Marsden Building Society has made a series of changes to its expat mortgage criteria, removing the minimum income requirement for buy-to-let cases and reducing documentation demands for both employed and self-employed applicants.
For expat buy-to-let, the changes take effect across three areas. The minimum income requirement has been removed entirely. Documentation requirements have been cut: self-employed applicants now need one year of accounts rather than two, unless top slicing applies, in which case two years remain required; employed applicants need only their most recent payslip. The mandatory employer's reference requirement for buy-to-let cases has also been dropped.
On country eligibility, Marsden has replaced its fixed country exclusions list with a dynamic framework based on real-time data from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The society will not accept applications from customers residing in, or with financial links to, countries on the FATF High-Risk and Increased Monitoring lists.
Applications from residents of EU and EEA countries are excluded due to the absence of service agreements, and Australian residents are excluded due to legislative restrictions.
Separately, Marsden has simplified additional borrowing requirements across its entire mortgage portfolio, not just expat cases. Brokers are directed to the latest documentation checklists for further detail.
"These changes demonstrate our ongoing commitment to supporting intermediaries with flexible lending solutions and straightforward processes," said Jo Cave, head of mortgages at Marsden Building Society.
"We've listened to broker feedback and taken steps to reduce unnecessary administration, making it easier to submit and place expat cases with us."
"Combined with our manual underwriting approach, these enhancements give brokers greater flexibility and more opportunities to meet the needs of their expat clients," Cave added.
