The majority of us can't pop a hood, buy a rutabaga or have our bangs trimmed, according to research by British Mortgages Abroad (BMA), part of First National Bank, an Abbey National subsidiary. From a list of forty commonly-used American words, less than a third of those surveyed realised that a courgette is a zucchini in the US and a derby is not a race or a Midlands town, but a bowler hat.
Whilst we may speak the same language, the terminology in the mortgage buying process can be very confusing. To ease the process of buying in the US, British Mortgages Abroad (BMA) was set up in August 2001 by First National. BMA mortgages are available to UK residents who are homeowners and want to buy a Florida holiday home or to remortgage from their existing US dollar mortgage.
BMA also helps people through the process of buying a house in the US, which is quite different from the UK system. While most US mortgages are long-term, fixed-rate deals, commonly for 30 years, British Mortgages Abroad offers three basic mortgage options familiar to UK homebuyers: a 3 or 5-year fixed rate; and a flexible tracker mortgage linked to Bank of England rates, with a guarantee that the rate charged would never be more than 1.70% over base for purchases.
Ron Howell, sales director, British Mortgages Abroad, said; “Buying a new home can be a daunting prospect, especially when differences in the language can lead to confusion over mortgages. We aim to make the dream of financing a holiday home simple, affordable and accessible. Buyers can now use BMA to simplify the process when taking a step into the unknown – and get a better deal at the same time.”
