I'm originally from Japan but am now in the UK. I have savings in my Japanese bank account which I would like to use for a down payment towards a house mortgage in the UK. The property I am looking to purchase is in the UK. What is the simplest way to arrange this?
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1 Answer
I think this is really two questions:
- How do I best transfer the money from Japan to UK?
- When in the house purchase process do I need to do this?
Dumbcoder has already answered part 1 in a comment - either just wire the money from the Japanese bank account to the UK bank account (either bank should be able to help you with the details of this) or if your Japanse bank also has a UK operation you may be able to do it within the same bank.
As for part 2 - if you are looking for a mortgage then many high street mortgage providers (banks) will want proof of your savings up front. They may or may not accept Japanese bank statements; all you can do is ask the question. You would probably also need to ask your Japanese bank if they can provide statements in English.
If you find that most or all of the high street banks will not accept this as proof of assets, or that they demand that the money is in the UK for a period of time first, then you might have more luck with a mortgage broker who can deal with the specialist requirement.
If you do find a mortgage provider who is happy to accept Japanese bank statements as proof of assets then you would simply need to wire the money direct from your bank in Japan to the UK bank of your solicitor at or shortly before the point when the deposit becomes due (usually at exchange of contracts).
