British expats seeking to buy property in the UK may now be able to get a mortgage through Skipton International.
Applicants must be aged 70 or under and meet strict income criteria to qualify. The loan must be repaid by recipient’s 85th year.
Skipton is now receiving applications from retired Brits who have a pension income of at least £40,000 (or £50,000 equivalent if paid in another currency).
The income has to be from a pension rather than supplemented by investment income for example.
Skipton International is an offshore bank headquartered in Guernsey and part of one of Britain’s largest building societies.
It is not alone in offering mortgages to expats, having only entered the expat mortgage market a year ago in July. Since then it has completed 115 mortgages and is in the process of progressing 100 more. Its CEO says this market has “eased significantly” over the last 18 months.
Most of the applications have come from expats in Dubai, Qatar, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland and the US. The majority of purchases have been in London, including many first-time buy-to-let investments.
