Fast Residential Mortgage for British Expat in Tokyo Buying in Edinburgh

Navigating the complexities of the mortgage market for expats can be tricky, especially for those who are buying a home for a move back to the UK.

It’s largely due to logistical challenges, with either some or all of the following happening at once:

• Buying a new home (both finding a property and securing the finance)
• Physically moving back to the UK with the family
• Starting a new job back home
• And selling your overseas property

For situations like this, it makes a huge difference having a dedicated expat mortgage broker poised to push your Agreement in Principle and mortgage application through as quickly as possible, especially when there’s competition from other buyers on the property.

The Scenario

Our client, a Senior Director at an international analytics company, had spent over a decade in Tokyo, having moved there with his company and having purchased a house for his family to settle in.

However, the time came for his family to return to Scotland, and he was looking to purchase a flat on a highly desirable street in Edinburgh for their return.

The property had a lot of interest thanks to a potential loft conversion opportunity, and had already received 5 offers from other buyers.

Our client needed to balance:

• not committing too early to the property (as he needed to be in the UK to make the offer for a better mortgage rate – more on this later)
• not risking a delayed move back
• and not waiting too long to avoid missing out on the property

The client was planning to move into a rental property in the UK when he returned, so that he could submit an offer for the property on the day he arrived back in the UK.

This meant he had a very tight deadline in which to secure an Agreement in Principle.

The Solution

When the client got in touch with us, a key point we picked up on was that he had maintained a UK bank account during his tenure abroad.

This meant he still had a UK credit footprint, and could potentially be eligible for a UK resident mortgage if he was a resident in the UK at the time of his application.

This client also had a new job contract paid in Sterling starting within three months, which means we could avoid the need to submit payslips or bank statements that might flag his previous earnings in Japanese Yen to the lender - avoiding any potential hiccups and extra questions in the application process.

Needless to say, when the client arrived in the UK, we provided the Agreement in Principle on the same day. His offer was accepted two days later, and we submitted the full application that day.

The mortgage offer was received within three working days from making the offer. Exceptional speed and service for an intricate and logistically complex case.