Securing The Best International Mortgage For Your Home In Spain
By Rhiannon Williamson, Thu Dec 8th
Are you one of a growing number of people planning on buying aholiday home in Spain? Or have you decided to expatriate, buy a Spanish home and livein it permanently? If so, you may be about to begin your hunt for an internationalmortgage to purchase real estate abroad…
The task of finding the best international mortgage can seemlike quite a daunting one at first glance with many domestic,overseas and international providers vying for your business.But don’t panic! Tackle the task head on, ensure you secureyourself the best possible international mortgage or propertyfinance deal today and you will save yourself tens of thousandsin interest payments over the lifetime of your mortgage. You canbegin your search for the best loans and repayment vehiclesonline which should help to make the whole process moreconvenient and time efficient for you, and this article willalso help make the search for the most ideal and personallysuitable finance method that much simpler. There are five basic types of finance arrangement availableinternationally; to enable you to determine which one suits youand your circumstances best there follows a brief description ofeach: - 1) International Mortgages Depending on the country you’re resident in and the countryyou’re considering buying property in some domestic lendersoffer international mortgages for overseas real estate purchase. An example is Lloyds TSB in the UK which offers resident Britonswho already own a home in the UK an international mortgagescheme specifically for the purchase of real estate in Spain. The types of mortgage and repayment vehicles are standard to thedomestic country (e.g., UK or US) though there is often theadded criterion that the purchaser is already a home owner inthe local country and any mortgages available are only for up to70% of the purchase price. 2) Local Spanish Mortgages As Spain is largely geared to the foreign property buyer it’soften possible to raise a mortgage locally in Spain especiallywhen you approach one of the larger international bank’ssubsidiaries. It’s still important to make sure you understandthe local terms and conditions of the loan and the repaymentvehicle as well as checking and comparing the interest ratesavailable to you with those available from an internationallender ‘back home.’ 3) Expatriate Mortgages If you’re already an expatriate whether in Spain or anotheroverseas country and you want to buy in Spain or you’reinterested in buying a home in your originating country forinvestment purposes or
as a base for you to return to at somepoint in the future, it can be tricky to secure a mortgage. If you had a strong credit history before you expatriated andyou’re now in receipt of income to support your mortgageapplication there are a number of lenders specificallyinterested in attracting expatriate business though. Some of themajor high street lenders will charge you a bit of a premium forthe ease of application and service they offer and it’s actuallyworth while shopping round on the internet to see who else isoffering specific expatriate mortgages. Usually you should be able to borrow up to 85% of the property’svalue and when it comes to proof of income this can be made upof earned, pension, investment and rental income. 4) EquityRelease and Second Mortgages This is of course the simplest and most popular method beingused currently for the purchase of holiday homes overseas bymany buyers. In the UK especially, where the housing market hassignificantly strengthened over the last 5 – 7 years, manypeople have built up substantial equity in their homes and arenow releasing this ‘extra money’ to purchase property in Spainin cash. If you consider this method you must accept that the additionalsum you add to your mortgage will incur interest, it will haveto be repaid over the term or at the end of the term of yourmortgage and that the whole loan is secured on your mainproperty. 5) Installment Payments You might like to consider purchasing property off plan as thiscan give you the option to pay for the real estate via a seriesof installments or stage payments that you can save up to fundduring the build period. After paying the securing deposit your installment dates andamounts will be written into your purchase contract enabling youto budget accordingly. Clearly this method would particularlysuit those with a high level of disposable income. Once you have determined the most suitable method to suit yourrequirements and circumstances you can begin your search for alender if applicable. Consider searching the internet, usingforums, expatriate and international property sites, examininglenders sites and you can also listen to personalrecommendations from friends, family and colleagues who havealready undertaken property purchases in Spain. About the author:Rhiannon Williamson is the publisher of http://www.shelteroffshore.com/ - the online resource for investment property abroad,offshore investing & living overseas. Click the following linkfor Spanishproperty and moving to Spain articles, guides & resources |
