Gifted Deposit Help!

jaylea

Hi,

I am in the process of buying my first house.. the problem is that the deposit has been gifted to me by my partners mother, £8k of it was given to me about 2 months ago, which is sitting in a joint savings account with my partner.

The problem is my partner is NOT on the mortgage with me. The solicitor has sent me a letter saying that if the money is elsewhere it can delay the process. My partners mother is transfering the last £4k over to me today to my current account. She has signed a letter to say that the deposit is gifted and has no interest in the property, my only concern is that the solicitor will raise an issue that some of the gifted deposit is sitting in a joint savings. Its going to be transfered to my current account tonight but they mentioned they may want proof of where this money has come from.

Do you think the fact that it has been sitting in a joint savings account for 2 months will cause any issues?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Senior_Paper_Monitor

It could do, particularly if the partner is going to live with you (as he/she would have a demonstrable 'financial interest' in the property) - depends on the lender and individual underwriter.

At this stage all you can do is be totally transparent when answering any subsequent questions and hope for the best (how did you answer the initial application question about source of funds ?)

GMS

Why is your partner not party to the mortgage?

Have you told the lender the source of deposit? Some would have an issue with the deposit being from the parent of somebody not party to the mortgage but to reside at the property.

jaylea

Hes not on the mortgage because hes stuck in a mortgage with his ex which he cant get out of.

The underwriters have passed the mortgage application, and they have been informed that its a gifted deposit, and I have received my agreement. They didnt ask where the deposit was coming from.

I cant understand why it would be an issue if its a gifted deposit which they arent expecting back. He will be living with me, but his parents do not expect the money back.

It is the solicitors who are asking this information, not the lender.

Thrugelmir

jaylea wrote: »

It is the solicitors who are asking this information, not the lender.

Your solicitor also acts on behalf of the lender. Your solicitor will be communicating this information back to the lender.

jaylea

Ok then.

What If the full £13k was to come just from her account only, not from mine and my partners joint savings? would this make the situation better as my partner will have nothing to do with the deposit money changing hands?

GMS

You need to ask the lender. Which lender is it?

If they are happy with the source of deposit then you have no issues. If you do not tell them the full story the solicitor will disclose it to them during the conveyancing process at which point they could withdraw the offer.

Be 100% honest with the lender to avoid any possible issues

jaylea

Its Abbey.

Im really panicking now as its in the last stages.

Nothing got mentioned about this till some small print I read in the solicitors letter the other day.

All the solicitors said was that as long as they had a letter off his mother it should be fine, but I'm just wondering if using the joint account savings money will cause issues.

Thrugelmir

jaylea wrote: »

All the solicitors said was that as long as they had a letter off his mother it should be fine, but I'm just wondering if using the joint account savings money will cause issues.

Why? The letter explains the source of the funds. So the fact it sits in a joint account has no relevance.

Presumably the letter says the money was gifted to you alone not both of you.

GMS

Abbey willl have an issue with this. They will not allow anybody providing any part of a deposit to reside in the property if not party to the mortgage.

As the money is coming from your partner's mother the question would be 'Why is he not getting the deposit?'

Gifted deposits need to be from family members which technically yours is not.

jaylea

The lender has not been informed of anyone living with me in the property with me. Only myself.