Definition of a gifted deposit

littlesaint

I just saw another thread on here that made me a little worried. We are applying for a mortgage through a mortgage broker with the Woolwich.

We were asked how we raised our deposit when we applied I said through savings. He asked whether all the money was ours and I said it was though I mentioned that some were wedding and birthday gifts from our parents over more than a decade. He has come back to us wanting more details of the "gifted deposit" and whether the people giving would want it back. He gave us letters to sign.

My husband told him that they were from our savings and not a gifted deposit, his reasoning being that any gifts we have received over the years have not been specifically intended for a home purchase. Now I am wondering whether we have done the right thing as the lady on the other thread has been rejected for doing something similar. Should I talk to my advisor about this?

Wh05apk

I would class your deposit as "savings" as you have built them up over a number of years, a gifted deposit is more of a lump sum immediately before or at purchase intended to help with the deposit.

littlesaint

Thank you. Would we still need to get this letter signed? I think it would be tricky calculating the gifts we have received over the years from parents, even though we have been fortunate to receive some substantial amounts on a few occasions which we have saved for an eventual deposit.

The_J

What a !!!! broker.

Loopgames

What a waste of your time! And they make you worry about the slightest thing.

You should not have confused them with small talk as they clearly thought to include trivial issues in your application. It's your money your savings, that's it!

littlesaint

Loopgames wrote: »

You should not have confused them with small talk as they clearly thought to include trivial issues in your application. It's your money your savings, that's it!

No probably not. My husband said, "no it is just savings" to the broker when he asked us about getting the letter. We haven't heard back since then. I am hoping that this has resolved the issue... although it sounds like it may have delayed things a bit.

littlesaint

Aaah! I have looked on our application and it just says savings - this is just what the broker filled in with me. So I didn't actually mention the gifts at the time and if I did the broker didn't mention it. Maybe they saw my husband's birthday present (which was quite generous this year!) and some money my Mum gave me for the fees on our bank statements.

redmalc

We had a similar problem with the building society when my son purchased his first house in 2007,we gave him 80K to allow a manageable mortgage on a 125k purchase.
In the end our solicitor put an agreement together giving me a second charge after Nationwide and they agreed to his mortgage

getmore4less

Any old gifts were used to pay for food, rent, fuel etc, the saving were your own money.

So only large recent gifts might need to be declared.

DVardysShadow

getmore4less wrote: »

Any old gifts were used to pay for food, rent, fuel etc, the saving were your own money.

So only large recent gifts might need to be declared.

Good thought.

It suggests a rule of thumb to me. Look at the total of your savings. And add up your income, going back month by month, until it adds up to your savings. Any gift from before that time does not need to be addressed.

littlesaint

Thanks. We got our approval over the weekend finally. I guess the broker was just being extra cautious in case the bank asked him, or the bank got confused.