It may appear that getting a mortgage is getting harder every year, and for a doctor, the goal may seem impossible to score. Most high-street lenders struggle to understand the accounts of doctors, often providing the wrong information and rejecting applications, despite your earnings being higher than most people.
Unfortunately, if you are a doctor who has relocated frequently due to work taking you all around the UK and overseas, mortgages can be even harder to get your hands on. Moving a lot can impact your credit score resulting in lenders who are not confident in approving your application. This isn’t to say it is impossible.
So long as you have the right team backing you up, you can easily score that goal and come away with the mortgage you want. Whether your contract is coming to an end or you want to begin your career in a specialist medical field and need to move to fulfil this, you need to understand the pitfalls you could face with relocating and getting a mortgage and, as a bonus, learn the mortgages you can get when working on a temporary visa in the UK.
Credit Score
You have likely moved around a lot throughout your career, whether for training purposes and rotations or to enhance your career in a specialist area. Even if you are great at paying all your bills on time, keep well-managed accounts, and are registered to vote, your frequent relocation will affect your credit score. While your actual address makes no difference, if the information on your report shows that you often move, it can indicate that you are less stable. Looking at these facts without considering your career could result in a negative response from lenders.
Moving can affect a credit score in other ways if caution and attention to detail are sidelined. For instance, with moving expenses, many are tempted to put these on credit. A few missed payments or an increase in interest resulting in not being able to pay the balance can impact a credit score. Plus, each time a move takes place, all those that send paper bills must be notified of the change. It can be easy to forget 1 or 2 occasionally, and these missed bills can majorly impact your credit score, too.
So although you may not have minded moving, lenders may. Of course, there are ways to get around this – our experts are on hand to help you out.
Short-Term Contracts
If you go to a lender that does not understand the ins and outs of life as a doctor, you may find yourself without a mortgage. The truth is, you can’t change the entire nature of your job to get a mortgage – there is always the possibility of doing short-term training or placements for several NHS or private employers during your career. Lenders want complete job security from a borrower, safe in the knowledge that you can pay your mortgage back. Unfortunately, if they feel you can’t offer this, a mortgage becomes much harder to grasp.
Varying Income
Your income is unlike most people’s. It can vary and is considered quite complex. Going to a lender that doesn’t understand this can result in difficulties getting a mortgage. Despite having the money, as you don’t necessarily earn a regular salary, it can be harder to show lenders that you are a good candidate for a mortgage. When you factor in being a locum doctor and find yourself working for private practices on top of the NHS, the fight becomes even more brutal.
As a doctor who has relocated often, the chances are that your income has varied during this time, too. Not all contracts will be the same length, some offer more competitive rates than others, and you may have gone from being a trainee doctor to a specialist, which also impacts your pay. This up-and-down income could indicate less stability than someone on a fixed salary.
History Of Living Abroad
If you have been working overseas and are coming back to work for the NHS or have never lived in the UK but have a contract for a fixed timeframe, it can be harder to get a mortgage, mainly because it is more difficult to assess your credit history. This is even harder for short-term contracts when returning to the UK if you go to the wrong lender.
Student Debt
Your years of training result in you earning a decent wage, but it does mean you have more student debt than most. This debt can affect your ability to get a mortgage. Not all lenders look into the future at your ability to pay back a mortgage. They might only see your student debt as a negative to how much you can pay each month.
How To Get A Mortgage
It is possible that 1 or more of the above impact securing a mortgage. However, if you come to our advisors, we can ensure you get a house, no matter how long or short your next contract is. Even if you need to relocate in 6 months or a year or are on a highly skilled migrant visa, we can put you in touch with lenders who enable you to borrow more than 75% of your property’s price.
This is what you need to do to get a mortgage:
Get In Touch With Us
Contact our expert advisors – we have contacts with lenders who can help you secure a mortgage and work around visas using limited UK history. As long as you have a good deposit, they can help you. If you need more advice on what constitutes a good deposit, get in touch today.
Fill Out Our Application Process
If you don’t have time to talk to our experts today, fill in our application form. Don’t worry about details like your credit score or stress about explaining why you need to move and the length of your contract – we understand your work completely.
To Buy, To Let, Or To Let To Buy
Tell us why you want a mortgage. We can help you purchase a property for yourself or to let out, or are you seeking to get another property and want to use a let to buy a mortgage? No matter what you need, we can help you.
