Buying a house, not married to UK person, Tier 2 work visa

Is it possible for my husband and I to get a morgage here? Has anyone done this?  Thanks.

It is possible if a bank is willing to lend, but you may not find the rates desirable.  Contact a mortgage broker in your area and see what options you have.  There is no barrier from the UKBA perspective but banks may consider you high risk, so loan options will be limited.  Plus lack of UK credit will add to the obstacle.  Be prepared to have a large deposit (I've been quoted as much as 40%).

I was a work permit holder and a few years ago I was checking out mortages -I went all over and I couldn't find anyone to lend to me because I didn't have ILR.  I think it will depend so much on how much of a deposit you have , your finances, etc.   
KFdancer has given good advice to check out a mortgage broker. I haven't seen one yet that has a loan without at least a 10% deposit still. 
Good luck!

Thanks!  I was thinking I would need an ILR but thought I should check into it.  I will ask around.  At least it will give us an idea and when we could do it and how much we need to save.  Have 10% now but will take a bit to get more. 

Hi,

It is possible to purchase a property here and not be a citizen etc and many people have done and continue to do so. It's like the same freedoms many people from many different countries have when wishing to purchase property in another country. The 'main' caveat is of course money. If you have a substantial amount to put towards the property cost, you can get a mortgage quite easily, prior to the financial mess the UK in particular is in, this figure was around the 25-45% range depending on which lender you spoke with etc. Nowadays, it's likely to be substantially higher (I've not kept up recently about it) and I'd envisage perhaps 50-70% perhaps? anyone in this sort of financial position will (relatively) easily be able to arrange financing for the rest of the funds.

It sounds as though you perhaps aren't in that level so finding lending and mortgages will be increasingly more difficult the less of a deposit you are able to stump up. Lending is currently difficult to get and I'd expect it to remain the same'ish over the next few years at least. I think the days of money being lent carelessly are over and stricter guidelines need to remain in place, however there's already talk of bringing back better rates for 5 and 10% deposit mortgages to citizens etc, it remains to be seen if foreign buyers will see a reduction to perhaps 35-45% of a property value in order to relatively easily secure a mortgage.

Of course, it does depend on where in the UK you do buy, but in general, vast swathes of the country are simply way beyond overpriced for those earning in the basic rate of tax and increasingly those earning the higher rate of tax as well, currently putting the idea/dream of home ownership totally beyond reach.

Do look to speak with various mortgage brokers and advisors, see if you can qualify for any incentives buy home builders if you are thinking of a new build and do as much research as you can regarding where to potentially look to buy and any issues to your legal situation and eligibility status etc.

Good luck!

cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

We have checked with two places (HSBC being one).  One said we need 3 years of credit history but we could try next year after being here for 2 years.  HSBC said 10% down but would need ILR.  Will check with someone else.  So far no one has mentioned the possibility of having a large downpayment  in order to get a loan. 

 I went to Halifax and was able to get approved for a mortgage with 10% down (good credit history albeit less than 2 years, got a credit card 1 year about).  I was told without a credit history or less than A credit score, I could have gotten a mortgage with 25% down. Other banks also seems to lend mortages to expats with 10-25% down based on their websites.  I do not have ILR and won't have for more than 3 more years. Interest rate is the current standard interest rate. Based on everything I read, I wasn't expecting this to happen to I really does help to actually talk to the mortage person directly.  Not just the bank, but set up an appointment with the mortgage person directly.