Hi
Just a enquiry, I wondered if anyone had managed to secure a UK mortgage before you returned to the UK?
We are returning in Feb and I know people have secured mortgages/bought houses in Oz before they came so I would think you can do similar for the UK.
Any advice appreciated.

This might not help you, but I kept my Virgin one account/mortgage alive with a house value of £1. They were very good to allow me to do this which technically means I still have a variable mortgage for when and if I return. As I said probably doesn't help you but it's not a bad tip for others to think about before emmigrating from the UK.

We did the same thing thank god .

How do you do this in reality? I thought you couldn't have a mortgage legally without a house and hence deeds held by the mortager/bank, so what is this (albeit miniscule and hypothetical) mortgage secured against?

I just don't see how this is possible without a house. Or do you just mean you kept your one account open?

It's a all in one type account, and yes secured against a house. All I did was pay off the mortgage plus one extra pound. So I have a negative mortgage in effect. To re-instate it all I need to do is get a new house valued and then I will have a facility to draw up to that amount again.

The VirginOne account was the single best decicion I ever made, It's like having a massive overdraft but as you pay the interest daily, any extra money you put in the account instantly reduces your debt and so your repayment time. In my case it knocked 17 years of a 25 year mortgage! You do need to be a bit careful with money though as the temptation to write a cheque out for a nice Ferrari was quite tempting.

Thanks Arkon,

I know how the account works as we have a similar mortgage ourselves (offset so multiple linked accounts, but exactly the same in principle). Didn't realise you could overpay to keep the mortgage going without a house though so thanks for the tip, will bear that in mind. (Having said that, I also don't have any plans to leave the UK housing market.)

However, whilst I am also a HUGE fan of these types of mortgages, you must have either been incredibly lucky with house prices when you bought and/or been very risk averse in your debt:income ratio (aside from managing your finances well ) to knock 17 years off a 25 year mortgage! We wouldn't be able to eat or enjoy basics such as lighting and electricity to achieve that!
But good on you all the same.

It helped being a typoon in my previous life. Lots of stess and load of money. I think even just by paying your salary direct into the account knocks years off it.