The research, part of the Pink 1000 survey, showed that while only 8 per cent of brokers deal with overseas business on a regular basis, 79 per cent received occasional enquiries.
These figures revealed the overseas property market is becoming increasingly important, and the network argued that intermediaries needed to be ready to deal with this business.
Tony Jones, managing director of Pink Home Loans, said: “The level of enquiries that brokers are getting is surprising but the overseas market is something we have been talking about and promoting for some time.”
However, the survey also revealed 13 per cent of intermediaries turn these enquiries away, with 52 per cent referring the case onto another source.
Only 34 per cent dealt with it directly and Jones believed that brokers not processing the case themselves were missing out on an expanding market.
He said: “There are so many things that intermediaries have to be good at nowadays, dealing with insurance business, commercial, secured loans and overseas enquiries. However, getting involved is a good additional income stream as many people are being more adventurous with their investments as the capital appreciation in some countries is very lucrative.”
However, Simon Conn, senior partner at Conti Financial Services, warned intermediaries the overseas mortgage market could be very complex.
He explained: “Working abroad is very time-consuming and there are lots of different pitfalls to watch out for in different countries. There is a lot of research to do, you need to get independent legal advice and a separate valuation of the property. This is all very time-consuming and the length of time gets worse the further you move away from the UK.”
