£1 million expat remortgage for partner at international law firm paid in Hong Kong Dollars

Trinity Financial helps Hong Kong-Based client secure £1 million interest-only remortgage.

Trinity Financial recently helped a senior legal professional secure a £1 million residential remortgage to raise funds for home improvements on a UK property valued at £1.95 million.

The client is a partner at an international law firm and works and resides in Hong Kong. Although the property is in the UK and is occupied by his family, the client was treated as an expatriate borrower because he lives overseas and is paid in Hong Kong dollars.

The case was particularly complex because the client had experienced some adverse credit in recent years. This meant many lenders were unwilling to consider the application, even though he had a strong professional background, a high-value property and a clear reason for raising funds.

Why did the client contact Trinity Financial?

The client wanted to remortgage at the same time as his existing mortgage product was expiring. He also wanted to raise additional funds to pay for home improvements, as the property is where his family lives and he was keen for the works to be completed as soon as possible for their benefit.

His existing lender was unwilling to help because of his expatriate status and credit history. The client had also spoken to another mortgage broker before contacting Trinity Financial, but they were unable to find a solution.

After finding Trinity Financial through our website, the client contacted us for help because of our experience arranging complex expat mortgages, large mortgage loans, interest-only mortgages and cases involving foreign currency income.

Finding a lender for a complex expat mortgage

The combination of expatriate status, Hong Kong dollar income and adverse credit significantly reduced the number of lenders available. Many UK banks and building societies have strict rules for expat borrowers, and some will not accept applicants with recent credit issues.

There were very few lenders able to consider the case, so it was important to approach the right lender from the start and present the application clearly.

After reviewing the client’s circumstances, Trinity Financial placed the mortgage with a small building society that has a strong appetite for issuing mortgages. The lender was prepared to assess the client’s wider financial position, the property value, the reason for the borrowing and the background to the credit issues.

£1 million interest-only mortgage secured

The client secured a £1 million mortgage on an interest-only basis for the longest term available to him, 15 years.

The mortgage was arranged on a two-year fixed rate of just under 5.25%. Taking into account the client’s expatriate status, foreign-currency income, and adverse credit history, this was a strong result and not significantly higher than some of the lowest fixed rates available in the wider mortgage market at the time.

The mortgage offer was issued in approximately four weeks. The timescale reflected the complexity of the application, the additional checks required and a minor delay in arranging the property valuation.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, said: “Expat mortgage applications can be challenging because many lenders apply more restrictive criteria to clients living and working overseas. When adverse credit and foreign-currency income are also involved, the number of available lenders reduces further.

“This client had a strong professional profile as a partner at an international law firm, but his Hong Kong residency, Hong Kong dollar income and recent credit issues made the application more specialist.

“The key was knowing which lenders were prepared to consider a complex expat remortgage and how to present the case properly. A building society provided a sensible solution, and securing a £1 million interest-only mortgage at just under 5.25% was a strong outcome given the circumstances.”

Can expats get UK remortgages to raise funds for home improvements?

Yes, some lenders will consider UK remortgages for expatriate borrowers seeking to raise funds for home improvements, although the application process can be more complicated than a standard residential remortgage.

Lenders will usually want to understand where the borrower lives, how they are paid, the currency of their income, their credit history, the purpose of the additional borrowing and whether the mortgage remains affordable.

Applicants paid in foreign currencies such as Hong Kong dollars, US dollars or euros may have fewer lender options because some banks are cautious about exchange-rate risk. Expat borrowers with adverse credit are likely to face further restrictions, so specialist broker advice can be essential.

Case Study Summary

Need Help With An Expat Mortgage Or Foreign Currency Remortgage?

Trinity Financial regularly helps expatriates, high earners, professionals and clients paid in foreign currency secure UK mortgages and remortgages.

Our brokers have experience arranging large expat mortgages, interest-only loans, remortgages for home improvements and applications involving complex income or credit histories.

Contact Trinity Financial to find out which lenders may be able to help if you live overseas, are paid in Hong Kong dollars or another foreign currency, or need to remortgage a UK property while working abroad.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, book a consultation, or use our appointment calendar

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

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