Entries by Steve Grant

Expats fixing for longer

Popularity of longer-term deals had waned at the start of the year with expat borrowers opting to fix their mortgage for two years, according to the latest report. Greater competition from lenders keen to lure in borrowers for longer terms and rate rises on five-year deals increasing far less than those of the two-year options […]

Expat buy-to-lets are increasing again

There seems to be no stopping the buy-to-let expat market, applications for the first 4 months of this year were up again on this time last year. Expats seem to be determined to get a foothold in the UK property market and existing expat landlords are not shy to increase their portfolios either. Even with […]

Are you one of these?

Expat UK homeowners are collectively wasting millions a year by failing to re-mortgage before their current deal expires. A third of expats whose fixed rate or tracker mortgage ended in 2017 ended up on their lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) for an average of six weeks. Their failure to line up a new mortgage before […]

What does a mortgage broker do for expats?

What does a mortgage broker do for expats? Essentially, they are there to help expats find the best mortgage deals in the UK. They aim to make that as simple and stress-free as possible, looking at each person’s situation and finding the best product to match their needs. The mortgage product minefield There are many […]

Expat mortgage approvals rising fast

Approvals for house purchases in the UK by expats increased towards the end of 2017 and 2018 has followed the same pattern according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. The number of expat loan approvals for purchasing so far this year is up a massive 21% on the same period last year. […]

Very good news for expat UK property owners

UK house prices hit a new record high last month as they saw the biggest monthly rise since August last year, new figures show. The average price of a UK property rose by 1.5% in March compared to February to hit £228,000 – the highest figure on record. Prices in the first three months of […]

Expat lending still rising and will continue to do so

Expat mortgage lending is forecast to reach the highest level since the financial crash of 2007 despite Brexit uncertainties, according to the latest annual market review. If all the predictions are correct, 2018 will see the eighth year of expat mortgage lending growth. A great deal of this growth will be driven by re-mortgage activity, […]

Is the future bright for UK property?

Expats with UK property holdings will be encouraged by the recent predictions various experts have expressed on the UK housing market. This is the predicted general outlook for 2018 and beyond but who knows how accurate this will be with the Brexit situation. It would seem a deal is close, and this could have a […]

Expat business is very brisk

Business in the expat sector continues to increase year on year, even with all the recent Brexit news and negativity. One expat we spoke to said, “the spare cash I had left over has been invested in a UK property as leaving it in the bank was not an option due to the interest rates […]

Expats set re-mortgaging record

It seems that expat homeowners have taken our frequent warnings about upcoming mortgage rate rises to heart, as January and February saw a record number of re-mortgages completed. This month is the highest number of re-mortgages since October 2008. January’s figure also marks an increase of 21.3% year-on-year and an impressive monthly increase of 53%. […]