Our client, a British expatriate living overseas, approached Million Plus Private Finance to arrange a UK expat mortgage for the purchase of a new family home. The client was self-employed, already owned a UK property, and wished to retain this property so their daughter could continue living there. At the same time, they wanted to purchase a larger UK residence to use as their family primary home, requiring additional borrowing while maintaining affordability across two mortgages.
The client’s circumstances presented several complexities. They were non-UK residents, self-employed, and received income in multiple currencies from four different countries. In addition, an existing mortgage needed to be fully factored into the affordability assessment. While the client had a substantial deposit and a low loan-to-value ratio, many lenders were cautious due to the combination of expat status, foreign income, and self-employment.
High street lenders in particular struggled to assess the sustainability of income paid in foreign currencies and were reluctant to take a holistic view of the client’s overall financial position. The challenge was not the client’s ability to service the borrowing, but how their international income and liabilities were structured and presented.
Million Plus Private Finance carried out a detailed review of the client’s global income streams, business activities, and property commitments. We worked closely with the client to present clear, lender-ready evidence of earnings from each jurisdiction, demonstrating consistency, longevity, and affordability once currency considerations were applied.
We also addressed the existing mortgage by presenting a full overview of the client’s assets and liabilities, showing that both properties could be comfortably supported without over-extension. By structuring the application carefully, we ensured lenders assessed the case on substance rather than rigid criteria.
A specialist UK lender was identified that was willing to support complex expat mortgage applications where strong fundamentals were present. The lender accepted foreign income across multiple currencies and took a pragmatic view of the client’s self-employed status.
A £2 million interest-only mortgage was arranged on a five-year fixed rate at a highly competitive level. The interest-only structure enabled the client to keep monthly repayments low while preserving liquidity and flexibility within his wider financial planning.
The transaction completed successfully, allowing the client to acquire their new UK home while retaining ownership of the existing property. This case demonstrates how self-employed expatriates with multi-currency income can still access competitive UK expat mortgage solutions when their circumstances are structured correctly and matched with the right lender.
