Marsden Building Society has revised its lending criteria for expat mortgage borrowers.
This includes a change that will see Marsden Building Society accept borrowers who are British National Overseas Persons (BNOPs) and foreign nationals.
The mutual will consider BNOPs for expat residential and expat buy-to-let (BTL) products up to 75% loan to value (LTV). Marsden Building Society will also consider foreign nationals for the same products, as long as they have a permanent right to reside, indefinite leave to remain, or pre-settled or settled status.
Foreign nationals from a high-risk country will require a referral.
Borrowers with skilled worker visas, formerly T2 visas, will be accepted on expat residential mortgages if they have secured employment in certain sectors within the UK.
They must have a job offer and certificate of sponsorship from an approved UK-based employer to qualify for immigration status.
Foreign nationals with skilled worker visas must have an income of at least £25,000 per year for sole applicants, or £35,000 for joint applicants. They must prove they have resided in the UK for at least 12 months and have at least 12 months on their visa at the time of application.
Marsden Building Society will accept gifted deposits of up to 25% of the full deposit, and this must be from an immediate family member who does not originate from a high-risk country.
The mutual has also reduced the minimum age at application from 25 to 21 for both expat residential and expat BTL cases.
It said these changes would offer greater flexibility and accessibility to expat borrowers.
Donna Barclay, head of lending at Marsden Building Society, said: “We’re always reviewing and adapting our products to meet the evolving needs of our borrowers. Feedback from our intermediary partners is vital to shaping our service, so we’re excited to unveil these significant revisions to our expat lending criteria.
“These adjustments reflect our commitment to providing specialist mortgage solutions for brokers and their clients and we’re confident that our revised criteria will be well-received by our expat borrowers.”
Earlier this month, the Marsden Building Society added three-year fixed rate mortgage options for holiday let borrowers.
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
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