Paying Solicitors fees with a credit card - bad idea?

jedthehumanoid

Long story short - we were expecting to go for a 95% mortgage but grandparents have very kindly offered us a cash gift that takes us very close to having a 10% deposit.

If we throw in the cash we have saved up for solicitors fees we can get to 10%. We have been advised to do this and use a credit card to pay the fees as the larger deposit reduces the monthly payments by around £100 because of the lower interest rate. We could transfer the fees over to a 0% interest card after completion and pay it off over a few months.

Is this likely to have any effect on our mortgage application if we put around £1200 on to one of our existing credit cards late in the process? I don't want to jeopardise anything. It seems like a bad idea to me but our advisor suggested it.

Thrugelmir

Will your solicitor accept payment by credit card ? You need to ask first.

jedthehumanoid

I've checked the info they sent over and they do.

mark55man

from a financial perspective - but not from a will any of your stakeholders find a reason to be difficult perspective it seems like a great idea


You pay £1200 on the CC for a monthly gain of £100. At worst (ie if you have to pay interest ie 1% per month and can't BT it). The first year will see you very nearly clear and all subsequent years you will be up

Voyager2002

As others have said, this sounds like a good idea.



You will pay different amounts to the solicitor at different times, with the eventual fee being paid once the purchase has been completed, so this is extremely unlikely to ring any alarm bells with the lender.

ACG

There is a big drop between 90% and 95% so if you can get to 90% it will most likely save you a few quid.

But you have to consider what the repayments will be on the credit card and put that down as a commitment.

jedthehumanoid

Thanks for the responses. I'll have another chat with the advisor today just to check the additional balance on the card won't affect our affordability. We were well within the calculated limit for the lender we're looking at so hopefully it shouldn't be an issue.

dimbo61

Try and pay for things along the way !
If the solicitor needs to pay for searches offer to pay for them as needed.
Buying a property can take several months so save save save right now.
Keep you spending under very tight control