Workers in theUAEand Saudi have highest demand for expat residential mortgages

Marsden Building Societyhas found that clients in the UAE and SaudiArabia are showing the most demand for expat residential mortgages.

Workers in theUAEand Saudi have highest demand for expat residential mortgages

Marsden Building Societyhas found that clients in the UAE and SaudiArabia are showing the most demand for expat residential mortgages.

This equates to generating almost a third of the expat residential business so far this year. The society hasseenan uplift in expat enquiries over the last few months.

Steve Robinson, head of lending at Marsden Building Society, said: “With many UK expats spending time out in the UAE or Saudi often pulled by employment in construction, banking, oil or tourism among other trades.

“We’re finding an increasing number wanting to secure a mortgage on their home in the UK either by renting it out or by supporting existing family members to continue to reside there.”

“It is common that the wages for an expat far exceed the average wage in the UK and therefore for these clients, affordability is not often an issue but seemingly finding a lender that will take a view on them is the issue they’re faced with as only a handful of lenders can support them.”

He added:“We’ve got 10 years’ experience in this market offering support for expats who are looking for a mortgage on their UK property.

“We find that it fits with our lending operation to individually underwrite each case as circumstances tend to vary quite a bit dependent on the client.

“Working closely with intermediaries who specialise in expat advise and those who don’t to ensure we have all the supporting information we need is key to getting the application through as quickly as possible for both the intermediary and their client.”