Last post: Nov 7, 2012
Expats planning a return to the UK could face difficulties obtaining a mortgage following a decision by Lloyds International to pull the plug on their expat mortgage products.
Expats planning a return to the UK could face difficulties obtaining a mortgage following a decision by Lloyds International to pull the plug on their expat mortgage products. Lloyds International has quit the market, citing the division's low contribution to their overall commercial operations as the major factor. Expat mortgages are specifically aimed at UK workers currently residing overseas who plan to return to the country. Back in August 2012, Lloyds had announced it was to suspend its international mortgage lending as part of a scale back on general lending operations. Lloyds International's exit also removes its supplementary outfits, Halifax, Lloyds TSB Scotland and BM Solutions. Exiting customers and British Forces Post Office (BFPO) applications will not be affected by this decision. Speaking on the pronouncement, Lloyds spokeswoman, Emma Varty said: "Lloyds Banking Group is undertaking a review of its mortgage proposition for expat customers. Whilst this review is ongoing, mortgages and further advances will not be available for new applications from expat customers. Existing expat mortgages are unaffected by this review" Despite this unwelcome development, there are still other options for Expat mortgages, primarily from NatWest and some smaller Building Society lenders. Both residential and Buy To Let Expat mortgage options are still available but the competition is somewhat lessened after this move. Standard terms still apply and the following criteria will help your application but are not always necessary.
- Minimum 25% deposit
- Property valuation in excess of £200,000
- It also helps if you work for a multinational company
- It helps if you are a British citizen
- It helps if you have a UK bank account
- It doesn't matter how long you have been out of the country or whether you plan to return.
For further information or to speak with a Mortgage Adviser, either complete our Mortgage Enquiry form here or call us on 0845 1260350 (from overseas +44 1494 410125).
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