Buying house in UK

If you are not an EU national then you will have no traceable credit history within the UK, which causes complications when applying for a mortgage.

The solve this, the basic requirements you will have to meet are:

Resident in UK for more than 2 years
Have a permanent job in the UK
Have permanent residence rights in the UK, or a UK Work Permit
Have a UK bank account

Permanent residence is considered preferable to only having a work permit, but there are lenders who will provide a mortgage on the basis of a work permit only.

The requirement to have lived in the UK for two years is due to the necessity of building up a UK credit history before lenders can approve your mortgage application – read on to learn about one possible way around this problem.



NON-STATUS LENDING (SELF-CERTIFICATION)
Whether you are an EU national or not, there is one other mortgage option that will enable you to bypass some of these requirements. If you are able to provide at least a 25% deposit for the property you wish to buy, you may be able to get a so-called non-status mortgage – better known as a self-certification mortgage.

This means that you are not required to provide proof of your income – instead you simply agree in writing that you can afford the mortgage repayments you require.

This is the reason a relatively large deposit is required – to balance out the risk of your defaulting for the lender.

Hi Ukbarb,

When we relocated from Australua to live in USA we qualified to purchase a property the moment my hubby got his Social Security #.  We also had a 30% Deposit Down payment.   So 2 months. 

In Feb, 2015 we relocated from USA to UK.  We reside in UK on a Ancestral Visa - which is easily renewable every 5 years.   We can reside here on this Visa as long as we desire!  As Aussies we are Commonwealth citizens who are resident in the UK - therefore, we have the right to vote. One of the perks of coming from the Colonies! 

Now we find ourselves forced to rent because here they require you to live as a resident 3 years in UK before you qualify for a Credit Rating.   Without a Credit rating it seems no bank will grant you a Mortgage.  So it'll be March, 2018 before we can buy as we won't have our Credit Ratings to qualify for a Mortgage here in UK until then.  Sorry to be bearer of disappointing news.  It's frustrating. 
Not an issue for anyone paying in Cash for their House; sadly we ain't in that lucky group!   At the quick rate houses are rising here In Reading, England; by 2018 with the Fast Cross-Link Rail - Direct Line link into London from Readibg will be nearing completion and so this will also increase property prices higher and so probably putting a house purchase for out of our reach?   

I look fwd to learning how you get on;  Please keep me updated if there's a way I've missed knowing about?
I'm sure there's gotta be a way we don't know about - without being a CASH Buyer???

Thx for sharing this Interesting information.   Where can I learn more?  Where is the Loan through?  I bet it holds a extremely high % Interest Rate.  Probably be better to wait the extra year to buy!

2 years still won't provide you with a Credit Rating.  As it requires you 3 years and not 2 years of residency in UK to qualify for you to get one!  There's a form you fill out which requires 3 years of address information.
It won't process the information without this!

Total rubbish. Mortgage takes about 30 mins to arrange.

Rustygecko; STFU if you don't know your facts!  We've lived it and know today's rules for getting a Mortgage here in UK.   Given our current Lease doesn't expire until 2017 and our Credit Rating will be Validated in 2018; we've decided to wait it out to buy a house so we get a better Interest % rate; than what the Non-Status Lending option provides! 
Renting prior to buying has actually proved beneficial for us; as it's given us the opportunity to research our different local neighborhoods areas as suitability for us to live and rule out others that looked great but turned out not to be great living options!  By taking on a 6-12 month Rental Lease; you can get to relax in choosing the right house for you and your family without pressure of a time crunch.   TIP: if you take a 12 month lease; get a added clause into your Lease Contract like we did.   A Exit from 6month. 
Then should you choose to exit your lease early; then you'll only need to give 2 months notice without any fees!  We purchased immediately upon relocating to USA and decided to rent first here in UK and I'd recommend the later as being the better option for us!  That way we get to find a perfect home for us in our own time frame too!

My experience was based on walking into my bank a few months after being absent from the uk for several years. If your bank won't lend, then mortgage agents will usually be able to find a lender, although the interest rate will be higher in the early years. All of this depends on your income of course. The problem is in London and the SE where prices are simply insane.

My advices about it are:

As soon as you arrive to UK:
- Register in the electoral registry
- Open a bank account
- Get a credit card and use it to improve your credit rate

I wasted time with Mortgage brokers who seems don't have experience with expats buying houses in UK, I got mine directly going to Barclays Bank, but I found other Brokers with more experience in expats (even the products they were offering me were more expensive or had higher interest fees).

This web page is an official guide about finances in the UK, it might help:

moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/categories/homes-and-mortgages

All the best!
David.

The web page I tried to post is:

moneyadviceservice org uk... you can google it and find the section homes-and-mortgages.

All the best.