UK Mortgages for Expats Living in Italy

Yes. Italy's British community is spread between the northern cities, Tuscany and the lakes, and it mixes corporate postings with people who moved for the life rather than the job.

Most High Street banks will not lend to non-UK residents, so the deals that work sit with specialist lenders reached through a broker.

Whether you are buying an investment, keeping a base in the UK or refinancing something you already own, the route is the same.

Two, mainly, and they are financed quite differently. You can buy a property to let, which is assessed on the rent it will produce rather than on your salary, or you can keep and refinance a home you already own.

Many of our Italy-based clients are in the second position: they moved abroad, kept the UK house and let it out, and now need it on the right mortgage rather than the residential deal it started on.

Both are straightforward once declared. What causes problems is a let property still sitting on a residential mortgage the lender knows nothing about.

Yes, comfortably. The euro is one of the most widely accepted currencies in expat lending.

Income in a foreign currency is still discounted, commonly leaving 75% to 90% counted, as a buffer against exchange movements.

If any part of your income arrives in sterling, a UK pension or rental income for instance, say so early. Sterling income attracts no discount and often does more for your borrowing figure than the euro salary beside it.

Usually earlier, if a UK purchase is part of the plan at all. Lenders set maximum ages at application and at the end of the term, so the options narrow as you get closer, and borrowing against a salary is simpler than borrowing against a pension.

Retirement income is not disqualifying. Pensions, drawdown and investment income can all support a mortgage where they are evidenced, but the lender list is shorter and the terms are typically tighter.

Tell us the intended timing at the first conversation and we will tell you honestly whether waiting costs you anything.

Residential lending reaches 90% loan-to-value, so deposits start from around 10% of the purchase price. Buy-to-let runs to 80%, so plan on at least 20%, and more where the rental figures are tight.

Buy-to-let is assessed mainly on the property's expected rent, which lenders typically want covering the payment by at least 125% and often 145% under their stress tests, alongside a minimum personal income.

Your solicitor's source-of-funds checks apply to every overseas buyer, so keep the trail complete.

Yes to the first and no to the second. Whether you are switching at the end of a rate or releasing equity, it is handled entirely from Italy.

Italy is one hour ahead of the UK, so calls need no planning, and everything from the free initial consultation to completion runs remotely.

If your fixed rate ends within six months, start now; deals can typically be secured well ahead of the switch.