Mortgage application problem due to UK visa

Pensivebarracuda

Hi. My wife and I have recently been refused a mortgage with Nationwide as my wife is Australian and her visa is a 'spouse visa'. This means that she has he right to live and work in the UK but until September 2014 she does not have 'permanency'. Nationwide are claiming that as a result she is a risk as if we seperate before 2014 she will simply return to Australia. We have made an offer on a house, we have a 15% deposit and meet all affordability criteria. Any advice would be gratefully received as we don't know where to go from here. We have used a broker and he thinks we need at leat a 25% deposit to make this work...

I should add the house is a New Build but not in a New Build Scheme.

kingstreet

FYI this is Nationwide criteria on the issue;-

Non-EEA Foreign Nationals

For applications to be considered, indefinite leave must be evidenced by a stamp in a currently valid passport or written confirmation from the Home Office.

Where indefinite leave to remain in the UK is not granted, applications can be considered subject to meeting the following criteria:

Minimum 25% deposit which must be from the applicant's own resources. Gifts, Builder's Cashback and Top-Ups are unacceptable sources of deposit

Applicants must have been legally resident in the UK for at least twelve months

Applicants must have either Tier 1 or Tier 2 immigration status

Applicants must have their salary paid into a UK bank account

Applicants who do not have indefinite leave to remain in the UK but who meet all the above criteria can be referred to a Specialist Underwriter who will assess the individual application and approve it where appropriate.

Try another broker if yours has given up.

Crashandburn

Problem you're coming up a against is the new build rules and visa rules.

Does the purchase price include any incentives?

Reason for asking is that she may fit on some of the foreign national rules for Halifax but they will do 80% LTV on a New Build property, but they can use 5% deposit from a builder as part of the 20% ie you put in 15 and they put in 5.

Other alternative is to speak to Woolwich. Sometimes their agreement in principle team can go beyond standard criteria, with the strength of this one is that she is a second applicant and not sole.

Good luck

Pensivebarracuda

Would any lenders entertain the idea of a sole mortgage (me) with my wife's wages as additional 'bonuses'? Thereby skirting round the visa issue?

kingstreet

No. If she isn't an applicant, her income is ignored and it's not beyond the realms of possibility she'd also be classed as a dependent by some lenders.

Pensivebarracuda

Does anyone know any lenders that will accept foreign nationals on their mortgage books?

egoode

I had this problem years ago and basically you will need a much bigger deposit and a mortgage broker that's had experience with this before so will know which mortgage providers to target. Generally they want a 20-25% deposit when you don't have ILR.