With roughly 5 million Britons living abroad as expats, a recent survey suggests that 77% of expats would only consider returning to Britain if there was a financial, family or health issue at hand. That leaves a sizeable 23% of expats who would still consider moving back for less major reasons, or simply because they want to live in Britain in the future.
What this means then, is that there are approximately 1.15 million expats who may look to permanently return to Britain at some stage in their life. A considerable number of these 1.15 million expats are certain to return, as they are only working abroad for enhanced financial gains with no desire to live in that country permanently. Oil workers, as well as a high percentage of overseas finance workers, tend to fall into this category often.
So, if you are an expat who has decided to eventually return to and live in Britain, how should you be looking to finance your home in Britain? Expat mortgages are a fantastic way of solving this problem for you. You could be living and working in Australia, and still have a mortgage on a house you have purchased in the UK, allowing you to have a home and mortgage in place for you upon your return to Britain.
If you have moved away for financial benefit then you can continue working at your high earning job, whilst paying off your mortgage on your property in Britain. This gives you the best of both worlds, working and earning more money abroad, whilst resting assured that you have a home to come back to once you finish your career as an expat. Not only that but given the global economy is currently still suffering buying a property now, whilst property prices and interest rates are lower than previously, will give you greater potential for a higher return on your property should you ever decide to sell it in the future.
If you feel you can’t afford a mortgage outright then talking to a mortgage adviser about the potential of buy-to-let expat mortgages could enable you to purchase a property and rent it back out. The income received from your tenants can pay off, or reduce greatly, the monthly mortgage payments and you still have a house to return to should you ever decide to do so. On top of all of this, you can still decide to live permanently overseas, sell the property, repay the remaining mortgage and have some released equity to enjoy with your life in your new home country.
If you don’t take out an expat mortgage whilst you are abroad and wait to sort out a home when you return then the situation is flipped; you will have to wait until your return to Britain (something that is going to be stressful enough as it is), you may not be earning as much money as you were as an expat, property prices may have recovered and increased, interest rates on mortgages could have gone up and there may be a lot more demand for a smaller amount of properties on the market. Does this sound like the sort of situation that you want you and your family to face upon your return home?