroad. My younger brother would live there and contribute a token sum towards rent (which would allow him to save) and pay council tax, so the property itself is not a buy-to-let, although he could maybe take on a flatmate to share costs. Ultimately, I would be aiming to have the property paid for in around 8 years (if not less) with minor help from my brother.
I'm aware that banks won't give out mortgages to those who are on "temporary" contracts (my contracts typically last 2 years each), but are there any options available to me?
On one level, I'm aware that it would probably be far more prudent for me to transfer my salary to a savings account and then, in around ten years or so, just buy an apartment outright, but that would be ignoring two fundamental aspects-the benefit to my brother during that time, and also the fact that I have nowhere to live/stay/store my belongings when I am back in the UK (generally a couple of weeks in summer and Christmas). I'm also cognisant of the state of the market right now and that house prices are not guaranteed to rise in the future.
This is a particularly messy situation, I feel, and bar approaching big expat banks who require fantastic sums of money just to open accounts with them, I'm not sure what my next steps should/could be.
Anyone out there who has been in a similar situation/could offer some advice? It would be much appreciated.
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