Frequently asked questions about UK mortgages

There are thousands of mortgages from over 40 different lenders in the UK property market. In London, you typically have to outbid approximately seven other potential buyers to secure a property.

An experienced mortgage adviser should help direct you on making a decision that’s both competitive and suited to your circumstances.

Yes, there are several schemes for first-time buyers, including the UK government’s popular Help to Buy scheme.

Housing associations also provide shared ownership schemes, where you buy a "share" of your home and pay rent for the remaining part.

Yes, although this does depend on how long you’ve been in the UK. On paper, many foreign nationals appear to be "mortgageable" based on their experience, credit history and credentials, but are hard-pressed to secure a mortgage without a British passport.

Many foreign nationals also work on a contract basis, which makes it considerably tougher for them to get bank loans. For this reason, our mortgage division assists these individuals by approaching select lenders on their behalf.

The minimum deposit that lenders accept is typically 5% of the property’s value. But these mortgages have a very high credit score requirement and all other aspects of the case have to fit lender criteria. They are hard to come by.

Most people start with at least a 10% deposit. The rates at this level are also more affordable and the product choice larger.

The more you can afford to put down, the more mortgage options you’ll have access to. Our research will outline the cost impact of putting down a higher or lower deposit, how your deposit amount will affect your mortgage options and how your deposit will affect the costs you incur over time.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) needs to be paid on all property transactions. The tax is payable on sales and depends on the contracted purchase price of the property. This table shows which SDLT rates are payable on different property values:

Yes. In addition to stamp duty, your mortgage typically has an arrangement fee which can vary between 0% and 2% of the loan amount.

Most mortgage products come with a £999 arrangement fee.

This arrangement fee can be added to the loan, but it’s worth noting that you are then paying interest on this fee over a 25-year mortgage term.

Other costs to bear in mind include legal costs and a survey of the property.

This depends on how much you earn and how much deposit you can put down on your home.

Lenders use affordability models that consider a very wide range of different factors. As such, income multiples can be misleading. Part of our research and advice process is to help you understand what your mortgage ceiling will be in lots of different scenarios.

This is governed by your age, expected retirement date and what you can afford. Most of our clients choose a mortgage that’s realistically repayable over 25 years. However, you can always choose a longer-term mortgage. Remember, the longer your mortgage lasts, the more interest you’ll end up paying.

Almost everything. Lenders take a long look at your income, including type, amount, history, future sustainability and credit history. They also consider other mortgages you might have and the source of the deposit. They will also closely examine your bank statements to ensure they can verify all other information provided in the application.

Of course. As long as you both have good credit history, enough income and a deposit to secure your mortgage, sharing the costs with a second party is always an option.

It’s important to ensure you know how the property will be split between the two of you, especially if one of you is paying more towards the deposit.

You have two options when buying with someone else:

1. Joint tenancy: If you have chosen a joint tenancy, the part owned by you will automatically pass to the other person if you die.
2. Tenants in common: Here, the property can be divided up as you choose. Your share will then be passed on to your estate if you die. This option has the advantage of allowing you to elect how rental income affects your tax return.

We can advise you on the impact of these two different options for your situation.

Tracker mortgages tend to be the most popular variable mortgage deals. They follow or "track" the Bank of England base rate (plus a set percentage). There are other variable rate mortgages that track the bank’s base rate, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or a product reference rate.

Banks also offer fixed-rate mortgages of varying durations - two years through to ten years. The pricing of the various fixed rate durations is sensitive to the interest rate outlook. Other mortgage types include capped and collared mortgages, but these are less popular.

Probably not. Interest-only is very much disappearing from the mortgage landscape in the UK. Where it is available is in circumstances where the loan-to-value (LTV) is at 50% and below or the property has substantial equity and the borrower has a very high income. In addition, where significant investments are held that could repay the loan, we are often able to arrange an interest-only mortgage. For most folks, however, they should be prepared to have a repayment mortgage.

Yes. If we consider your mortgage to be a "standard" case, we’ll charge you a research fee of £195. A "standard" case is one where we don’t need come to a specific agreement with an underwriter at a lender regarding your case.

Where your case is outside lending policy, for example requiring a specific agreement with an underwriter, involves multiple scenarios or an aspect of commercial or non-resident lending, then our non-standard research fee of £375 applies.

Our clients have provided very positive feedback on our research outputs. We consider this research essential to the planning process of buying a UK property.

Our research fees are the only fees you pay us up-front. If we determine that you aren’t eligible for a mortgage, we won’t charge you a cent. In addition, the research fee is only charged once. We don’t re-charge you if we need to refresh or alter the options as you consider different properties. Once you’ve paid one research fee, our commitment is to get you to the finish line and into your home.

Generally, no. Most lenders pay us between 0.3% and 0.35% of the loan amount as a success fee. We will only charge a top-up if the payment from the lender is below £750. In that case, we charge the difference between what the lender is charged and £750.

The above applies to non-resident mortgages, but we do charge an additional document handling fee of £200 on receipt of the full application with all the attached documents. These mortgages have a significant compliance burden and this additional charge covers that additional work.

Commercial mortgage success fees are charged on a bespoke basis.

Sable International is one of the leading foreign national and contractor mortgage specialists in London, helping non-residents and self-employed contractors obtain competitive mortgages since 2006.

At Sable International, we offer you advice - not just brokerage. Without the right advice, it’s all too easy to lose your chosen property thanks to a failed mortgage application. We help to make sure you get that mortgage for your dream property. And because a mortgage is often the largest debt you’ll ever have, we make sure our advice takes into account your overall financial position.

Yes, as a non-UK resident you can get a mortgage, but it does restrict the lenders you can use. There are a range of banks and private banks that lend to non-residents. Get in touch with one of our experienced mortgage advisors to find out about your options.

Being a British expat does not make it easier to get a mortgage, but you do have more choice when looking to secure finance. A wider lender choice means we can often find one that will lend to you after assessing your personal circumstances.

A non-resident will often need to put down a bigger deposit when looking to purchase a UK property. Most lenders will only lend between 50% - 65% of the property’s value. While we have a few that could go up to 75%, this is an exception, rather than the norm.

Yes, you can secure a mortgage if you work for yourself. We have a range of lenders that can take self-employed income. You will need to have at least two years of trading and use an accountant that can be identified online with the relevant accounting qualifications.

We can secure mortgages on properties across the UK, Wales and Scotland.

Most lenders have a minimum loan amount of £100,000, which, based on the relevant loan to values available does mean that in most instances you will want to look at properties around £175,000 and up.

Yes, as a non-resident, most onshore lenders will not be available to you. Most of the banks we use are UK banks with an offshore presence. They are based in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. Some of the expat lenders are based in the UK.

We have a few Shari’ah lenders that will lend to non-residents or expats. They operate on the Islamic principle of co-ownership or Diminishing Musharakah with leasing (Ijara). Under this scenario you will purchase the property with the bank as partners. Only your name will appear on the title deeds, but it does mean that depending on the bank, you can both participate in the downside or upside of any growth or decline in property value.

The Islamic banks we work with have confirmed that all upside will be passed onto you, guaranteeing that you will benefit in full on any property growth achieved while you own the property.

All non-resident lenders are taking more risk when lending to someone outside the UK. There are also less lenders available in this space, resulting in less competition. Therefore, we find that rates are higher compared to when you lived in the UK.

This is a very complicated area and we would recommend getting advice to be sure. Current legislation states that you’ll be able to claim UK personal allowances if you are a citizen of a state within the European Economic Area (EEA). Outside of this, it will depend on the double taxation agreement (DTA) between the UK and your country of residence.

Yes, buying a property through a trust or limited company is possible, but not all lenders will allow this. It will restrict your lending options, but it is definitely possible.

Yes, we have a number of lenders that can lend to Chinese residents. We will need all your documentation translated to English but as long as this is possible, and you cover the lender’s underwriting requirements, we should be able to secure you finance.

We also cover most other Asian countries, Russia and the Middle East.

Non-resident lenders only allow for up to two borrowers on a mortgage application.

Fees can be higher with non-resident lenders - often 1% of the loan amount. Most lenders require this to be paid as part of the application either upfront or taken from the mortgage advance on completion. In most cases it cannot be added to the loan and should be factored in when working out your borrowing costs.

Mike answers a few questions about our mortgage service.

In this video you can find out:

1. Why should someone use an independent mortgage broker like Sable? (0:12)
2. What makes Sable different? (0:30)
3. So Sable charges an upfront fee. How does that work, and what do I get for my money? (1:30)

Some essential details about getting a mortgage in the UK.

In this video you can find out:

1. Who establishes how much I can borrow? (0:10)
2. What taxes apply? (1:07)

Mike looks at some of the particular challenges faced by foreign nationals looking to get a mortgage in the UK.

In this video you can find out:

1. Is it more difficult for a foreign national or 'expat' to get a mortgage in the UK? If yes, why and how? (0:13)
2. Once an expat has a mortgage, are there any restrictions they face, such as letting it out while living in their home countries. (1:15)

A few top tips on how to get the best deal for your personal circumstances.

In this video you can find out:

1. How would I go about getting the best mortgage deal for me? (0:12)
2. What are some of the most common mistakes first-time buyers make? (0:45)