British expats in Kuwait can now access buy-to-let mortgages from Skipton International

Offshore bank, Skipton International has extended its UK buy-to-let mortgages to British expats currently living in Kuwait. It’s one year since the bank first launched the lending products, which have attracted a lot of interest from the Gulf region.

Obtaining a buy-to-let mortgage as a British expat isn’t easy, a need identified by Skipton, which has been serving deposit account customers in more than 100 countries around the world for nearly 20 years.

Director of Lending at the Channel Island bank, Nigel Pascoe, said, ‘We pride ourselves on our personal service and work hard to ensure we are offering customers what they need. That’s why after a lot of interest from the Gulf region, we decided to open up these mortgages to Kuwaiti based British expats. We have also recently extended these mortgages to retirees as we know people are eager to take advantage of the long-term price inflation seen in the UK housing market, and keen to diversify their portfolios with the potential for further economic uncertainty.’

Skipton has also created a mortgage calculator to help show prospective landlords how much they might be able to borrow on a property

Prospects for buy-to-let landlords in the UK are rising with the private rental market continuing to increase, according to the UK Government’s English Housing Survey.  It found that in 2013-14, 19% (4.4million) of households were renting privately, up from 18% in the previous year, and 11% in 2003 with young people aged, 25-34 more likely to be renting privately than buying. Renting privately has become the norm for the younger age groups.