Buying property abroad

5 replies

User8273738273737 · 15/08/2022 21:54

does anyone have an opinion and some trustworthy sources on how to get
a) a mortgage from a UK bank to buy a property in an EU country
or
b) get a mortgage in the other country to buy a property there, whilst resident in the UK, and not an EU citizen.

for context: 2x mid 30s professionals with a help to buy mortgage on a property that no longer suits our needs, and where the government loan repayments kick in 2 years time. around 110k combined income, and 50k savings

We are considering potentially moving to this EU country in the near future/few years. We live in London and we all know about the London housing market, difficult/v high prices, etc.

also all ears if anyone thinks this is a mad idea/sort out your UK property first.

TIA

OP posts:

HJ40 · 15/08/2022 21:57

It's not mad, but you need to be mindful that unless you are able to sort a visa other than a tourist visa, you will be restricted on how much time you can spend within the EU.

The specifics on ownership will very much depend on which country.

GrandSlamFinalee · 15/08/2022 22:03

Do you have the right to live in this hypothetical EU country? Each one of the 27 member states has different rules and you can’t just up, buy a house and move there nowadays.

Original poster

User8273738273737 · 15/08/2022 22:10

Thanks for the input -
should’ve added that I am applying for citizenship of this country - it can however take a couple of years for it to come through and we would get visas (eg digital nomad) for the meantime if we go before the citizenship comes through (checked, it’s all possible).

OP posts:

ComtesseDeSpair · 15/08/2022 22:13

You need to get legal and financial advice from those with specific knowledge of the particular country. It isn’t something lay people simply guessing which country it might be can give much useful advice on.

SolasAnla · 15/08/2022 22:40

Your issue with the local bank is that you have no residency history, no credit rating and no income in-flows.

The UK bank have to be able to recover their unrepaid loan in a foreign court system so best case for them is you secure the loan against UK property.

Your best option may be to see if you can change your UK bank to one which is operating in the local market.

So what ComtesseDeSpair advised ⬆️

Flip