mortgage for tier 2 visa holder?

tranejoan

Hello, just wanted to have an update on the situation wrt Tier 2 visa holders looking to buy...

I've been in the country since October 2016, and I have until October 2018 for my current Visa, but I am also 100% certain I will be offered another 2-year contract. Unfortunately I'm a poor scientist (i.e. salary under 35k per annum), and I've just been told by HSBC they would only consider me if my annual income is over 75k. Depressing really, and this is despite me telling them I will have at least 40k to put towards downpayment (on a mortgage up to 200k worth).

Any advice? Should I just give up because of my status? I've been studying/working all over the world and would like to have a place of my own

Thanks in advance!

amnblog

A 'no' from HSBC is not a good Barometer.


If have a larger deposit (£50,000) you may have some options.


Given your limited time here, however, you may not pass credit score.


Consult a broker.

nathyb1234

tranejoan wrote: »

Hello, just wanted to have an update on the situation wrt Tier 2 visa holders looking to buy...

I've been in the country since October 2016, and I have until October 2018 for my current Visa, but I am also 100% certain I will be offered another 2-year contract. Unfortunately I'm a poor scientist (i.e. salary under 35k per annum), and I've just been told by HSBC they would only consider me if my annual income is over 75k. Depressing really, and this is despite me telling them I will have at least 40k to put towards downpayment (on a mortgage up to 200k worth).

Any advice? Should I just give up because of my status? I've been studying/working all over the world and would like to have a place of my own

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I'm also a tier 2 visa and I live in the UK since 12/2015. My visa will expires next year and HSBC (where I have my bank account) tell me that they couldn't offer a mortgage offer.
So, we are now buying a new building house and we've received a mortgage offer from Santander and we're using help to buy equity loan.

You can buy a house but some lenders could deny your mortgage application due your visa is expiring soon. However, a good mortgage broker can advise you the best lender for your case.

SuboJvR

Hi there

I googled mortgages for foreign nationals recently and in all of the hits, HSBC seemed to be one of the most strict.

However, most lenders will want some more assurance that you will be remaining in the UK as you've only been here a short time, as well as some history of your finances here. Perhaps a letter from your employer, if you are so convinced your contract would be renewed?

These are some things to think about:

Are you registered on the electoral roll?
How long is your credit history in the UK? (some lenders seem to want 3 years+, this would match 3 years of address history for a British national as well).
How long is your leave to remain? (Some want 2 years and 6 months which is essentially impossible for those on spousal visa 5 year route).

I moved in with my now-husband 2 years after we met, which proved to be a very good move for him because I was already aware of how my financial life would affect my ability to get a mortgage so started badgering him about things too. Hence we started then to tick all the required boxes (e.g. he took out a credit card as well, then incrementally over the years he applied for finance agreements in his name e.g. starting with a bicycle, then a motorbike, and finally a car) in the hope we would be able to buy one day. And 5 years later we have passed a credit check and have a mortgage offer.

I would suggest:

Either being patient, and waiting for your contract renewal.
Or discussing with a mortgage broker/advisor in detail - they will know the lenders who are a bit more open-minded with regard to foreign nationals, and see what they recommend.

Thrugelmir

tranejoan wrote: »

Unfortunately I'm a poor scientist (i.e. salary under 35k per annum), and I've just been told by HSBC they would only consider me if my annual income is over 75k.

That's their target lending market so don't take the rejection personally. Mortgage lenders are very different in many ways.

Duronto

Hello everyone,
New here and this would be my 1st post in this forum!
I am in Tier-2 visa with already 2 and half years of stay in UK. I am planning to renew my visa next year. After renewing for another three years I am planning to give a try for house mortgage as a 1st time buyer. Just imagine I shall got the mortgage. Now I have few queries:

1. I am just wondering what would happen to my mortgaged property if my Tier-2 visa expires for loosing job (if in case)?

2. In that scenario of loosing job I shall get only one month to regain visa by another sponsorship or leave the country. Once left there will be 12 months of cooling off period and so I shall not be able to return back to UK in this 12 months. What will happen to my property?

3. If I have to leave UK, I guess I shall not be able to rent my property either as it would NOT be mortgaged for buy-to-let scheme. What will happen to my property?[/INDENT]

Any thought/suggestions/recommendation is highly welcome.
Thanks.

Lilla_D

Hi there,

1) As long as you make the monthly mortgage payments in full and on time, nothing happens. If your initial deal expires and you can't take out a new deal, then you automatically revert to the lender's standard variable rate.

2) See my response above. Just because you're out of the country, no one takes your property away as long as you pay your mortgage.

3) Incorrect guess - when someone's circumstances change, then most lenders can accommodate this fact and if you apply for a consent to let, they normally give it to you. It does normally mean that you can't take out a new low rate residential deal and your interest rate may be increased, but most lenders will allow you to rent out the property with a consent to let. However, there are lenders who can give you a BTL deal for an existing UK property even if you're not in the UK any more.

Then again, if you leave the country, you can always sell the property

Duronto

Lilla_D wrote: »

Hi there,

1) As long as you make the monthly mortgage payments in full and on time, nothing happens. If your initial deal expires and you can't take out a new deal, then you automatically revert to the lender's standard variable rate.

2) See my response above. Just because you're out of the country, no one takes your property away as long as you pay your mortgage.

3) Incorrect guess - when someone's circumstances change, then most lenders can accommodate this fact and if you apply for a consent to let, they normally give it to you. It does normally mean that you can't take out a new low rate residential deal and your interest rate may be increased, but most lenders will allow you to rent out the property with a consent to let. However, there are lenders who can give you a BTL deal for an existing UK property even if you're not in the UK any more.

Then again, if you leave the country, you can always sell the property

Thanks Lilla for your helpful response. Now I find hope to give it a try to be a home owner!

The only concern is the limited period of the consent-to-let i.e., 12 months most of the time I guess. And I am not sure how willing the lenders will be to renew consent-to-let after 12 months. So, it is not a long term solution I guess.
My prospective lender will be Halifax. Not sure about Halifax's specific rules and regulations.

Another point: Will using 'Help-to-Buy: ISA' as a 1st time buyer in my original mortgage restrict me to get consent-to-let?

Thanks.