An expatriate (or ex-pat) is someone who lives outside their country of origin for an extended period of time. People that want to purchase property in their country of origin while living overseas may face special conditions when applying for a mortgage to finance it. Most lending institutions do not provide expat mortgages because of the difficulties associated with performing a credit and employment check for people living overseas.
Specialist mortgage providers exist to provide home loan financing to expats who are experts at arranging loans that must take into account overseas income, income structures such as family trusts, offshore companies and multi-currency income sources. Many expats also wish to purchase buy-to-let properties since they will not be living in the country in which they purchase the home which can also present difficulties that an expat mortgage provider can resolve.