Please Help - Gifted Deposit & Lender Consent

peacetrustlove

I've received a mortgage offer from my bank on the 1st of June. 50% of my deposit is coming from my parents. 

The solicitors have applied for consent from the bank for the gifts although it is clearly mentioned by the bank in the offer letter. Is it truly necessary for them to obtain consent? I've already submitted a gifted deposit form to the solicitors, saying that the money is a gift and non-returnable. It is signed by both my parents. 

Is there a way that they can bypass the consent? The bank is currently working on requests from early June and at this rate, I'll totally miss my stamp duty deadline. 

The below is a part screenshot from my offer letter. 

I need some solid advice here. We've been waiting for our mortgage application since the 2nd of March and now the bank has severe backlogs. Santander if anyone wants to ask. It will cost us an additional £15,000. 

Thanks in advance
Tushar 

TBG01

Is there a way that they can bypass the consent

Yeah, don't use the gift.

If consent is required, it's required. That's their requirements. You're not above that no matter how much you think you should be because of your circumstances.

peacetrustlove

TBG01 said:

Is there a way that they can bypass the consent

Yeah, don't use the gift.

If consent is required, it's required. That's their requirements. You're not above that no matter how much you think you should be because of your circumstances.

The offer letter doesn’t say anything about consent. All they’ve asked to make sure is that the gifting parties to not get any claim on the house. They have already done this through and a gifted deposit letter. 

TBG01

peacetrustlove said:

TBG01 said:

Is there a way that they can bypass the consent

Yeah, don't use the gift.

If consent is required, it's required. That's their requirements. You're not above that no matter how much you think you should be because of your circumstances.

They have already done this through and a gifted deposit letter. 

But it's not as simple as that. 

The Solicitor still needs to undertake anti money laundering checks against your parents. I'm assuming they've done this and put it to the mortgage lender to confirm whether or not they're aware of the gift. Once they've got confirmation they can proceed.

It's not requesting consent. It's standard practice.

peacetrustlove

TBG01 said:

peacetrustlove said:

TBG01 said:

Is there a way that they can bypass the consent

Yeah, don't use the gift.

If consent is required, it's required. That's their requirements. You're not above that no matter how much you think you should be because of your circumstances.

They have already done this through and a gifted deposit letter. 

But it's not as simple as that. 

The Solicitor still needs to undertake anti money laundering checks against your parents. I'm assuming they've done this and put it to the mortgage lender to confirm whether or not they're aware of the gift. Once they've got confirmation they can proceed.

It's not requesting consent. It's standard practice.

Thanks, mate. Of course, they (lenders) are aware of the gifts. It says clearly on the offer letter. Solicitors have also checked where my deposit came from and signed it off. It's just that I'm stuck in such a pickle due to delays from Santander that I'm going to be slapped with a £15,000 extra stamp duty for no fault of mine. Our offer was approved 6 weeks ago and they produced the letter 3 weeks ago due to their own internal system upgrade issues.

Such delays are beyond service standards. I was hoping there would be something like an indemnity bond? The bank is aware, the broker is aware and the solicitors are aware of all of the gifts and their sources. All I want to do is try and save that massive stamp duty chunk through alternative legal practices. In reality, I should have made my question clear. 

Are there any alternative ways of doing this? Perhaps keep it pending with some security?

user1977

peacetrustlove said:

TBG01 said:

peacetrustlove said:

TBG01 said:

Is there a way that they can bypass the consent

Yeah, don't use the gift.

If consent is required, it's required. That's their requirements. You're not above that no matter how much you think you should be because of your circumstances.

They have already done this through and a gifted deposit letter. 

But it's not as simple as that. 

The Solicitor still needs to undertake anti money laundering checks against your parents. I'm assuming they've done this and put it to the mortgage lender to confirm whether or not they're aware of the gift. Once they've got confirmation they can proceed.

It's not requesting consent. It's standard practice.

Thanks, mate. Of course, they (lenders) are aware of the gifts. It says clearly on the offer letter. Solicitors have also checked where my deposit came from and signed it off.

But do the lenders' instructions to the solicitors tell them there's a gifted deposit and who it's from? (the bit you've quoted from your offer doesn't even say who it's from). The default instructions the solicitors are working to requires them to verify that all of the deposit is from your own funds. Unfortunately lenders have a habit of agreeing to things like gifted deposits in the application, but not bothering to mention that in the papers they send to the solicitors - so the solicitors then have to ask separately.

Are there any alternative ways of doing this? Perhaps keep it pending with some security?

Not sure what you mean. Keep what pending where, with what sort of security? All the money needs to be paid on the completion date, and the lender needs to be happy with where it's come from - that can't be undone afterwards.

ele_91

Did the lender ask the source of your deposit when you applied? If they are not aware then the
the solicitor has to report it to them. They will want to ensure your parents have no interest in the property. 

jazzyja

When you provided gift letter did you also supply your parents bank statements to prove it? My lender asked for these

Tiglet2

The solicitor also acts on behalf of the lender.  If the gifted deposit is not mentioned in the solicitor's copy of your mortgage offer, they have a duty to report it to them, whether or not the lender is already aware.  

peacetrustlove

jazzyja said:

When you provided gift letter did you also supply your parents bank statements to prove it? My lender asked for these

Lenders didn't ask me for proof of this. But the solicitors did and they also signed it off after being satisfied with it.

ele_91

I think unfortunately the solicitor has to report it so the bank is happy to continue to lend. Hopefully this won’t take too long although they are most likely snowed under currently. Did you use a broker as they might be able to speed it up for you through a business dev manager?