Karen

I'm sure I'll get bashed by the regulars who say relocating has nothing to do with travel, but...<BR><BR>My husband and I will be relocating to the UK in about 2 years, near the village where his mother lives. We're looking to buy a house now, where we will live when we move (and rent it out in the meantime).<BR><BR>I'm curious whether a mortgage company in the UK, like Nationwide, would approve us for a mortgage, even though we currently live in the US. Our annual income is nearly the price of the house, but we thought our location might disqualify us.<BR><BR>Has anyone had experience with this? I'm having a hard time getting a response from Nationwide, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

c

I'd suggest that check with a local bank in the UK. Maybe your mother-in-law could ask at her bank if they have a loan officer that you could contact. I have a friend who bought a vacation home in France and didn't have any trouble getting financed.

Karen

Thanks for the info on your friends' experience.<BR><BR>We actually have a small mortgage on my mother-in-law's house, but we got that while we were living there.<BR><BR>I have contacted some banks, but, as usual, they've been very slow in getting back to me, so I thought I'd pick the minds of fellow Fodorites.<BR><BR>

xxx

Karen<BR><BR>I'm sure that if you fit the normal renting criteria most building societies or banks will lend to you. However some building societies are still mutual or friendly societies and will literally only lend if you intend to live in the house right away. The Nationwide is the largest BS which is still a mutual.<BR><BR>At the moment a lot of UK banks are doing Buy to Let mortgages and you may well fit into this category. The criteria will vary from lender to lender.<BR><BR>I suggest that what you need is an Independent Financial Adviser (an IFA). Where in the UK is your mother in law? I ask because the system is different as between England and Wales and Scotland.

Ann

We had a problem when returning from our 3 years in Paris. The probelm was not that we did not own a property in England, but that we were no longer on the electoral registers, and therefore as far as they were concerned we did not exist!

Karen

xxx-Thanks for the great info. Even though we're members at Nationwide, I didn't realize that they only lend if you're personally going to occupy the house.<BR><BR>My mother-in-law is in Northern Ireland, if that makes any difference.

sam

I suggest picking up the book: Living and Working in Britain. I bought one for another country, and it's very comprehensive.

Ann

Karen, it's not that they won't lend if you are not the occupier, it is that there is a different interest rate for buy to let.<BR><BR>And the reason they want you on the electoral register is something to do with your credit rating. We eventually got the mortgage through our bank in the UK. Do you have an account here still? It would make things much easier.<BR><BR>

xxx

They probably won't lend to you if it's just an investment. If you INTEND to go and live there, they'll help you buy in advance, and charge you a higher rate for teh period it's let out.<BR><BR>The electoral register thing is less about credit rating and more about checking you are who you say you are. there are ways round it.<BR><BR>It's essentially English law in NI (sorry about the terminology, but it's true). An IFA from anywhere can help you but get someone personally recommended, I'd suggest

c

Karen - Would it be possible to get around this problem by purchasing the house with your mother-in-law on title? Maybe the three of you could buy it together with you and your husband putting in all of the money. And then once you move over, you could arrange to have her name quitclaimed from the title.

Karen

Well, finally heard back from a few people. In case anyone's interested, here's what I found out. Nationwide won't do it unless we're living there. They directed us to Abbey National, who have a specific mortgage program for expats. Their offshore department does mortgages up to 80% of the purchase price, or 75% if you already have a mortgage in the UK. Don't know what the rates are like. The rate on the mortgage we hold over there at the moment just went down to less than 5%!<BR><BR>As we have an account at the Bank of Ireland, I'm checking further with them.<BR><BR>When we lived in NI, I never did anything with the electoral register. I was told that I needed to register at the nearest police station, which I never got around to. But that was it. And we had no problem qualifying for a mortgage, credit card, etc.

Karen

C, that wouldn't be a bad idea, except that my mother-in-law doesn't have an income, aside from state benefits, and she's housebound. Oh well.