Mortgage without ILR?

I'll have my three-year FLR this summer (here under HSMP/Tier 1), at the end of which I'll qualify for ILR.

I have a ~15% deposit (could be a little more if I stretch) and would love to buy a little cottage, but I haven't had much luck finding a lender that will consider anyone without permanent residency. Although I think Halifax will, if I had 25%.

Has anyone else had luck getting a mortgage without ILR? The house we're living in now is solely under my partner's name, so if he were included on the mortgage it'd be classed as a second home (which, fairly, it is), which automatically requires a 25% deposit. Plus since he got the first house, I want the second one in my name alone, to even things out. 

Thanks!

Hi there,

Not 100% sure about your exact status and what that all means in terms of conditions for getting a mortgage.
With the financial side of things in deep mire, the mortgages market has shrunk substantially, no more silly 100% or even more stupid 125% mortgages and the 5 or 10 % deposit mortgages only going to those with impeccable credit histories at the moment - I'd say pretty much anyone who's from abroad and with no (current) permanent right to stay would be handled under the foreign buyers umbrella within mortgage providers selection criteria.
I think you'd probably need to get together more than a 25% deposit in order to get more competitive mortgage rates and deals. 25% is a figure touted around for UK citizens to make and put down if they want to puchase - so foriegn buyers would I'd estmiate need 35-40%.
Remember, interest rates are currently very very low, but they WILL GO UP again once the economy stabilises and starts to return to better health, you MUST make sure that any budgets you have will allow for these increases if for instance you manage to get a tracker. If you get a discount rate now, then at the end of the 1,2,3,4 or 5 year fixed term, be prepared to pay the increased level of re-payments if the interest rates are higher then. Find an indepedant mortgage advisor who can crunch some numbers based on your actual income levels and much more importantly, the amount of disposable income you have each month to assess your suitability for any mortgages he may have to sell to you.

Good luck! Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Thanks for the tips, I'm pretty well despairing of being able to get a mortgage anytime before I get my ILR, but we viewed a cottage a couple months ago that I fell in love with and it's hard to let it go.

More time and more savings I suppose....

Hi there,

Good luck with hopefully getting something sorted. Today the news is reporting a substantial increase in the numbers of 1st time buyers - before the house price increases start to happen. The hope is currently it's the turning point and things will get better from now on for the wider economy. However, still too early to tell if it really is the turning point. One thing is for certain though, house 'asking' prices will rise, the question is if those rises still mean people will get approved for mortgages in order to clinch the sale.
Only time will tell !

Good luck again!
DtM! West London & Slough UK!