First Time buyer in need of help

tinkerbelle

I’ve got my deposit saved and have been viewing houses, but yet to put in an offer. I am a bit concerned about handing over my bank statement as I allow a family member to use my second bank account. The second bank account is in credit but the family member sends money to my first (primary) bank account every week, I then transfer that money into my mums bank account. This of course shows on the bank statements that I will need to produce. 

Basically, this all came about as neither of my relatives had bank accounts. I used to withdraw the money sent from my second bank account and give to my mum, in cash. She now has an account so I send it via bank transfer. 

I realise this is all a bit naive of me and I am quite concerned about it, I was only trying to help out my immediate family. Will this be flagged when I apply for my mortgage decision? 

[Deleted User]

How much are we talking? if its small amounts it will be ok, if it's a lot then it will likely get flagged and you'd have to explain it. As long as you can show the source of the cash is legitimate, it should be fine. Your solicitor will be the one asking the questions most likely. I had one sale of gold for some £5000, this was flagged by my solicitor, I provided a receipt.  I had a couple of hundred pound going to family, it was not raised. 

user1977

I expect you'll be asked about it, yes.

It would probably be safest if you stop doing this immediately. Why can't your relative open their own bank account, or get money to your mum via some other method?

tinkerbelle

It’s around £240 a week for rent. I’ve arranged for the money to be transferred directly from my second bank account to my mum directly, 

Annisele

If this is all just for convenience, you'll probably be asked about it but you'll probably be fine. (Though it doesn't sound very convenient to me!).

If there's some reason why your other family member can't have a bank account, then whether this is a problem will likely depend on that reason. Speculating wildly, I can come up with anything from "family member has a disability that makes it difficult for them to manage their own money" through to "family member is using OP to hide their own criminality".

If the other family member can have a bank account but just doesn't want to, then I suspect it's time to tell them this arrangement needs to come to an end. It's for their protection too - having you as an undocumented trustee of their money could cause all sorts of problems if you were to die, go bankrupt, become too ill to deal with your money etc etc.

tinkerbelle

Annisele said:

If this is all just for convenience, you'll probably be asked about it but you'll probably be fine. (Though it doesn't sound very convenient to me!).

If there's some reason why your other family member can't have a bank account, then whether this is a problem will likely depend on that reason. Speculating wildly, I can come up with anything from "family member has a disability that makes it difficult for them to manage their own money" through to "family member is using OP to hide their own criminality".

If the other family member can have a bank account but just doesn't want to, then I suspect it's time to tell them this arrangement needs to come to an end. It's for their protection too - having you as an undocumented trustee of their money could cause all sorts of problems if you were to die, go bankrupt, become too ill to deal with your money etc etc.

It came about as the family member is old fashioned and used to his partner handling the money. His money used to go into her account, but then she did a runner and left him in debt. He needed an account urgently for wages and I wasn’t using my second account, so this is how it came about. 

The arrangement has continued as when he passes, I can then gain access to the money and make the necessary arrangements.

I just don’t want this situation to impact on me purchasing a house. I suppose the easiest solution is to get him to open his own bank account.

ian1246

I think it might cause you problems. A cynical mind could view this as suspicious - which is the whole point of solicitors asking for proof of funds to stop money laundering. You need to have a think about how you ll provide proof for the transactions.

user1977

tinkerbelle said:

Annisele said:

If this is all just for convenience, you'll probably be asked about it but you'll probably be fine. (Though it doesn't sound very convenient to me!).

If there's some reason why your other family member can't have a bank account, then whether this is a problem will likely depend on that reason. Speculating wildly, I can come up with anything from "family member has a disability that makes it difficult for them to manage their own money" through to "family member is using OP to hide their own criminality".

If the other family member can have a bank account but just doesn't want to, then I suspect it's time to tell them this arrangement needs to come to an end. It's for their protection too - having you as an undocumented trustee of their money could cause all sorts of problems if you were to die, go bankrupt, become too ill to deal with your money etc etc.

The arrangement has continued as when he passes, I can then gain access to the money and make the necessary arrangements.

You do realise that isn't necessary, and isn't how people normally plan for such events?

dannim12345

My parents would transfer me some money and I would pay it back into another account so they would get some kind of benefit from their bank - I totally forgot about it (as all via DD) until my mortgage broker asked about it and I had to explain.  I wish I had stopped it before looking at moving so it wasn’t queried as it was a worry. 

It wasn’t as much as you are transferring so I would expect it will be questioned. 

macman

tinkerbelle said:

Annisele said:

If this is all just for convenience, you'll probably be asked about it but you'll probably be fine. (Though it doesn't sound very convenient to me!).

If there's some reason why your other family member can't have a bank account, then whether this is a problem will likely depend on that reason. Speculating wildly, I can come up with anything from "family member has a disability that makes it difficult for them to manage their own money" through to "family member is using OP to hide their own criminality".

If the other family member can have a bank account but just doesn't want to, then I suspect it's time to tell them this arrangement needs to come to an end. It's for their protection too - having you as an undocumented trustee of their money could cause all sorts of problems if you were to die, go bankrupt, become too ill to deal with your money etc etc.

It came about as the family member is old fashioned and used to his partner handling the money. His money used to go into her account, but then she did a runner and left him in debt. He needed an account urgently for wages and I wasn’t using my second account, so this is how it came about. 

The arrangement has continued as when he passes, I can then gain access to the money and make the necessary arrangements.

I just don’t want this situation to impact on me purchasing a house. I suppose the easiest solution is to get him to open his own bank account.

Not without being appointed his executor and obtaining probate, you can't. 
Funeral expenses can if necessary be paid direct by the bank on production of the relevant invoices, this is standard practice if required.

TheJP

£1k per month, how long has this been going on? I think this will cause you problems, as others say find a solution to stop this asap.