The case in brief
- Client: South African national & resident
- Property type: Residential purchase
- Property value: £450,000
- Loan Amount: £315,000
- LTV: 70%
Investing in property in the UK without a financial footprint or UK bank account can be challenging. This is particularly true when the applicant is self-employed and has an irregular income stream. This was the case for our South African client, who was keen to start investing in the UK property market.
Our client
Our client was a self-employed South African who was looking to invest in UK property via a limited company. The three stumbling blocks were that firstly the client had no financial footprint in the UK and no UK bank account, which was required by the lender to make any monthly mortgage payments. Secondly, the client did not have a UK-based limited company through which to make their property investments. Finally, the client’s personal income was accrued via self-employment in his native country, which was often variable in its nature.
The client was looking to take advantage of cheap leverage in order to build a portfolio property quickly and was also searching for an interest-only mortgage to maximise the revenue generated through a buy to let mortgage.
Our solution
We created a solution for our client in two parts. The first part was to help the client set up a UK bank account, which the lender had deemed as a requirement in order to make the direct debit mortgage payments. We also helped the client to set up a UK limited company in order to fulfil their request to obtain a buy-to-let mortgage via the limited company.
The second part of our solution was to source a suitable lender, who would accept the terms of the applicant. Our close relationship with a niche building society enabled us to ensure that they were comfortable with providing a UK mortgage for a South African national, in addition to our client’s self-employed status. In return, they were able to offer the client an interest-only mortgage at a competitive rate.
Investing in the UK property market without a substantial knowledge of the UK mortgage market can be hard to navigate and often leads to a more costly mortgage and therefore smaller profit margins. This is increasingly difficult when the applicant holds very few or no financial assets within the UK and earns a variable self-employed income in another country.
As experts in brokering foreign national mortgages for highly complex individual cases, we can find a solution to even the most difficult personal situations. You can learn more about our services or speak to a broker today.
