A lot of you contact us every week about mortgages for yacht crew. As a Yachtie there are lots of things which are great about your job. But these things can also make stuff like mortgages a bit tricky. Trust me, I have been in the exact same situation as you many times through my yachting career. Here are some of the things you need to think about.
Where do you live?
Proof of residency is essential for mortgage applications
Where do you work?
Can you prove that? This is more about being able to prove you have a job and get paid. Your tax return is perfect for this as it gives official proof of income.
How much do you earn?
Again, your tax return is helpful here. Also, payslips and a copy of your contract.
Where is your bank account?
Onshore or offshore? Offshore tends to be a lot more trouble and expense than it is worth these days. Try and ensure you bank in the same country you are resident of. There are lots of multi currency account options out there. By the way, Revolut IS NOT a bank!
So, what’s the problem?
The problem most Yachties have is that they don’t make it easy for the banks to lend them money. If you cannot answer yes to the “can you prove it” questions above do you think a bank would be sensible to lend to you? This is why mortgages for Yacht Crew are difficult to get.
How do you fix it?
For UK crew in particular this is not such a difficult issue to resolve. It all starts with TAX. If you are a UK resident and work on a yacht there is literally no reason for not filing an annual tax return. There are no negatives to doing this but the positives are huge.
The benefits of doing your tax return
1. Residential status i.e. proof of address.
2. SA302 tax return. You know the tax man isn’t going to send you a demanding letter or accuse you of tax evasion. The SA302 is also proof of income.
Two of the three problems above are now solved, so what next?
1. Get an onshore multi currency bank account. This is great for your credit rating, means you get paid into a UK bank. It also helps your visibility/ financial footprint and credit rating.
2. Contract/ letter of employment. A letter from the Captain and/ or management company will go a long way to solving your employment questions.
These are not issues that can be solved overnight.
All of thee things are easy to fix but take a little time. So, before you go making an offer on a property let’s do things in the right order.
This is the right order
- Make sure you are up to date with your tax returns. This gives you proof of income and lenders need this.
- Bank in your country of residence and get paid into that bank. Obviously make sure the account you are paid into is the same currency as your salary.
- Check your credit rating. If it is not great, spend some time fixing it.
- Be realistic. Crew should be buying rental properties that earn money. There is no need to go hunting for £500,000 houses to rent out. It is a waste of your time and money.
- Ensure you can afford it. There is no point stretching yourself to afford a house you are never going to live in.
- TAKE ADVICE. Why do it on your own and cock it up when we are here to help you!
We have been doing this a long time, so use our experience!
CREWFO has been around a while. We were also the first crew finance company to offer a mortgage advice and brokerage service. Our mortgage team have been helping crew get mortgages for the last 5 years and have a 100% success rate. This is how they work.
How our team works:
- They will arrange a call to find out what you are looking at doing
- Your discussion will involve checking your salary, tax situation, savings, job, credit rating, bank account etc.
- After all this they will give you FREE (yes our advice is always free) advice on things you may need to work on/ improve or change before applying for a mortgage.
- They will also give you a very clear indication of what value property you can afford and how much you should comfortably be able to borrow.
- Our team is honest and to the point. They will NEVER suggest or allow you to borrow more than you can afford.
- Our team will also NEVER charge you for an agreement in principal unlike some other companies.
So, after the initial meeting you may have some work to do or you may be in the perfect position. Either way, you will have taken your first steps towards a mortgage.
What NOT to do
Because mortgages for yacht crew are a little more tricky than for most other people there are some things you need to be aware of;
- Do not call us if you have already put an offer in on a property. Call us before you start looking
- If you need to get a mortgage now this probably isn’t going to happen. You could end up disappointed or losing the property you offered on.
What we specialise in is getting you properly organised, Certain things have to happen BEFORE other things. But once your situation is organised everything becomes very simple. This is because we take care of it all for you and, secondly the problems which are facing you cease to exist.
If you are SuperYacht Crew and are thinking about buying a property, good for you. This is a clever move but let’s get the rest of your life organised first.
Mortgages for Yacht Crew are something we have been doing successfully for years. If you are already a CREWFO member then get in touch as our advice is FREE as part of your membership. If you are not already a member then get in touch to find out what else we can do for you.