Mortgage for family home-one earner working abroad

scientist_2

My wife and I are looking to buy a home for the first time. We had approached London and Country as our circumstances are not straightforward, and the broker assured us would all be well. However, once we put in an offer, and he started calling lenders, he then got back to us and told us he wouldn't be able to help. We are now very worried!

Key points:
We would require 65% LTV
We are both employed on fixed term contracts in academia (we are both scientists with PhDs, and this is the norm)
I am working abroad in Germany (intending to return in 2 years) - I am a public employee
My wife is currently working in the UK on a Tier 2 visa
My wife would live in the property until I return
We both have excellent credit histories in the UK
I continue to have UK bank accounts and credit cards with a UK address (my wife's)

I have been told that I should approach a specialist broker, and/or one of the smaller building societies that are willing to manually underwrite mortgages.

Does anyone know if we stand a chance given our circumstances?

scientist_2

Anyone? Any brokers?

lostftb

I'm not a broker and only just buying our first property so not experienced either, but our situation is not straightforward either (one on fixed term contract plus short uk residency etc) and we approached L&C first and didn't get a good service from them (was straight no for the person on fixed term). Found a local broker on a site called unbiased and he's found a lender and has been great so far. Contact a different broker, meet with them and explain your situation. We met in the evening and talked him through, he had found a lender that would lend the following day. Waiting on the outcome of our mortgage app now, but so far so good.

scientist_2

Thanks. It does seem like London and Country are only suited to straightforward cases. I'll look into finding a more specialised broker.

Dave_Ham

Evening, this is not going to be easy but will come down to the detail.

Are you paid into UK or German bank account?

What are your respective income and how much are you looking to borrow?

L&C get mixed reviews on here, but they are free and therefore expect the more specialist brokers to come with higher fees.

Best of luck

scientist_2

We're both on about £32k each, looking to borrow £210k. I'm paid into a German bank account.

lostftb

Just thought I'd add - our combined income is only about 5k more than yours and we got AIP for just under 300k. Also our current broker is also free to us just like L&C (gets commission from the bank) but he has access to most of the market (apart from the direct ones only obviously) and while a specialist (expensive) one might have been even better, this seems to do the job in our case.

scientist_2

Thanks, that sounds encouraging, although I believe my expat status is more of a sticking point for most lenders (very few will consider expats these days). I investigated Newbury building society, who do consider expats, but require ILR for non-UK citizens, which is much more strict than other criteria I have seen.

Natwest International has also been suggested to me, as they are specifically aimed at expats and foreign nationals.

We have a large deposit, and the loan amount seems well within affordability, so I think it's just a question of them being cool with fixed term contracts and the expat situation.