Housebuying for non UK citizens

MoneySavvyGrl

Hi,

I am American and my husband is French. We have been living and renting in London for the past 6 months, and we hope to buy here one day. I have an HSBC account and my husband is now looking at opening an UK account. He feels he should get a different bank from me, as this will give us another alternative when we ask for a home loan. I am not sure if this is a true refection of how things work in the UK, can anyone clarify? Also, I have heard its very difficult to obtain lending as an American, and I am not sure if being married to an EU citizen will help. What smart steps can we take now to improve our chances at home buying down the line?

ACG

Forget who your bank is with. It makes very little difference. They have criteria for lending money out and you either fit it or you dont.

What type of visa do you have? Your husband will be fine, i havnt really done too many foreign national mortgages but if you have indefinite right to remain you are fine, if not the lenders will be very limited.

sirmosh

Don't worry about which bank your with, you'd be stupid to just go with the bank you hold a current account at in most cases any way. Go see a mortgage advisor and find the best deals.

WellKnownSid

How long you've been resident will often come into play - we found it hard to get a BTL mortgage being resident for < 1 year with no proof of (UK) income and no (UK) credit history, but got there in the end.

I've not seen any lending criteria that rules out Americans!

googler

The UK has two distinct house buying systems - Scotland, and England & Wales.

Leaving mortgages aside, there's little value in anyone offering you advice on the mechanics of buying until we know where you intend to buy.

SnooksNJ

ACG wrote: »

Forget who your bank is with. It makes very little difference. They have criteria for lending money out and you either fit it or you dont.

What type of visa do you have? Your husband will be fine, i havnt really done too many foreign national mortgages but if you have indefinite right to remain you are fine, if not the lenders will be very limited.

My guess an EEA permit.

MoneySavvyGrl

Im on an EEA family permit and I am applying for a resident card. (Good guess :-) We will potentially be looking to buy in England.

Interesting that being a customer at a bank does not affect your mortgage rate. Thanks for all the responses.