Published 19 November 2012 · Last reviewed 1 May 2026
Are you are here on a Tier 1 or Tier 2 work visa? Do you want to buy your first UK home to live in or purchase property to let? Read on to find out how we can help….
BACKGROUND
The UK, and particularly the London property market, is one of the most lucrative and buoyant property markets in the world.
Why do property prices continue to rise in London despite the recession?
The capital city is the centre of the jobs market throughout the UK and through globalisation it has become a hub for corporate and multi-national employees.
The population continues to grow, is willing to commute, and the culture is to be home owners, and this relentless demand has led to continual escalation of property prices.
There has also been over a decade of the Oligarchs settling here who have amassed a vast array of properties in the heart of London and pushed prices even higher.
Not everyone can afford to buy a home.
There are an increasing number of those that have struggled to gain access to the housing ladder. Deposits have been higher and lending policies more stringent since 2007 forcing people to rent and therefore yields have proved to be very productive.
PROPERTY INVESTMENT OPPORTUNIES IN THE UK
Over the last few years I have been getting a steady stream of enquires in regards to foreign nationals who are based in the UK on a visa looking to get into the UK property market. This sounds simple enough but when you look into this in detail you will soon find out that getting a buy to let mortgage is very tough for a foreign national mortgage and residential mortgages not that much easier either. I guess this is because money laundering comes into play and there is perhaps a touch of xenophobia of behalf of the regional building societies who have traditionally lent to locals.
For high net worth clients the spectrum of potential lenders is wider as they will attract interest from the investment banks if the loan is to be in excess of one million in sterling. However, you will typically need to provide a sweetener of decanting at least twenty five percent of the loan in their investment arm, in addition to the deposit, which does not always suit or is indeed practical.
As you many come to expect from Niche Advice we can help most foreign borrowers irrespective of the depth of their pockets, with and without investments being deposited for both residential and buy to let.
MORTGAGES FOR A RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PURCHASE BY A FOREIGN NATIONAL
Rates are around the three to four percent bracket (Nov 2012). There are some Loans are available with just a ten percent deposit. Loan sizes from £25,001. Income is a maximum of five times income.
MORTGAGES FOR A BUY TO LET PROPERTY PURCHASE BY A FOREIGN NATIONAL
Rates start from around four percent (Nov 2012). There are some Loans are available with a thirty percent deposit. Loan sizes from £200,000. Rental coverage needs to exceed the mortgage payments by about thirty percent.
source a Buy to let Mortgages UK, please contact us on 0207 993 2044 or alternatively complete the simple enquiry form on the top right hand side of this page.