Finding a UK mortgage for a Dubai resident is often difficult regardless of the circumstances. But if your existing lender is no longer able to offer finance, you may find yourself racing to secure an alternative deal. As this case study proves, the right lender relationships are central to finding a fast resolution.
Whether you’re ready to secure a UK mortgage as a Dubai citizen, or simply want to learn more about UK property for foreign nationals, our guide can help. Download Maximising your borrowing as an expat or foreign national.
The client:
Our client needed a UK mortgage for a Dubai resident, having invested in a personal residence here many years ago. As is common for wealthy non-domiciled investors, he had purchased this through a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company structure. Unfortunately, his current lender had recently changed their appetite for BVI structures and was no longer willing to lend against this property – now valued at around £3 million.
A self-employed businessperson, this individual lives most of the year in Dubai. However, his income comes from a long-standing family manufacturing business in his home country of Bangladesh – as with most self employed individuals, he keeps significant retained earnings within the business to reinvest, rather than drawing all profit as a salary. This creates complications when securing finance as income ‘on paper’ does not necessarily reflect an individual’s true wealth. The challenge was compounded by his use of a local accountant, rather than one of the top, globally recognised accountants that lenders are used to working with.
With his existing lender unwilling to refinance his asset, he needed to move extremely quickly to avoid paying substantial interest rates when his fixed-rate mortgage expired. Our client was looking for a 65% loan to value (LTV) mortgage on an interest-only basis – but the complexity of his case meant his options were severely limited.
Our solution:
At Articus Finance, we’re well versed in finding UK property finance for non-domiciled individuals who own their asset through a company structure. And we also have significant experience finding UK mortgages for Dubai residents.
We knew that a sophisticated private bank would be the best resolution here, so we approached a lender with whom we have a fantastic personal relationship. As we are in direct contact with their credit team, we were able to speed up the process to get an answer quickly – which was ideal for the client, given the time constraints he was under.
This lender was happy to lend against a property owned in a BVI structure. They also had a man on the ground in Bangladesh who was able to research our client’s accountant to ensure all boxes were ticked. We were ultimately able to secure an interest-only mortgage at an attractive rate, ensuring our client was able to remortgage his property in a timely manner.
The case in brief:
- UK mortgage for Dubai resident
- Property owned in BVI structure
- Fast resolution required
- Interest-only fixed-rate mortgage
