Loan Eligibility

A question about : Loan Eligibility

I am a pensioner living in Spain. I own my own Spanish property and have no mortgage. However I retain a bank account in the UK and have pensions paid directly into this UK account.

I wish to take out a personal loan to buy a car, but although I have a sufficient income in the UK to repay the loan that I am considering, I am not eligible as a non-UK resident to apply for many/all of the personal loans on the market. Furthermore, since these pensions do not show up in my Spanish bank account (although I pay tax on them in Spain), it is unlikely that I will be able to get a personal loan in Spain.

Having been with my UK bank for the best part of 50 years, it is probable that I can get a personal loan from them but the interest rate is significantly more than others on the UK market.

Can anyone advise me on the best way to negotiate a personal loan?

Best answers:

• You got any savings ?
  You say you have sufficient income so do you have any surplus money each month ?
• In the UK I will have over Ј700 surplus each month.
• Is your current UK bank aware that you are not resident in the UK?
  It is possible they may agree to give you a loan even if you are not resident, but also possible that this will cause them to decline.
  Don't pay too much attention to the representative APRs that are advertised, they won't necessarily reflect the rate you would be offered by anyone willing to lend to you.
• Please notice the WILL have. I will not be in this situation for a month or so when the sale of my UK proprty completes.
  I have been resident in Spain for the last 8 years and my UK bank is fully aware.
  I do not consider the suggestion of hiring a car to be either sensible or practical.
• If you are looking for sensible and practical wait until you have this extra cash and save up and buy without a loan. That way you have also not paid any interest on a loan.
• So are you only borrowing for a month or so until you sell a property?
  If so then ideally wait until that has happened and so you don't need a loan, alternatively if you do need to take a loan but intend to repay in full within a couple of months then accepting a slightly higher APR from your own bank isn't going to be massively costly for how much interest you will pay within the 6weeks ish.
• When the sale of the property completes in a few weeks I will be in a position to pay back a loan out of my UK pensions. The loan is to replace our old car in Spain. I plan to repay the loan over a period of 3 years.