International Mortgages in the UK, France, Italy and Europe
We receive a significant number of inquiries from both Australian residents and expatriates about the purchase of properties outside Australia - particularly in the UK, France and Italy. The reasons for purchasing a property are varied - ranging from individuals whose focus is largely lifestyle, including retirement, to those who see an overseas property purchase as part of an investment portfolio.
Historically, the major constraint on purchases has been a lack of access to financing. That constraint continues to exist in areas such as Asia, where residential financing is not normally available in many of the popular locations, but financing is becoming much more accessible in some other parts of the world, primarily in Europe. This section of the website focuses on providing an outline of the issues and options attaching to the purchase of property in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.
Whether you are looking to purchase foreign property for lifestyle or investment purposes, we strongly recommend that you seek appropriate tax, financial and legal advice both in Australia - prior to making any decisions - and in the country in which you wish to purchase a property. Although we do provide some background to the issues associated with purchasing in each of these countries, individual situations will obviously vary and you need to be prepared to identify and pursue those matters to a conclusion. This is particularly the case if you are considering purchasing through a self managed superannuation fund - tax issues and the need for non-recourse financing will often make this an unsuitable purchasing structure.
We also very strongly recommend against anyone purchasing property "sight unseen", based on brochures or real estate broker recommendations - part of your process should involve your physical involvement in a property search. If, for whatever reason, that is difficult or impossible - please seek our advice in relation to your options. In terms accessing finance at the present time you should conservatively assume that a minimum deposit of 30% will be required, and a minimum mortgage size of GBP100,000/Euro100,000.
All European financing inquiries made through this website will be managed by an Australian financial planner, based in Europe and part of the Exfin network, who specialises in this form of financing and assisting in the purchase of European property. You are assured of prompt service and we can usually provide access to reliable professional tax and legal advice in each country.
If you would like to make an inquiry regarding an International mortgage please complete the Inquiry form below and we will respond promptly.