Property Investment, we are told all the time is “a total no brainer” for Superyacht Crew. It is more popular by far than investing in stocks and shares, ISA’s, pensions etc. Crew feel they know where they stand with bricks and mortar.
So, if property is so popular why aren’t more of you doing it?
Getting a Mortgage:
Lots of you reading this will already have property. Those of you who have had property for a while will probably be saying “What’s the problem? I got my mortgage easily through the high street bank”. Well, so did lots of us a few years ago but things have changed.
The biggest problem Superyacht crew have when applying for a mortgage is “source of funds“. This is basically where your salary comes from (Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Switzerland etc). If the bank can’t identify the source then they don’t like to lend to you. They cannot determine how trustworthy, reliable and most importantly legal your source of income is. Next is currency. You aren’t paid in £’s and so again the banks, or most of them find this hard to deal with.
Get paid into a UK bank
If you do everything else right and your background is completely clean you can still find that your bank won’t lend to you. Especially if you get paid offshore. After all, why would a bank lend to you when you only use them to pay your bills every month? They want reliable customers who get paid in to their account every month. Yes, they will of course make money out of you but they see the risk as too great.
Those are the things that have changed recently. Add to that the fact that you need to be able to prove income and MUST be doing your annual tax returns and things are just a little bit too hard sometimes.
So, what’s the answer?
There is of course a way to solve all these problems. You just need to know the position you need to be in, the paperwork you need and the process to follow. As long as you are not trying to borrow a lot more than you can afford then a mortgage, with our help is fairly straight forward. Our mortgage Specialists will be happy to run through the process and make sure you are Mortgage ready before you start your search.
So, now you have a mortgage approved and you have enough money to buy a property. What happens next? You run out of time off!
This is a classic problem for younger crew. Unless you are on rotation or just have lots of time off then it turns in to a complicated issue. You want to buy a house, have the money ready but don’t have the time to find the right place. So what do you do?
Property search:
CREWFO have been helping Superyacht crew buy property for a few years now. We know it has been an issue since we worked on yachts and not much has changed. If you have the money and the only reason you are not buying is time then why not let a professional do it for you? After all, your money isn’t earning anything in the bank. As soon as you have a place with a tenant in it then they are paying your mortgage.
How does the service work?
- You talk to us about the type of property you are looking for.
- Tell us about your mortgage and therefore your budget. Remember, you don’t necessarily have to spend all you can borrow. There are properties which offer much better returns than others. So, maybe that apartment in London or the house in the town you grew up in isn’t the best use of your money?
- Based on what you tell us our property specialists will run through some options and locations. They will explain to you why they have come up with these ideas. Things like market trends, house prices, rental figures and the rental market for each area play a part. We will show you properties that offer the best return on investment based on your budget.
Proposals:
- When you have agreed on a plan our specialists will put together a shortlist of properties based on what you discussed. Each property will have an investment proposal with projected returns annually. You will then see how quickly the house could be paid off.
- Our specialist will then view the properties on your behalf and report back to you. After discussion they will negotiate and make offers on your preferred property.
- Once a sale is agreed you have to complete the paperwork and complete the purchase. This can be done remotely, especially if you have someone who has power of attorney over your affairs (we can help with this too)
- Then, when the sale is complete our property specialist will market your property and ensure you have tenants in quickly. They will manage the property for you and pay the rent into your account each month.
Sound simple?
The whole idea here is to make property investment as simple and stress free for you as possible. This way you do it again and again. We ensure you are getting a property that gives you the best return on investment possible. All whist you are away working! Remember, this is your escape plan and way out of yachting!
Being ex crew ourselves we know only too well that you often need help with some or all of the areas above. It happened to us and so we know that having someone you trust to do this sort of thing for you not only saves time but in most cases ensures you buy something that is a much better option for you as an investment. After all, remember that it is unlikely you will ever live in this property so you must buy with your head, NOT your heart.
If you need some help or would just like to talk to us about the process of getting a mortgage please fill in the form below and we will get back to you and arrange a time to talk.