London Mortgage For Off Plan Riverside Property For Non-UK Citizen Living In USA With Complex Income

Non-UK nationals may face additional income stress-testing when looking for mortgage finance on UK property. You need to access an expat lender who will take a flexible view.

The Scenario

Our client is a 64 year-old dual-nationality Irish-American, living in San Francisco, who has a profitable mixed property portfolio in California (four apartments and six commercial units) earning an income of £800K+ a year.

She was looking to buy off-plan a £750K riverside apartment on the Thames to use as a home base when in London. (She also owns homes in Ireland and Spain.)

The issues in accessing mortgage lending were her age and unearned income, and the fact that expat lenders are often unwilling to consider income from rented residential properties – because of the risk of voids.

The Solution

We found a lender with a good track record of working with foreign nationals, who was willing to give our client a 15-year mortgage. They were persuaded to consider the income on unencumbered rented-out residential properties.

Four of the apartments were mortgage-free, with income records that satisfied the lender’s stress-testing.

With an offer agreed our client was ready to put down the deposit on her luxurious riverside bolt-hole.