Right to Buy
What Is The 'Right to Buy' Scheme?
The Right to Buy scheme has been around for quite some time now and has helped thousands of tenants get onto the property ladder at a significantly lower cost than if they were to buy homes from private sellers or developers.
The Right to Buy scheme helps eligible council and housing association tenants in England to buy their home with a discount of up to £127,940 (£96,010 outside London).
Some lenders offer a specific product range for right to buy mortgages, however, the process is no different to a regular mortgage. The lender’s standard criteria still apply – but you will need to make sure you are a suitable candidate for the Right to Buy scheme before approaching a lender, as your eligibility will affect the property’s purchase price and therefore how much you’ll need to borrow.
Am I Eligible For The Right to Buy Scheme?
Before applying for the Right to Buy scheme, you should check to see if you qualify first as there is specific eligibility criteria which applies to both you and your property.
To qualify:
- You must be a secure tenant in the property you wish to buy
- You must have spent at least three years as a public sector tenant
- The property must be your only or main home
- You must not have breached your suspended possession order
- Your home must not be due for demolition (a notice would have been served on you).
The main factors that impact mortgage applications for foreign nationals
Length of time in the UK
Many lenders may require you to have been living in the UK for a minimum period of time. Some lenders require a minimum of 1 year, whereas some have a requirement of just 6 months and others have no requirement at all.
The main reason why lenders have a minimum time period is because they need to conduct credit searches on you in order to decide whether or not they’re able to lend to you. If you’ve arrived in the UK fairly recently, you may not have enough of a credit footprint in the UK for them to make that decision.
Deposit
The majority of lenders do require a minimum of 25% deposit for a foreign national case.
However, depending on the rest of your situation, such as your level of income and the amount of time that you’ve been living in the UK, we could potentially find a mortgage for you up to 95%, meaning you might only need as little as 5% for your deposit.
Some lenders also require the deposit to come from your own funds, as opposed to it being gifted to you – but that’s not always the case.
Income
The majority of lenders do not have a minimum income requirement for foreign nationals, however, it can become a bit tricky if you’re paid in any currency other than pound sterling. For example, if you were paid in Euros or US Dollars, not all lenders would be able to consider this.
Visa
There are several types of visas that we come across, the most common ones being:
- Skilled worker visa (formerly Tier 2)
- Entrepreneur visa (formerly Tier 1)
- Family/Spousal Visa
Typically lenders treat all visas the same in terms of their requirements for a mortgage. Some lenders also have a requirement for the minimum amount of time that needs to be remaining on the visa, usually this is 6 months to 1 year.
So if you've just moved to the UK from abroad and you're looking to purchase a property, then get in touch with us, we can help save you a lot of time and stress!
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Our role is to find you the best deal based on your circumstances and with access to the whole market, you can trust that we will find the best deal for you.
We’ll take into consideration your individual circumstances in order to find the most suitable lender for your case,
Provide Additional Services
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to buying a property, but there are other aspects, aside from mortgages that we can help with.
We can help with finding the right solicitor to deal with your case or even local firms to carry out your surveys if you like. It’s one less thing that you need to worry about.
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There’s nothing more frustrating than having a mortgage adviser who takes days to respond to your last email. So, we’ve made it our mission to always be as responsive as possible so that you can get the answers that you need in as little time as possible.
Right to Buy Mortgages
If you’re a foreign national who currently holds a valid visa, or an EU citizen, then get in touch with us using the form below. We will help to navigate you through the entire process, helping put the keys to your new home in your hands.
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Check out our frequently asked questions below and if you have any of your own then get in touch and we'll happily answer those for you!
Foreign National and EU Citizen Mortgage FAQs
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