The government has confirmed that expats who buy residential property in England and Northern Ireland will be hit with a new 2% stamp duty surcharge from April 1, 2021. Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the measure in his first Budget speech in the role, following much speculation about the policy over recent weeks. Budget documents released […]
The Bank of England kept interest rates steady on Thursday 30/1/2020, saying signs that Britain’s economy had picked up since December’s election, and a more stable global economy, meant more stimulus was not needed now. Financial markets had seen a 50% chance of a cut, but the Monetary Policy Committee split once again 7-2 in […]
If you are expat considering property as an investment in the UK but you live outside of the Country it’s likely you have many concerns, exchange rate fluctuations and Brexit are likely to have a significant impact on your decision. Future rates of exchange are likely to depend on the kind of exit deal that […]
2019 saw the expat re-mortgaging market increase dramatically, often because the mortgage term had come to an end. The most common reason was switching to a fixed rate deal, with such good rates on offer expats see this as good alternative. This type of mortgage gives clients certainty about what future payments will be for […]
Expat first-time buyer activity reached a 2 year high at the end of November last year after soaring more than 40% on the same period in 2018. In October last year alone the expat mortgage industry saw an increase in applications for new mortgages rise by 38%. These figures go to prove that expat’s still […]
Expat mortgage rates have been falling consistently for the past two years or so. Both fixed and tacker interest rates are now at the lowest they have been for a good many years. The question is for how long? Expats should be taking advantage of these low rates on offer. It is no secret that […]
The amount of money being lent by banks to expats reached its highest level in the month of November since 2008, data shows. With the buy-to-let market stumbling to get back in gear after recent stamp duty hikes, first-time expat buyers and re-mortgages are now propping up the market. Last month, gross mortgage lending to […]
Property commentators have welcomed the landslide Conservative election victory for bringing the UK closer to ending the Brexit uncertainty that has stifled transactions for so long. Sterling surged against the dollar and the euro as the outcome of the election became clear and the FTSE 100 began to climb when the market opened. In the […]
The Ipswich Building Society has revised its expat residential mortgage lending criteria to now allow applications from British nationals living overseas whose deposit has been saved in their current country of residence. Up to now, the entirety of the applicants’ deposit for the purchase had to be held in a UK-based bank account for a […]
Data released today for October revealed expat re-mortgages were up by 8% while refinancing with additional borrowing increased by 5.9%. The spike in expat re-mortgaging has been attributed the uncertainty of Brexit. Brexit It is not surprising that re-mortgaging numbers have slightly increased, pressing home the message that expats simply want or have stability in […]
