Few of us find the prospect of asking a bank for a loan or mortgage to be anything other than intimidating. Even in the UK where for decades the process has been simple with a high prospect of success, it’s still never nice to be sitting around waiting for the call or letter saying ‘yes’, ‘no’ or sometimes ‘maybe’!

Overseas for many reasons relating to language, process and culture, plus a basic lack of familiarity, this process can be all the more intimidating.

There is no real reason for it to be so. Banks want to lend money and as property is usually a fairly low-risk investment for them, assuming you meet certain minimum routine criteria then you should be fine.

Nevertheless, overseas many decisions can be as influenced by presentation and ‘perceptions’ as by the facts. Many good sound expat applications can be put at risk by simple carelessness and assumptions that things must work more or less the same way as ‘back home’. Well, they don’t always!

Let’s examine some basics that are similar in most countries.

All lenders have to understand the risks involved in a deal. This is usually quite routine and runs along the lines of understanding how much they’re lending relating to the value of the property today and how big a risk they run of having to repossess the property if the expat for whatever reason cannot keep paying their mortgage.

It is worth noting that it is a myth, well usually anyway, that banks can’t wait to repossess houses. They are in the business of banking not estate agency and do not want to get stuck with houses they’ve then got to on-sell. They normally hate repossessing a house and do it only as an option of last resort.

So to avoid that, they’re going to want to look closely at the people asking for the loan and see if they believe that the applicant can afford it. They’re also going to look closely at the value of the property to make sure that if they do find themselves stuck with it, that they’ll be able to get all or most of their money back if they have to sell.

In this there is nothing very different to basic UK principles and the way of going about applying is to start with fairly similar – the expat applicant is going to have to fill in some forms and very probably have a preliminary meeting at the bank.

The first point where things diverge a little between the UK and many other countries is the extent to which the lender may insist you prove you can afford the loan and its repayments.

Overseas many lenders are rather less willing to take things ‘on trust’ than in the UK and self-certification of income is more rare than in the UK. As an expat, particularly if you have little or no background with the bank concerned, you may find that you are viewed with a little more suspicion than a local applicant.

This means that you’ll need to prepare as much hard evidence as you can as to how much income you and your partner have coming in each month and most overseas banks will happily take into account earnings you may have in the UK. Anything ‘firm’ will be well received such as payslips, contract copies, and bank statements. Anything ‘soft’ such as verbal assurances, statements of casual work income, or promises that a much loved relative is going to give you money next year, will probably be rather less sympathetically received.

Unlike in the UK, you may find you have to produce multiple copies of these things and ‘your word’ may not be enough. Don’t worry – you’re not being picked on! This is normal.

On the subject of the money you have available to support the mortgage, remember that overseas higher deposits are frequently demanded. Typically if you’re looking to purchase at 100,000 you will probably be expected to have available 10-20,000 of that yourself and borrow only 80,000 or so. At the earliest stages, as a measure of your seriousness some lenders may ask you to show that you have the deposit available in an account somewhere.

Keep evidence of all these things to hand when you apply. Saying “I’ve got all that stuff back in the UK” won’t help progress things quickly!

Another difference to modern day UK practices, and one which shocks some expats, is that you may be asked to go into considerable detail about how much you’re spending per month on other things. That’s because lenders overseas usually have some figure in mind (often around 35%) that is about the most they believe people can afford to pay from their net monthly disposable income towards a mortgage.

In other words, if your requested borrowing would mean repayments of 400 per month and you have an income of 800 per month, your mortgage repayments would be 50% of your monthly income. Many overseas banks will think that is too high for you to afford given other things such as food, telephones, heating etc.

Prepare to have to hand copies of bills, more bank and credit card statements and for some detailed debate and interrogation about how much you spend and on what per month. You may find this somewhat intrusive but it is normal and indeed was common practice even in the UK until the 1970s and 80s. DON’T tell them it is none of their business unless you want to be shown the door quickly!

Having got through all these routine hurdles, you’re likely to find two more things that are a little different to what you’ve experienced in the UK.

It is not unusual to find that your local bank branch will not have the authority to approve the mortgage. Fairly often it will have to go to another office or two for numerous reviews and other level approvals. These are usually routine but they can consume time and add to stress levels while you’re waiting. Final approval of a mortgage advance can be slow in many overseas countries – you may need some patience!

Finally, keep in mind a commonly recurring theme in much overseas banking when one needs to get results – relationships and perceptions.

During discussions with your bank it may all be perfectly light and friendly, but you are being assessed whether you like it or not. Coming across as confused, not taking the bank seriously or trying to hide something, are all things likely to get your mortgage request file unofficially marked as “dodgy” before your application has even been seriously considered. DO try to talk about your views and commitments to the country and property for at least the medium term future and avoid giving impressions that you’re only thinking ahead the next 6 months.

Remember to show respect and consideration for the staff you’re dealing with, try not to show impatience and if possible, try not to been seen as ‘hurrying them along’. You may well believe their request for a copy of ‘xyz’ is pointless, and in fact it may well be, but just comply rather than start to debate it with them. Time is usually much less of an issue in overseas house purchases than it is in the UK, so be prepared to relax a little.

As always, if you do not speak the local language then make sure you have someone with you who does. Don’t rely on the neighbour who has a few sentences of restaurant level language and instead pay someone who is a professional to translate for you. It shows you’re taking things seriously!

It goes without saying that the psychology of these tactics is even more important if you’re mortgage request is, shall we say, ‘marginal’! Be prepared to play the game according to their rules and good luck!