Sales Proceeds

LB25

We have a gap of approx 1 month between selling our house and buying a new one (its a new build so this may be longer). Our solicitor has advised us that they can either write us a cheque for the sales proceeds or can hold onto it for us and invest it until our purchase goes ahead.

Dioes anyone have any ideas what we should do?

Thanks in advance!

bap98189

Your solicitor should pay you interest on the money whilst they hold it. It should also be protected, so you won't lose it if they go out of business. However, you should ask them to confirm this. Then unless you think you can get a better return on the money in that month, I would leave it with them.

00ec25

God forbid they invest (stocks/shares etc) it!
Hopefullly they will simply hold it in their client monies (escrow) deposit account and the interest it earns will then be payable to you when you ask for the money back.

If you do not want the work of opening a deposit account in your own name then let the solicitors keep it, otherwise deposit it yourselves. The decision should be relatively simple:
- what is the interest rate on the solicitors client account
- do you want the "hassle" of opening a deposit account yourselves
- can you get a better interest rate elsewhere eg. using the MSE advice and the comparision websites to do your research/selection

(strictly speaking the money in the solicitors account will be better protected than a deposit account in your own name as the latter will be subject to the £50,000 compensation limit, but then again you are only taking about a 1 month period so you make up your own mind how much of a risk that really is)