Purchase mortgage, BTL remortgage and equity release for foreign national brothers

What was the situation?

My clients were two foreign national brothers who both resided in the UK and owned a number of overseas businesses together. Both brothers owned individual properties in the UK but lived separately, and one brother was looking to secure a purchase mortgage to buy another more expensive property in prime central London. The new property that had caught his eye was located within the same luxury building as his existing home in Marylebone but was a much larger and more valuable space. As such, my client needed to move quickly and had no time to sell his existing property.

What was the issue?

There were a number of complexities in this case that made it an extremely difficult one to get over the line. These issues included:

Affordability 

Whilst the overseas businesses at this point in time were on an upward trajectory, the income relevant to the brother looking to purchase the new property was not sufficient to make the deal work. As a result, I knew that in order to satisfy a potential lender’s concerns of affordability, we would have to add both of the brothers to the purchase application in order to take both of their incomes into account – even though only one of them would be living in the new property.

Multiple mortgage deals

The brother looking to purchase the new property wanted to remortgage his existing home onto a buy to let (BTL) to release equity, but as he was still short on deposit, the other brother needed to remortgage his existing property as well to release additional funds and add him to the purchase mortgage. The equity released from both of these remortgages would then go towards the purchase of the new high-value residence, which my clients wanted to secure on an interest only basis in order to keep repayments down.

Overseas income and business structure

As well as sourcing a lender who would be happy with both brothers being on the mortgage, they would also need to be comfortable with some of the income consisting of foreign currency. This can often cause issues as no matter your affordability, many mainstream lenders view overseas income as ‘complex’ and would much prefer to take a view on UK-based income alone. The nature of their business structures was also rather complicated and in order to present their accounts in the best light to a potential lender, I needed to work closely with their accountant to accurately depict the recent upturn of business and the resultant company projections moving forward.

What was the process?

This case all came down to strong lender relationships and knowing the market inside out. It was clear from the outset I would have to get all three mortgages with one lender that could view all aspects of my clients’ situation, be comfortable with both brothers being on the purchase mortgage and also navigate the complex structure of their businesses and income.

I quickly identified a lender who was satisfied and confident that all of the debt was going to be with them, and so was able to get a holistic oversight of the brothers’ UK-based and overseas businesses, income and affordability. I worked closely with my clients’ accountant to provide the new lender with the brother’s business projections to confirm the recent jump in profits and income was sustainable and that next year’s business would be better still. In doing this, it made sense from the lender’s perspective to have both brothers on the same mortgage in order to assess the total affordability, as the two brothers owned 100% of the businesses between them.

What was the solution?

After sourcing the new lender who could take a holistic view of my clients’ circumstances and a bespoke approach toward the case, I was able to secure fantastic terms on each of the mortgages to my clients’ delight as follows:

• Remortgage on existing property to release equity: 70% LTV of £1.5 million
• BTL remortgage on old property: 60% LTV of £1.5 million
• Purchase mortgage: 75% LTV of £1.65 million, interest-only

Lending solutions with LDN Finance

At LDN Finance, our expert brokers have a wealth of experience in securing high-value mortgages for high net worth individuals (HNWI) with complex circumstances. We work closely with our trusted network of private banks and specialist lenders to arrange bespoke mortgage arrangements to suit your circumstances at competitive, market-leading rates and ensure you feel in control at every stage of the process. Get in touch with us today to organise an initial consultation.