Qualifying for mortgage with ZERO credit?

I totally understand the feeling that renting is money down the drain, but Brexit is this huge economic unknown hanging over the country with estimates it could potentially reduce housing values by up to 1/3. I'd say throwing away money for a few more months could be worth waiting out that storm. I'd rather be pragmatic about it! And that doesn't factor in the extemely high interest rates you'll pay due to lack of UK credit. (the mortgage would be in my settled UK spouses name, who does have spotless credit here.)

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My DH is stubborn because he is British. He doesn't want to live with his parents for more than a couple weeks max, but at the same time doesn't ever want to be a renter again like we were for the first half of our marriage. (Sees it as money down the drain). Meanwhile, I'm the one doing all the research, so I'm the only one worried that things might not go as smoothly and quickly as he imagines. 

Even if you were cash buyers, would you really want to jump into buying in 2 weeks from landing? I'd want to take my time. 

Even if you were cash buyers, would you really want to jump into buying in 2 weeks from landing? I'd want to take my time. 

Not to mention my house had no chain and was 13 weeks from offer accepted to completion - which was super fast for the UK. 

Not to mention my house had no chain and was 13 weeks from offer accepted to completion - which was super fast for the UK.

Yeah, mine was 10 weeks from offer to completion and that was really fast. I was expecting it to take 3-4 months.

Not to mention that the sale could fall through at any time!


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Wow. Looks like I have a few things to share with DH later. 

(I personally am not in so much of a rush, but he makes out like he wants to put an offer on the first half-decent house we see just to get out of his parents' house as soon as humanly possible.    Somehow I knew it wouldn't be quite that easy. DH needs a reality check.)

Wow. Looks like I have a few things to share with DH later. 

Also bear in mind that if you aren’t a cash buyer, you’ll need to show an established monthly U.K. income and breakdown of your incomings and outgoings each month.

For my mortgage I needed to show:
- last 4 months of U.K. payslips
- last 4 months of U.K. bank statements
- last 4 months of U.K. credit card statements
- detailed breakdown of my monthly outgoings (transport, food, bills, clothes, socialising etc.)...because they have to be satisfied that you will be able to afford the monthly mortgage payments and that you won’t default on them

My brother, who has been living in China with his wife for the last 6 years enquired about mortgages on a trip back. Even with he and his wife both being British, and them earning a decent wage abroad, he was told he would struggle to get a mortgage for a couple of years because he didn’t have any steady UK income.

My other brother moved back to the U.K. with his fiancé a year ago, after about 4 years in Europe (again, they are both British). It’s taken them a year of working in the U.K. to be approved for a mortgage - they’re just signing contracts now.

However, as you will have a spousal visa, on top of all that, you may find mortgage companies won’t lend to you until you have ILR (which takes 5 years to get), which means the mortgage would have to be in your husband’s name, using his U.K. income... or if they will put your name on the mortgage, you’ll likely be paying higher rates until you get ILR.


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Not to mention my house had no chain and was 13 weeks from offer accepted to completion - which was super fast for the UK.

Ours had no chain, pre-approved mortgage... we offered on May 21st 2016.  We had the mortgage secured within two weeks.  We still didn't complete until October 21st, 2016.  Seller's solicitor was useless! 

or if they will put your name on the mortgage, ..

And that's another can of worms you'll need to research as a USC, the US tax implications of owning a UK property. Is your husband dual?

And that's another can of worms you'll need to research as a USC, the US tax implications of owning a UK property. Is your husband dual?

Omg, yes he is. Does that affect things?

Omg, yes he is. Does that affect things?

Yes it does. I'm not exactly sure of all the ins and outs but the subject comes up often and is another reason why couples often choose to have the house in the name of the non USC (if there is one). You will want to take advice on this.

It just keeps getting better. 

OK, I briefed my DH (not full details yet) and he now seems confident that he can get his brother to buy us a house in his name, and we will immediately pay him back any associated costs (downpayment, etc) -- so his brother would essentially be our "landlord". (His brother is not yet aware of this plan.) We would pay his brother back every associated cost until we qualify to get the mortgage put into our name.

That's the best he can come up with, but he's confident. He says if he has to rent or stay with his family for any length of time, we aren't moving over at all. That's how stubborn he is!

It just keeps getting better. 

OK, I briefed my DH (not full details yet) and he now seems confident that he can get his brother to buy us a house in his name, and we will immediately pay him back any associated costs (downpayment, etc) -- so his brother would essentially be our "landlord". (His brother is not yet aware of this plan.) We would pay his brother back every associated cost until we qualify to get the mortgage put into our name.

That's the best he can come up with, but he's confident. He says if he has to rent or stay with his family for any length of time, we aren't moving over at all. That's how stubborn he is!

You are definitely going to want to formalize any such agreement to protect all parties involved.

It just keeps getting better. 

OK, I briefed my DH (not full details yet) and he now seems confident that he can get his brother to buy us a house in his name, and we will immediately pay him back any associated costs (downpayment, etc) -- so his brother would essentially be our "landlord". (His brother is not yet aware of this plan.) We would pay his brother back every associated cost until we qualify to get the mortgage put into our name.

That's the best he can come up with, but he's confident. He says if he has to rent or stay with his family for any length of time, we aren't moving over at all. That's how stubborn he is!

If BIL hasn't bought a house before or would want to buy a house in the nearish future... He would not want to do this. You only get help to buy on your first or second house and he'll lose that if he buys "for" you.

We're saving for our deposit, slowly, and my work's main clients are new build housebuilders.

Totally agree with Larrabee that you'd need a legal agreement for security if you do it.

Ours had no chain, pre-approved mortgage... we offered on May 21st 2016.  We had the mortgage secured within two weeks.  We still didn't complete until October 21st, 2016.  Seller's solicitor was useless!

The absolute fastest it can happen is 39 days and that was my boss's new build. I just found this out this week as I was asking how quickly a sale takes for my reference and if it was worth talking about in marketing copy.

We work with new build housebuilders but you can't get it don't any faster due to red tape, etc. But it usually takes longer due to "chain" and other things.

One of my line managers recently bought a house and as there were four, I think, in the chain it took almost NINE MONTHS to sort it out. NINE MONTHS. Then they had to come get the decorators in because the old woman who had owned it never replaced the wiring, the walls were a mess, and of course once you start peeking behind the walls who knows what may need fixing. And this was in the same neighborhood, you move town or whatever you have no idea who/what the area could be like.

Seriously, in this instance, given the legal challenges (citizenship and tax issues, lack of current UK financial history) and this Brexit overhang, you may as well sit tight for a year, rent, and get the lay of the land and your finances/paperwork in order, take counsel on the tax implications, and do it right. Not doing it right could cost a LOT more in the long run.

I get not wanting to stay with family longer than necessary, but renting would give you some control over that timeline (if its the most important driver and it sounds like it is) and far less stress in this instance. You guys could get into a rental within a month, guaranteed, while buying has little to no certainty whatsoever of a completion date, with iffy economic conditions.