Hello! Any and all views appreciated...
I have a property in London. The fixed rate and consent to let run out in March so I need to remortgage. I have about 15% equity in it at the moment and bought on a 90% residential LTV mortgage 3 years before i moved to HK.
The rental yield isnt wonderful so the best LTV I can get on a BTL mortgage is 60% on a 5 year fixed rate. And that's assuming the valuation comes out at the price I paid for it. I would need to find about £98k + fees to do this so I'd need a tax loan here after using all my tax savings and other savings to pay down the equity. After taking into account the rent, I'd probably be looking at a cost to me of c.£1,500 / HKD 15,000 a month in loan repayments and service charge. I'd also have to pay management fees.
Alternative option is a residential expat mortgage. I could get 75% LTV on a 2 year fixed rate provided the valuation is the price I paid. I wouldnt need a loan for this, but I wouldnt be able to rent it out, but the cost to me in mortgage repayments and service charge would be around the same as the BTL mortgage. I'm drawn to this option because the hassle of renting it and paying fees etc actually puts me out of pocket. However, I am a bit confused about what I'm actually allowed to do with it - essentially I'd be keeping it as a holiday home - i'm not sure if tha fact that it would be empty most of the time would be an issue (I could also get a family member to say they live there if necessary though)... plus I wouldnt have any scope to rent it out.
What would you do?
Anyone got an expat residential mortgage in the UK? If so, what do you do with it and what evidence did your lender want?
Thanks in advace for any help!