A ten-step walkthrough — from clarifying your buyer profile and LRS maths to receiving the keys — with the timelines, documentation, and pre-approval steps that actually matter.
Specialist Finance for International Investors
Whether you are a family buying a flat near a UK university for a child, or an investor building a UK buy-to-let portfolio in a UK company, the route is well-trodden. Both start with the deposit-only model and a specialist UK lender — and both can be arranged largely from India.
University Families
Personal Name
A single family flat in a UK university zone — simplest route.
Portfolio Investors
UK SPV
A UK Limited Company holding buy-to-let property — most common for portfolios.
The first conversation is the most important. Indian buyer profiles differ — a salaried executive in Mumbai, a Bengaluru founder with company income, a Chennai industrialist with retained earnings, a Delhi family with multiple LRS allowances available. Each profile maps to a different group of UK lenders. Knowing which profile you are shapes everything that follows.
Action
Confirm residency status, income source (salaried, self-employed, or company), and how the deposit will be funded before approaching any lender.
Indian families remit the deposit, not the full purchase price. The Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) allows up to US$250,000 per family member per Indian financial year for permitted purposes including property abroad. For most mass-affluent purchases, a single LRS allowance — or a combined family allowance across spouses and adult children — is sufficient for a typical deposit of 25–35% of the property value. We will sense-check the maths with you in our first conversation.
Action
Identify which family members will contribute their LRS allowance and the timing window. Confirm the route of remittance with your Indian bank early.
Do not book viewings before you have a Decision in Principle (DIP) in hand. A DIP from a UK lender — issued before you make any offer — confirms how much the lender is willing to lend on the basis of your Indian income and assets. Estate agents and sellers take buyers with finance in principle considerably more seriously. We can usually arrange a DIP within forty-eight hours of receiving documentation, and the DIP carries no obligation to proceed.
Action
Speak to a specialist broker before approaching lenders directly. Wrong-lender declines damage your record and reduce future options.
For a family flat — a child's university base, or a London home for parents' visits — personal name or joint names is usually the simplest route. For investment property, particularly a portfolio of buy-to-let, many Indian buyers acquire through a UK Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), a Limited Company set up solely to hold property. The SPV can offer cleaner tax treatment on rental income, easier succession, and separation of property liabilities from personal balance sheets.
Action
Discuss with your UK solicitor and a UK accountant. Personal name is right for most single family flats. SPV is right for most investment or portfolio acquisitions.
Many UK mortgage lenders require borrowers to hold a UK bank account. Several international and digital banks can be opened from India, without setting foot in the UK. The earlier this is opened, the cleaner the application.
Action
Open the account as early as possible — a three to six month banking footprint strengthens the application materially.
UK lenders assessing Indian-resident income require more documentation than they would for a UK domestic applicant. Having these ready before approaching lenders accelerates the process meaningfully. Indian self-employed or business-owner applicants generally need two to three years of company accounts and audited financials.
Action
Promoters and business owners: have two years of audited company accounts ready. Start the document gather four to six weeks before submitting.
UK conveyancing typically takes ten to fourteen weeks. A solicitor experienced with Indian buyers will know how to handle anti-money-laundering checks on funds remitted from India, explain leasehold (which does not exist in most Indian markets), and coordinate with your UK accountant on structure. Picking the wrong solicitor is one of the most common avoidable causes of delay.
Action
We can refer solicitors who specifically handle international buyer transactions and understand LRS-sourced funds.
Once your broker has identified the right lender and submitted the case, a full mortgage offer follows the DIP — usually within two to four weeks. With the offer in hand, you can make property offers in confidence. In Prime London and the strong university zones, sellers prefer buyers with confirmed finance.
Action
Use the DIP and then the formal mortgage offer when negotiating. Buyers with finance in place transact at materially better prices.
Your solicitor handles exchange of contracts (a 10% deposit is paid at exchange — typically the same money used as the mortgage deposit, depending on structure) and then completion, when the mortgage funds are released, title is transferred, and the property is yours. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is paid at completion — including a 2% non-resident surcharge for Indian-resident buyers. Your solicitor will calculate the exact figure.
Action
Budget for SDLT including the 2% non-resident surcharge from the outset. For a £750,000 flat the SDLT figure is meaningful and should be planned alongside the deposit.
Once complete, the property serves its intended purpose. For university families, the child moves in. For investment, a UK letting agent (we can refer one) lets the flat at market rent. For family use, the property is kept available for visits and may be let short-term during quieter periods. Rental income, where applicable, is GBP-denominated and helps service the mortgage.
Action
If letting, set up a UK accountant before completion to handle annual tax filings (a UK rental tax return is required for non-resident landlords).
Composite illustrative profile. Figures indicative; subject to status, lender, property and market conditions.
The Buyer
Industrialist family in Mumbai. Daughter accepted to LSE for an undergraduate degree starting in eighteen months. Sufficient combined family LRS allowance across both parents to cover the deposit.
The Goal
Purchase a two-bedroom flat within walking distance of LSE for the daughter to live in for the three-year degree, with a view to keeping the property let to other students or professionals thereafter as a long-term family asset.
The Outcome
The Mehta family acquired a Prime Central London university flat with a UK mortgage in seven months — entirely managed from Mumbai with one viewing trip. Only the deposit was remitted under combined family LRS allowances; the £570,000 mortgage was financed in the UK. The flat is intended to be retained and let after their daughter's graduation, as a long-term family asset and future base for any younger siblings.
Month by Month
Initial conversation with Palladian. Confirmed buyer profile: Indian residents, salaried promoter plus company income, LRS allowances available across both parents. Combined family LRS deemed sufficient for a £200,000–£250,000 deposit.
Indian tax returns, company audited accounts, PAN and three months of bank statements collated. Engaged a UK solicitor experienced with Indian buyers. Decided to purchase in joint names of both parents — daughter to be added as tenant under the AST, not as owner.
Palladian identified two UK lenders on our specialist panel with proven appetite for Indian-resident promoter income. Decision in Principle issued within ten days of full application — £570,000, against an indicative £770,000 property value.
Offer made on a two-bed flat in Holborn (a fifteen-minute walk to LSE) — accepted at £755,000. Formal mortgage offer issued within three weeks of agreed price.
Solicitors instructed. Source-of-funds documentation on the deposit (LRS remittance trail across both parents' allowances) verified. Leasehold structure (188 years remaining) explained and approved by the family.
Exchanged contracts. £75,500 paid at exchange. SDLT calculated including the 2% non-resident surcharge. Completion booked for six weeks later to align with the start of the academic year.
Completion. Keys collected. Daughter moves in three weeks before term starts. Family has a London base; the property is a long-term GBP-denominated family asset on the family balance sheet.
For overseas buyers, the real question often isn't the mortgage — it's the tax. UK purchase and succession costs are significant, and they're where less-prepared buyers get caught out. We flag them at the outset and work alongside your own tax and legal advisers, so nothing surprises you on the day.
01
On top of standard Stamp Duty, non-UK residents pay a 2% surcharge, and a further 5% applies to an additional or second home — so a non-resident buying an investment property typically pays around 7% above the standard rates. We build this into your numbers from day one.
02
Buying in your personal name or through a UK company (an SPV) carries different tax and succession consequences — and companies acquiring residential property above £500,000 can face a 17% flat rate. There is no single right answer. We arrange finance for whichever structure you and your advisers choose.
03
UK residential property falls within the scope of UK inheritance tax — 40% above the available allowances — regardless of where you live or how the property is held. For families buying for the next generation, it is worth planning early. We structure the purchase and finance to fit your succession plans.
Palladian Finance arranges property finance. We are not tax, legal or estate-planning advisers — but we know these questions matter, so we raise them early and coordinate with your chosen advisers. Rates and thresholds are those applying in England and are current at the time of writing; they can change, so confirm your position with a qualified adviser.
Our India advisory specialist will tell you honestly which lender pool applies to your profile, how the deposit and LRS will work for your family, and what realistic timelines look like.
Begin the ConversationNo obligation. Strict confidence.
Third-party references: References to third-party companies, platforms, and services within this guide are for informational purposes only. Palladian Finance has no commercial relationship with any company mentioned and does not endorse or recommend any specific provider. You should conduct your own due diligence before engaging any third-party service. LRS limits, SDLT rates, lender appetite and product terms change — figures shown are illustrative and not a promise.