- Client: Chinese national relocating to the UK to support their child’s education
- Property: Wimbledon house valued at approximately £2 million
- Challenge: Required UK mortgage finance despite having no previous UK residency, footprint or bank account
- Finance: 75% LTV interest-only mortgage at 2.14% fixed for two years
International families looking to establish a base in the UK can face additional challenges when arranging mortgage finance, particularly where the borrower has no previous UK residency or banking history. Enness was approached by a Chinese national looking to purchase a family home in Wimbledon while relocating to the UK to support their child’s education.
The property was valued at approximately £2 million. The client wanted to arrange the mortgage on an interest-only basis and required borrowing at 75% loan to value (LTV).
The application presented several challenges. The client had never previously lived in the UK and therefore had no established UK footprint or UK bank account. For a conventional lender, the absence of UK financial history could make assessing the application more difficult.
Enness therefore approached a private bank with experience of considering international borrowers and higher-value residential property. The application required the lender to understand the client’s wider financial circumstances, including their source of wealth and ability to service the proposed borrowing.
Supporting documentation was translated where necessary, allowing the lender to assess the client’s financial position and affordability in greater detail. This helped provide the lender with the information required to consider the application despite the client’s lack of UK banking history.
Following discussions with the private bank, Enness secured an interest-only mortgage at 75% LTV. The mortgage was arranged at a rate of 2.14% fixed for two years at the time.
The resulting structure provided the client with the required finance for the Wimbledon property while allowing the family to establish their new home in the UK. The case demonstrates how interest-only mortgage finance can be considered for international borrowers where the lender is able to take a broader view of their financial circumstances.
For international families purchasing property in the UK, UK mortgage finance can be structured around overseas wealth, income and residency, subject to lender criteria and the individual circumstances of the borrower.
Disclaimer:
This case study is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, tax or investment advice. Finance is subject to status, underwriting, affordability, valuation, property suitability and lender criteria. Terms, rates, LTVs, fees and availability may vary depending on individual circumstances.
Risk Warning:
Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or other borrowing secured against it. Property values can fall as well as rise. Interest-only mortgages require a suitable strategy for repaying the capital at the end of the mortgage term. Property investments can be illiquid and may take time to sell.
Information contained in our case studies is for market and illustrative purposes only. In some cases, these may be made up of multiple cases and are for illustrative purposes only.
Some case studies are made up of enquiries that have come into the business, not all business completes, and the posting of a case study does not represent a completed piece of business.
Property values can fall as well as rise, and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Property investments can be illiquid and may take time to sell. Where borrowing is used, your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured against it.
