Buying a Home in the United Kingdom? Financing Options for Expats

If you are moving abroad to the United Kingdom and want to purchase a home as opposed to renting there are a variety of options for a first time home buyer. First time home buyer special financing is not limited to British citizens either. Even as a non citizen or non resident of the United Kingdom you will be able to qualify for some of the first time hoe buyer special financing options. You may notice that the special offers in the United Kingdom are not offered in your home country so it is important to know what you are entitled to in the United Kingdom so that you do not end up paying more than you need to for your new home.

If you are recently out of college and have good job prospects you may qualify for a special graduate and professional mortgage for young people. This type of mortgage will allow you to borrow up to five times your annual salary. In some instances you may even qualify for a 100 percent or 125 percent mortgage. The Britannia Building Society also backs a Graduate Network Scheme that you may qualify for as well called Share to Buy which is a joint mortgage for young professionals.

You may be interested in a self certification mortgage which is a mortgage that does not require you to prove your income. You may want to look into this if you are self employed or if you work on commission or some other type of employment that means your income fluctuates. Remember though that if you purposely lie about your income it is considered to be fraud and there are custodial sentences for offenders.

If you have friends or relatives you can all pool your resources and buy together if you want. Typically two to four people go in together on a home. Share to Buy offers a program for co-buyers where each person's share of ownership is in direct relation to the deposit that they made and the remaining payments on the home. The percentage of the home that each person own is listed on the title deed and each buyer is listed as a tenant in common. The downfall of this is that if one person wants to sell you have the option of buying them out but if you can't then the property must be sold.