The case in brief
- Client: British Expat/ US resident
- Property type: Residencial into buy-to-let
- Property value: £1.1 million
- Loan Amount: £1.8 million
- LTV: 61%
Are you interested in turning your residential mortgage into a buy to let UK mortgage due to relocation to the US? Whether you are moving or have moved to the US recently, or you are researching options for a potential future move, this case study gives an example of how our British Expat client in the US wanted to remortgage his UK property from a residential mortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage.
Our client
Our client was a British National who had moved to the US two years ago with his family for employment. He was looking for a UK mortgage as a British expat. More specifically, his intention was to remortgage his UK property from a residential mortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage. The reason for this was that his family intended to move back to the UK within a timeframe of approximately 5 years, and so he wanted to retain the property to be used on his return.
British expats often look to harness this possibility when moving abroad. They wish to retain a foothold in the UK property market, either to return to in the future or to maintain a stable long-term investment, which the UK property market affords them.
Based on our advice, our client was looking for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage term. We notified the client about an imminent rise in interest rates and recommended that a fixed-rate mortgage would offset any interest rate changes.
Our solution
We approached a niche building society. Our close relationship with them enabled us to obtain highly competitive buy-to-let remortgage rates. We brokered the client a 5-year fixed rate buy to let mortgage. The length of this term was also closely aligned with the client’s intention to relocate back to the UK in 5 years time.
The building society was comfortable with the fact that the client was a British expat, currently working and living in the US. We ultimately obtained a buy to let mortgage of £1.1 million against a property value of £1.8 million, a highly satisfactory conclusion for the client.
This case study highlights how important it is to utilise a broker with the very best connections. The fact that we could negotiate with a high niche building society, available to very few brokers, allowed us to get the very best mortgage deal for our client. Our relationship was of equal importance to our market knowledge of expat mortgages in this instance.
You can learn more about our services or speak to a broker today. Alternatively, download our Expat & Foreign National Guide for more information.