Home mortage on a student visa?

Has anyone had success obtaining a mortgage on a student visa? One broker told me that some lenders will deal with students if they have been in the country for over 3 years. Any experience out there?

Thanks in advance.

db

Has anyone had success obtaining a mortgage on a student visa? One broker told me that some lenders will deal with students if they have been in the country for over 3 years. Any experience out there?

Thanks in advance.

db

I don't know much about mortgages but I would imagine that it's going to be difficult, if not impossible, to get one as a student. The reason? When you applied for the student visa, you agreed that you would leave the UK at the end of the course... so I wouldn't imagine that a mortgage company is going to let you borrow their money when your visa requires that you leave the country as soon as you finish your studies.

You cannot live in the UK permanently as a student and you cannot gain settlement from your visa, so you can't guarantee that you will be able to remain in the UK in order to pay off the mortgage. Also, the amount of money you can borrow for a mortgage will depend on your earnings. As a student you can only work a maximum of 20 hours per week and most student jobs don't pay very well, so I doubt you're going to be allowed to borrow much money at all on a student income.

From the website, Mortgage Sorter:

Mortgages For Foreign Nationals Buying In The UK

If you a foreign national living in the UK, you may well want to buy a property while you are here – whether it's a new family home or just a temporary residence for you.

The choices available to you depend on two things:

    * Whether you are an EU National
    * How long you have lived and worked in the UK

Non-EU Nationals

If you are not an EU national then you will have no traceable credit history within the UK, which causes complications when applying for a mortgage.

The solve this, the basic requirements you will have to meet are:

    * Resident in UK for more than 2 years
    * Have a permanent job in the UK
    * Have permanent residence rights in the UK, or a UK Work Permit
    * Have a UK bank account

Permanent residence is considered preferable to only having a work permit, but there are lenders who will provide a mortgage on the basis of a work permit only.

The requirement to have lived in the UK for two years is due to the necessity of building up a UK credit history before lenders can approve your mortgage application – read on to learn about one possible way around this problem.

Non-Status Lending (Self-Certification)

Whether you are an EU national or not, there is one other mortgage option that will enable you to bypass some of these requirements. If you are able to provide at least a 25% deposit for the property you wish to buy, you may be able to get a so-called non-status mortgage – better known as a self-certification mortgage.

This means that you are not required to provide proof of your income – instead you simply agree in writing that you can afford the mortgage repayments you require.

This is the reason a relatively large deposit is required – to balance out the risk of your defaulting for the lender.

How Do I Find A Lender Who Will Accept Foreign Nationals?

As always with non-standard mortgage requirements, by far the best way to find a suitable choice of mortgages is by going through an independent mortgage broker.

As an independent, they will have access to the entire mortgage marketplace, including mortgages that are only offered through brokers – not directly to customers (these are sometimes some of the best deals, too).

I tried to get a mortgage when I was a Ph.D. student. I had been in the country for nearly 4 years at the time, had a provable income and a large deposit, could provide a guarantor (but she was outside the UK, so didn't count) and this was during the time when anybody and their dog could get a mortgage. I asked at several banks and they didn't even bother to check their systems, they just said no. Now, when credit is much harder to get, I would say there is no chance.

Gonna be very tough I think!

I'm on a work visa valid for another couple of years and can be extended (hopefully by then, barring visa rule changes) - and I've been pretty much laughed at extensively. 

In fact, I tried to take out a personal loan once and it got denied because I wanted it for 5 years to reduce the monthly payments and because I had only 3 years left on my visa, they refused me and I had to reapply to have it for 3 years and even then I had to plead my case heavily. 

You never know though. 

I agree with the others that I think it's going to be very,very hard, I'm afraid, especially in this economic climate. 

Also, it is easier for people to respond if you keep your query to one thread. 

Moderators can move it if necessary. 

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=63323.0;topicseen

Mod Note: I've merged the OP's 2 posts about this topic, so if the flow feels funny that is why.

I agree with the others that it's going to be tough.  I'd suggest going to a mortgage broker and asking them to see if anything is available for someone in your situation.  They'll have a wider range of options than a major retail bank (like Lloyds or HSBC) and you'll get a more complete answer.