“Demand for buy-to-let mortgages from British expats continues to be strong and by opening up our mortgages to more countries we can continue to give British nationals living around the world the opportunity to invest in property in the UK,” commented Jim Coupe, managing director of Skipton International.
Some UK expats with regular savings may find it difficult to invest in buy-to-let in their country of origin though; the UK property market continues to grow at a rate which outstrips that of most other countries in the UK, meaning it can be difficult to get a foothold on the buy-to-let ladder. For example, in 2015 the rate of house price growth in the UK was 4.5%, a full 1.5% higher than the average global increase over the same period. Only a few countries, with popular UK expat destination Malta among them, managed to keep pace.
This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.
To help tax authorities in various countries hunt out those individuals and companies trying to hide assets, the UK has recently signed a disclosure of asset agreement with Spain, Germany, France and Italy. What does this mean? It means that the UK, in partnership with France, Germany, Spain and Italy, have passed regulations that will lead to the automatic sharing of information about the true owners of companies, complex shell companies and overseas trusts.