UK mortage or loan for Thai property

[HTC]

Has anyone managed to remortgage a UK property to raise funds for a Thai property?

I am a UK non resident working in Oman for 6 weeks and then I live with my Thai wife in Thailand for 3-4 weeks break. I have a type O family visa for Thailand.

I have a UK property worth approximately 125000 GBP. I still have 50000 GBP to pay on the mortgage.

I am looking to remortgage or to obtain a personal loan so that I can buy a house in Thailand. I have 20000 GBP savings in the UK.

I have been employed in the same company for 15 years and earn 47000 GBP a year not including and bonuses.

So far my current bank has told me I need to be a resident of the UK to obtain a loan or remortgage.

My wife does not earn enough to get a mortgage currently and Thai banks are reluctant to lend to me.

Has anyone had success with offshore banks to raise funds?

Looking for ideas. Thanks.

[rayongchelsea]

I used a uk broker to re- mortgage a property in the uk, based on the rental income earned, but had significant amounts of equity and it was a few years back. Those same deals are not available today. There are very limited loans available to non residents. The broker was john charcoal.

[MichaelJohn]

I took a second mortgaged on a UK house to buy land in Thailand. In fairness the UK bank (Nationwide) didn't care what I was doing with the money as long as they had the house as security. Can remember the figures but roughly my mortgage was £60 on a £220k house and I borrowed another £45-£50k so in total less than 50%. Your Loan to Asset % is higher but I guess it depends on how much more you want to borrow?

Having said all that it was before the 2008 crisis and I guess banks attitude to lending has changed a bit!!!

My experience with Thai banks is they will lend to your wife, with you as guarantor, but again only if they have the security (land house...)

Good luck :-)

[Jerry Cornelius]

I took a second mortgaged on a UK house to buy land in Thailand. In fairness the UK bank (Nationwide) didn't care what I was doing with the money as long as they had the house as security. Can remember the figures but roughly my mortgage was £60 on a £220k house and I borrowed another £45-£50k so in total less than 50%. Your Loan to Asset % is higher but I guess it depends on how much more you want to borrow?

Having said all that it was before the 2008 crisis and I guess banks attitude to lending has changed a bit!!!

My experience with Thai banks is they will lend to your wife, with you as guarantor, but again only if they have the security (land house...)

Good luck :-)

If you have tangible assets in your home country (and a good credit rating),a bank in your home country will give you a loan. Up to you how you use the loaned ammount. Default and you'll lose your home country asset(s).

Possibly your Thai asset too

Jerry

[starship]

Hi

I looked in to similar funding a while ago. I do not have a U.K property as you do. I research offshore/expat funding. As others have mentioned the U.K banking sector tightened up around 2008 and although still difficult, it is now starting to loosen up with 95% mortgages returning (for U.K buyers). With your income you would technically be easily eligible for a personal loan, although this might not be available to you as you are non U.K resident. These give you access to up to 25k of unsecured finance. Technically, they are not supposed to be used for home purchase but i'm sure plenty use these for other purposes. Some banks which operate a 'premier' type of account such as HSBC allow you, i believe, to transfer funds between accounts you hold with them in different countries, so for example it may be possible to get a U.K non secured loan of 25k and then transfer it to a foreign account for your intended use.

I think in general U.K mortgages are for U.K purchases. You need to speak to a specialist broker. My previous research found one www.nicheadvice.co.uk. There may be others. I have not used them, nor am i recommending them, it's just to give you an idea they exist. The U.K market is much more advanced and specialized compared to Thailand. You need a specialized expat mortgage broker to see if mortgage funding is possible for you in your situation.

The Thai banks in fairness are how U.K banks used to be years ago - very careful, with low LTV lending and lending low multiples of your salary compared to the U.K and as a foreigner you are in a weaker position compared to a Thai. You might be able to get a mortgage from a Thai bank buying in your wife's name (which you would need to as foreigners can not own land in Thailand) and you acting as a guarantor. They will ask you most likely for a 50% deposit on the property. Because you have been employed in the same job a long time, this might work in your favour and you could show bank books/receipts of your monthly income. If you are not prepared to pay this upfront i believe it will be very difficult for you. If this is o.k, go for a Thai bank, otherwise look in to expat mortgages as i suggested. Another thing to consider with these is that because they are a specialized, riskier form of lending the interest rate required might be higher than what you might pay on a Thai mortgage.

Hope this helps and gives you some options to consider.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Thai bank will give her a 50% home loan based on your income.

Your 20k is enough to buy 50% of a normal Thai home.

[Paul888]

Thai bank will give her a 50% home loan based on your income.

Your 20k is enough to buy 50% of a normal Thai home.

It is always a good idea to avoid putting your UK property at risk if there is another way.

[davejones]

With your wages it would be possible to save the money quite quickly, so no loan required. Depends how much the new house though, which you haven't mentioned.

[sotsira]

Pre 2008 it would have been easier, as i did the same thing by

re mortgaging on a buy to let basis.

Your main problem would be not providing a resident address in the uk.

Maybe you could provide a family members address as your resident address.

Parents or brother/sister etc.

[HTC]

Thanks for the replies. For information the price of the house is 5.5 million baht. I have sort that advice of two brokers so far ... nicheadvice as suggested by starship and another company called offshorelending. Nicheadvice have not replied with a full offer just yet, offshore lending have offered me a remortgage of 60% of my property value which would be paid back over 10 years at an interest rate of 5%. Calculating how much I owe on my UK property, this would give me 25000 pounds in my pocket or 1.2 million baht. Adding that to my savings gives me 2.2 million baht .... so not enough at the moment.

My wife has contacted a broker in Thailand and we have received the same responses as mentioned here ... eg. 50% of the property price up front and the rest to be paid over a 10 year period.

So it is looking like 2 mortgages in two different countries at the moment, but I don't yet have enough with the two to purchase the property.

I will keep you informed of my progress, but at the moment it is looking like I will need to keep saving for a larger deposit and perhaps another lender in the UK that can offer me more than 60% of my UK property purchase price.

[rayongchelsea]

I think 60% is the ceiling for non residents.

Good luck

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Thanks for the replies. For information the price of the house is 5.5 million baht. I have sort that advice of two brokers so far ... nicheadvice as suggested by starship and another company called offshorelending. Nicheadvice have not replied with a full offer just yet, offshore lending have offered me a remortgage of 60% of my property value which would be paid back over 10 years at an interest rate of 5%. Calculating how much I owe on my UK property, this would give me 25000 pounds in my pocket or 1.2 million baht. Adding that to my savings gives me 2.2 million baht .... so not enough at the moment.

My wife has contacted a broker in Thailand and we have received the same responses as mentioned here ... eg. 50% of the property price up front and the rest to be paid over a 10 year period.

So it is looking like 2 mortgages in two different countries at the moment, but I don't yet have enough with the two to purchase the property.

I will keep you informed of my progress, but at the moment it is looking like I will need to keep saving for a larger deposit and perhaps another lender in the UK that can offer me more than 60% of my UK property purchase price.

Buy a cheaper house, one you can afford.

Lots of houses around 2M.

[rayongchelsea]

It depends on the ops age also.

If he is still relatively young and in secure employment 5.5m is ok.

Hang on a bit the exchange rate may also start to change in the ops favour although I think I have been saying that for awhile.

Exchange rates have huge impacts on people's decision to buy.

Those who bought when sterling was in the high 60's and over 40 to the dollar will have done well. Not all house purchases in Thailand are doom and gloom although the ability to sell should never be under estimated..on my last house I had to give a good discount but they were queuing up at the door..no second hand issues when a bargain is to be had!!