European Mortgages

ninja_jim

I've recently returned from a holiday on the continent with my family, visiting my parents who own a property in Switzerland. My Mother is Swiss, and when my Grandmother passed away she took the option of purchasing the family home from the rest of her brothers and sisters. Now that my parents have finished paying off the ridiculously small amount of money they borrowed to buy this ridiculously large house, they're looking at the possibility of buying other properties in the village, even though my Dad's just retired - as he says "at 1.5% on a 100 year mortgage, we'd be fools not to!".

My understanding of Swiss and German mortgages is that you can take out a 100 year mortgage at a ridiculously low rate, thereby increasing your purchasing power substantially - when the time comes, the bank give your children the option of continuing to pay the debt or sell (the bank sells at market value, takes what is owed and pays the rest to the family). I know this relies on banks with VERY deep pockets and the will to take the risk over a much longer period.

I have a few questions on this:

1. Is there any thought as to this type of mortgage being offered in the UK, and if not, why not? It makes a lot of sense, especially given the difficulty first time buyers have in the current climate.

2. Since my Mother is Swiss I am able to purchase property in Switzerland without too much trouble (bizarrely, if my it were my Dad it would be a different story), and therefore take out one of those lovely mortgages. Is it possible to take out a Swiss mortgage to purchase a property in the UK?

3. I understand the difficulty caused by the fluctuating exchange rates, but realistically, how much could I get hit by? Over the last 15 years the rate has dropped from CHF10 : £1 to around CHF1.5 : £1 - could it really get any worse, or could I be even better off if it returned to the situation of even a few years ago?

4. If it is possible to get this mortgage, how much more buying power could I gain than with a mortgage found in the UK?

dotdash79

ninja_jim wrote: »

3. I understand the difficulty caused by the fluctuating exchange rates, but realistically, how much could I get hit by? Over the last 15 years the rate has dropped from CHF10 : £1 to around CHF1.5 : £1 - could it really get any worse, or could I be even better off if it returned to the situation of even a few years ago?
[/SIZE]

I would do some research into what happened in Iceland with mortgages impacted by exchange rates in 2007-2008.

kingstreet

The question, surely, is will a Swiss lender lend on a property in the UK?

I suspect not.

UK lenders do not lend in the way described.