Expats to benefit from UK mortgage problems

Problems in the UK mortgage market could actually work in expatriate buyers' favour, according to mortgage broker Offshoreonline. Moneyfacts figures show mortgages reduced by 22% from March to April, narrowing the options for borrowers already struggling with the tighter lending terms by Halifax and the withdrawal of First Direct, Co-op Bank, Northern Rock and others from the market. But Tim Harvey, managing director of Offshoreonline, said that while most of the fallout in the mortgage market has been in the sub-prime category - deals that were based on 100% mortgages or where the appl...