Mortgage for high profile expat purchasing flat with complex valuation

What was the situation?

I was engaged by a high-profile ex-pat client who wanted to purchase a second home for them and their family to use whilst visiting the UK. They were looking to borrow £310,000 against a purchase price of £500,000.

What was the issue?

The client was a British national living in the US. Having lived there for more than 10 years, they had minimal credit history in the UK and their income was invoiced through their own US-based company.

They were purchasing a flat in a converted Grade 1 listed manor house. A mainstream mortgage lender’s valuer had not deemed it as suitable security for mortgage purposes, therefore the lender had subsequently declined their application.

What was the process?

The rationale for the adverse valuation was vague, but by working with the vendor of the property, their estate agent and surveyor contacts, I was able to determine that a number of aborted sales in the building were the cause of the concern for the original valuer. This was due to the fact that one of the owners in the building had ancestral connections to the property, and was finding it difficult to sell their individual flats due to their emotional ties.

After speaking to the estate agents responsible for sales that did not proceed, I was able to confidently conclude that the issue was not related to the property itself, and sought to find a lender who would take a view on the property in light of the facts I had established.

What was the solution?

By working with the lender’s internal property team, I was able to get assurances that their valuer would perform a valuation based on the merits of the property itself without speculation as to the reason for any previously aborted sales.

The lender was also able to make an exception to their standard lending policy in accepting the clients’ self-employed income, where they would typically only accept employed income from ex-pats. After receiving the mortgage offer, they were able to complete the purchase swiftly.

Interested to learn how LDN Finance can help you secure a mortgage? Speak to one of our advisers today.