Hi,

We have been back in the UK for 2 weeks, and even though it is wet and winding, we know it is great to be home.

However after talking to the bank, it looks as though we have to be working in the UK for 12 months before we are able to get a mortgage, even though we had one is Australia, we have a 33% deposit but this does not make much difference.

Does anyone have any advice, or do we have to wait :-).

Thanks in advance.

Jo

Talk to a mortgage broker, eg John Charcol.

It's difficult right now because the lenders really don't want to play ball. As suggested, don't waste your time walking into individual banks. Consult a broker or two, but also check online (apparently some banks' special offers aren't available through a broker).

Good luck - I think you're going to find it hard.

You'll need to have a fixed address and be on the registered electors list......
I would go for an independant morgage advisor, who will go that one step further for his wages.........

Its electrol roll time in the UK now. So get on one quickly or it will be this time next year before you can get on - a year wasted.

Good luck

Unless it has changed since I last lived in the UK you can get on the electoral roll at any time. Fill out the forms at your local council and it usually takes about a month to appear.

Isn't it good that it's hard though? The reason properties are so grossly over-valued is because it was far too easy and quick for so long. Amazingly there are still people prepared to buy houses right before the tsunami hits shore.

Hi Jo,

Not great news for sure...some expats I know who have returned home have not seemed to have had a problem...some used brokers and some just kept trying different banks etc....we are hoping to buy a home we have put an offer in while we are here in Aus..an expat mortgage...not ideal as the rate is a bit higher and we have to put 25% (more if you want to) as a deposit.....we also bank with HSBC (U.K) while here in Aus and they have said we could also obtain a mortgage....my Oh may have to stay here in Aus until his contract has finished which not ideal (again) but will at least show his current employment history and also that he is currenly employed. I would try a broker as having phoned/e-mailed a few from Aus they seemed to be okay with expats buying homes..in fact one said they have never been busier with expats applying for mortgages.....good luck and try to enjoy being at home without getting to stressed....easier said than done I know...lol...wish I could take my own medicine at times...

... but the pedulum has now swung too far in the opposite direction and is about to start hurting the economy. Despite humongous amounts of publicly funded stimulus money, banks are not lending even to very low-risk applicants (this includes business loans). So, no, it's not good. And while it might be a good thing if house prices drop, if they drop too far, almost no-one will be able to sell, again hurting prospects for mobility and ultimately the economy.

you can register for the electoral roll ANYTIME in the year.

Even if they make lending as lax as before we're still not going to see a big rise in the number of properties purchased because everyone knows they're very over-valued and on the verge of crashing. They have already lost 20% and have another 20% to go to come back in line with the long-term trend. What's really hurting the conomies - ruining them in fact - is totally unaffordable housing.

Not sure what you are basing this on - but nothing I have read indicates widespread agreement that we are in for a further 20% drop.

At current low interest rates, I'd also disagree that housing is "totally unaffordable" - if so, how were people able to afford houses before the crash, when IR's were even higher than they are now?

Agreed, some people are priced out of the market, but houses are still selling, albeit at a lower rate and at lower prices than previously.

Read SocGen's latest report to hedge fund managers and other investors.

Also houses are not really selling at all. I monitor a few towns and villages on Rightmove and they all have nearly the same properties for sale that they did 18 months ago. The stats have been massaged by cash-rich purchasers buying expensive houses at the top of the market and devious VI estate agents.

Based on investment advice given by these guys over the past 10 years, I'm not sure they are any more trustworthy than regular reading of the Money/Business pages of the broadsheets (and this is only one source of information, even though it sounds like scintillating reading ).

TBH I wouldn't trust anything put out by fund managers who get huge bonuses based on how many investors they can lure rather than whether they actually make a profit ... :curse:

I know what you mean about anecdotal observation of Rightmove though ...

You're quite right of course - we cannot know what will happen. Houses at an all time high when compared to wages right now - do you buy or wait? Are they likely to get even higher? I think in nominal terms they could go nuts if all this QE bleeds out into the wider economy, but in real terms how can they keep increasing - when will it stop? When the average house costs 15 times your income - 25 times??

My feeling is that the economies of the world, particularly US/UK are nowhere near being flushed out yet, and there is much worse to come. Even the most modest inflation & IR rises will bring prices tumbling because people have such enormous mortgages on such tiny rates.