Nottingham Building Society has announced interest rate and stress rate reductions for returning expats and skilled foreign nationals.
The reductions from Nottingham Building Society are up to 11 basis points (bps) and apply on its range of mortgage products for skilled foreign nationals and UK expats returning to the country.
The building society is also lowering the stress rates used for affordability-testing these borrowers in line with the lower-interest-rate environment.
It offers a range of two- and five-year mortgage products for foreign nationals and returning expats, which include flexible criteria of up to 90% loan to value (LTV) with fee and no-fee options.
Nottingham Building Society is also reducing the maximum product fee across this range from £1,999 to £1,499, with no increase in rates on these products.
‘Ongoing efforts to provide accessible, competitive mortgage options’
A lack of credit history is one of the main reasons foreign nationals – particularly those who have been in the UK for less than a year – struggle to get a mortgage.
Since the May 2024 launch of its proposition for foreign nationals and returning expats, in partnership with Nova Credit, the building society has received applications from people based in over 40 countries, with India and Nigeria being the most common.
Almost 40% of these applicants work in the healthcare sector, with two-thirds having spent fewer than three years in the UK. Nottingham Building Society has also seen a broad regional split of applications, with 60% coming from outside London and the South East.
The range was recently extended to cover Global Talent and Pre-Settlement visas, alongside Skilled Worker and Health and Care visas.
Alison Pallett (pictured), sales director at Nottingham Building Society said: “We are committed to supporting foreign nationals and returning expats in their journey to homeownership in the UK. The latest rate reductions and product enhancements reflect our ongoing efforts to provide accessible, competitive mortgage options that meet the diverse needs of our customers.
“Broker feedback is essential as we continue to evolve our product range to meet the needs of our customers. By offering a solution that requires no minimum time of residency in the UK, no UK credit history or no minimum income, we hope to help as many people as possible onto the UK property ladder. That’s the role we believe a modern mutual should fulfil.”
Last month, the building society widened its foreign national mortgage criteria.
Kelly Newlands is senior sub editor at AE3 Media, overseeing the sub editing and SEO for all of its publication titles: YourMoney.com, Mortgage Solutions, Specialist Lending Solutions and YourMortgage.com. She joined the team at AE3 Media at the beginning of 2024 from a role as a senior sub editor at an investment insights firm, where she was part of a sub editing team responsible for editing investment interview content.
Before that, she worked as a marketing executive and sole copywriter for a self-build company, where she created content for blogs and advertorials and worked on publications and website launches.
In her free time, Kelly enjoys reading, writing and keeping active at the gym or on dog walks.
