Mortgage for overseas

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just.the.truth

Mortgage for overseas

Post by just.the.truth »

I am trying to find a way to finance a property, by obtaining a mortgage from a bank that will lend to expats.
I intend to rent and use that income to subsidize mortgage payments.

My question is, how do I go about applying for a mortgage when I live and work overseas as an expat? I have searched high and low and cannot find a bank that is willing to lend to expats unless they live and work in the country they intend to purchase the said property.

Has anyone found themselves in a similar situation, or a way to go about this?
just.the.truth

Re: Mortgage for overseas

Post by just.the.truth »

Unbelievable. Not one person has any feedback about this? Yet, mention something about school tiers, or teacher certification and suddenly everybody is an expert. Honestly, I am so fed up. A lot of what I see here is mainly chest thumping. It seems to me that's what this profession has become as well: mainly self-interest, and how it benefits oneself. I do think the reviews, and the discussion boards are fairly helpful, but these forums...man. That's not to say that there aren't good people here. But the most vocal ones are the biggest jerks on the planet, and I feel so, so sorry for any student you teach, or school you teach at.

I don't care if I'm ignored, or if anyone has an axe to grind with what I just wrote. Go for it... And thanks for nothing.
Heliotrope
Posts: 1167
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 1:48 am

Re: Mortgage for overseas

Post by Heliotrope »

If I would know anything about mortgages for expats, I would have surely responded, as would many others on here I think.

All I know about mortgages for expats is that it's not very easy but that it is certainly possible (I once heard someone mention HSBC but I forgot who and also can't recall if their experience was positive), but beyond that I have no knowledge to share.
Also, I would be more wary to recommend a financial service than I would for example a moussaka recipe, since the impact it can have on someone is pretty huge - if someone follows my recipe the worst thing can that happen is that they eat a mediocre meal (although it's hard to mess up a moussaka), but if the financial service I recommend turns out to be bad it can impact someone's retirement.

You've probably already Googled it and are looking for first-hand experiences and recommendations here.
Perhaps try a large general expat group (so not specifically for teachers) on Facebook or Reddit instead and ask for suggestions there, as you might have more luck there with a bigger audience.
In my experience a lot of ITs put off buying a home because they haven't settled on where to retire, and of the ones that do own a house a sizeable share will have purchased it while still in their home country.

I suspect that I'm included in what you describe as the 'most vocal ones', but it's not chest thumping for me - it doesn't do anything for me what another anonymous person thinks of my anonymous forum persona. I'm honestly trying to help where I can, which is my main motivation, other than asking the occasional question myself.
My high post count (currently #6 in the number of posts-ranking) is unfortunately in large part due to me pushing back against some things that are posted by a certain forum member, things that I believe to be incorrect or (in my view) immoral, and I do this mostly because I don't want teachers new to the forum to think these things are true or normal. I strongly suspect members like @Thames Pirate or @Sid have the same reason for engaging.
I admit it does go on for far too long in a lot of threads (hard to deny really), but regret about engaging him often comes too late, since messages can't be deleted or edited a few minutes after posting. I do think untruths should be countered but there are smarter ways to do so without getting sucked into page-long debates that do little to help the OP.

I hope you find a way to finance a property.
marieh
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:33 pm

Re: Mortgage for overseas

Post by marieh »

We looked into getting a mortgage a couple of years ago, but the hoops we were going to have to jump through to prove our income were ridiculous (host country lawyer involvement, every pay stub, school registration copies, etc.) and we were going to have to go back to the US to deal with everything. In the end, we just decided to pay cash because it was that much easier.
just.the.truth
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2022 4:19 pm

Re: Mortgage for overseas

Post by just.the.truth »

Heliotrope wrote:
> If I would know anything about mortgages for expats, I would have surely
> responded, as would many others on here I think.
>
> All I know about mortgages for expats is that it's not very easy but that
> it is certainly possible (I once heard someone mention HSBC but I forgot
> who and also can't recall if their experience was positive), but beyond
> that I have no knowledge to share.
> Also, I would be more wary to recommend a financial service than I would
> for example a moussaka recipe, since the impact it can have on someone is
> pretty huge - if someone follows my recipe the worst thing can that happen
> is that they eat a mediocre meal (although it's hard to mess up a
> moussaka), but if the financial service I recommend turns out to be bad it
> can impact someone's retirement.
>
> You've probably already Googled it and are looking for first-hand
> experiences and recommendations here.
> Perhaps try a large general expat group (so not specifically for teachers)
> on Facebook or Reddit instead and ask for suggestions there, as you might
> have more luck there with a bigger audience.
> In my experience a lot of ITs put off buying a home because they haven't
> settled on where to retire, and of the ones that do own a house a sizeable
> share will have purchased it while still in their home country.
>
> I suspect that I'm included in what you describe as the 'most vocal ones',
> but it's not chest thumping for me - it doesn't do anything for me what
> another anonymous person thinks of my anonymous forum persona. I'm honestly
> trying to help where I can, which is my main motivation, other than asking
> the occasional question myself.
> My high post count (currently #6 in the number of posts-ranking) is
> unfortunately in large part due to me pushing back against some things that
> are posted by a certain forum member, things that I believe to be incorrect
> or (in my view) immoral, and I do this mostly because I don't want teachers
> new to the forum to think these things are true or normal. I strongly
> suspect members like @Thames Pirate or @Sid have the same reason for
> engaging.
> I admit it does go on for far too long in a lot of threads (hard to deny
> really), but regret about engaging him often comes too late, since messages
> can't be deleted or edited a few minutes after posting. I do think untruths
> should be countered but there are smarter ways to do so without getting
> sucked into page-long debates that do little to help the OP.
>
> I hope you find a way to finance a property.

Hi Heliotrope,
Please excuse my lack of refrain. I was frustrated. The reason I signed up with ISR is because their motto is, "keeping each other informed", and all I've seen is a bunch of bickering these past few years. I do concede to the fact that maybe nobody has any input, but it's nice when someone like you would at least say, "hey, have you tried this?". It might not be the answer, but 2 heads are better than one, and however many heads are on this forum is even better (albeit for one head, I suppose). I really appreciated your positivity, and it was a nice response to read. I'm not sure why, but I didn't even think about joining some kind of expat group.

Anyway, all in all, it's nice to get a reply, even if it's to suggest another avenue for information, rather than crickets.

@Marieh
Yeah, I've been doing a lot of digging and I can't find anything less bureaucratic than what you describe. It's crazy. This is probably a good time to be saving anyways. lol
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

I concur with @marieh. The solution around your issue is to create a corporation in the target country you wish to make your property purchase. There are a number of firms and agencies you can find vie web search that specialize in the region you are interested in. You pay a one time fee for the filing and documentation as well as any extras (such as a corporate seal or chop, bank accounts, etc.) and then an annual subscription for their agency to serve as your agent in the country. Once youve done that than you can approach financial institutions as a resident entity (your corporation) so secure financing. Terms wont be generous though unless you qualify for some type of eligible assistance financed typically by the respective government to encourage investment. In addition to using the property as collateral 50% down of the purchase price plus full insurance isnt uncommon.
tangchao
Posts: 72
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:16 pm

Re: Mortgage for overseas

Post by tangchao »

I heard RBS will do it.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Inquiry

Post by PsyGuy »

@tangchao

What do you have to do though to get RBS to make the loan to an expat who neither works or lives in the UK, nor is the property in the UK?
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