France Mortgages from UK Lenders

As France is one of the most popular locations on the European mainland for British buyers, there has been a steady increase in the numbers of British banks developing mortgage products specifically for UK buyers heading to France to look for property.

What this means is that it is now possible to get France mortgages from UK lenders making it a million times easier for anyone contemplating a purchase to get everything financial in place even before they go on their first property fact finding trip.  But which are the best UK lenders for mortgages in France…?

The best lender is a very personal choice in actual fact because the ability to get a mortgage depends so heavily on an individual’s own personal circumstances as well as the bank in question’s lending criteria.  What this means is that it is quite likely that you’ll want to shop around a bit to find the best deals available.

When approaching a potential lender, before you divulge your innermost financial secrets here are just some of the questions that you will need answering from them: -

1) What types of French property will you lend on?  E.g., are there buy to let mortgages available, off plan finance loans, will they lend on renovation projects, rural properties?  Find out about any restrictions they may impose upon the type and location of property as well as the purpose for which the property is to be used before you start house hunting.
2) What’s the maximum LTV – loan to value – rate that they will let you borrow?  This helps you determine how big a deposit you will have to put down when you do eventually find your dream property in France.
3) What are the current average interest rates – this can help you budget?
4) What’s the maximum repayment period – are there penalties for early repayment?
5) What about arrangement fees and how much practical help is the bank in question able to give you with the entire application process?
6) Finally – ask the bank whether they have a local presence in France.  Some like Barclays Bank do and this makes the process of raising a mortgage, dealing with the property purchase process when it involves a mortgage, handling currency transfers and transactions and also managing the ongoing repayments and your general financial affairs in France SO much easier!

Ideally you’ll find France mortgages from UK lenders that meet all the criteria you need filling and which come from a bank with a presence in France.  You will then have as smooth a transition into the French property market as well as French life as possible.

As mentioned, Barclays is one of the most prolific of the UK lenders in terms of its mortgage activity for British buyers entering the French real estate marketplace and what’s more, they now have a specific service for you if you’re looking into your mortgage options.  If you click here, you’re redirected to a Barclays contact form which you can complete with brief details of your open questions and a Barclays team member will call you back, talk through your options and advise you on how they can assist you to get a mortgage in France and handle all of your financial and relocation affairs through Barclays.

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