Deposit for a home but boyfriend lives and works aboard

luna1202

Hello all,

I am in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend. He lives and works in Austria, also not a UK citizen. We are looking to start saving for a deposit for a home in the UK where I live. He is planning to send money to me to help save.

I am finding it difficult finding information on this. When we eventually do have enough money to put a deposit down on a house. Am I able to use his share or would I need to prove where the funds come from? Also would his share of the money be liable for tax? 

Thank you for your time!

AskAsk

why can't he save the money in australia and send that over when you are ready to buy a house?  the receipt of foreign monies, particularly in regular amounts will raise suspicion with the tax man, not to mention the fees of sending money overseas.  doesn't really make any sense to me.

i have no experience of someone buying a propery in the UK who is not a UK citizen.  you would need a specialist conveyancer that can deal with property purchase from foreign nationals.

user1977

AskAsk said:

why can't he save the money in australia 

Because that's an inconvenient place to do it when he's in Austria 

In answer to the OP's question though, you'll need to prove where all funds come from, and his money is only likely to be acceptable to a mortgage lender if you're buying in joint names (not clear whether that's your intention). There's no (UK) tax due on it though.

I think this is probably more for the Mortgages board and whether lenders will accept a joint application involving someone who is abroad.

luna1202

AskAsk said:

why can't he save the money in australia and send that over when you are ready to buy a house?  the receipt of foreign monies, particularly in regular amounts will raise suspicion with the tax man, not to mention the fees of sending money overseas.  doesn't really make any sense to me.

i have no experience of someone buying a propery in the UK who is not a UK citizen.  you would need a specialist conveyancer that can deal with property purchase from foreign nationals.

Thanks for your input, my other half isn't the best when it comes to saving. He thinks it best to send it to me to put away and keep. There isn't any fees when sending through for example revolut. We are looking to eventually live together in the UK before looking at properties or considering purchasing. 

luna1202

user1977 said:

AskAsk said:

why can't he save the money in australia 

Because that's an inconvenient place to do it when he's in Austria 

In answer to the OP's question though, you'll need to prove where all funds come from, and his money is only likely to be acceptable to a mortgage lender if you're buying in joint names (not clear whether that's your intention). There's no (UK) tax due on it though.

I think this is probably more for the Mortgages board and whether lenders will accept a joint application involving someone who is abroad.

Thank you, yes we buying it together. I won't be able to get a decent mortgage offer on my own! Before proceeding with looking at houses we are looking to purchase when he is here in the UK with me. 

Slinky

He needs to find an account where he has to give notice to get the money out to stop the temptation of spending it then. Almost certain to be those sorts of accounts in other countries than the UK.

propertyrental

Not sure how easy it is for a foreign national to open a UK account in his name, but that would be better.

The whole idea seems far to vague. When is he moving to the UK? Why not now? Will he easily get a job here? If yes, why wait? From a relationship perspective, far better to live together before buying together - how long have you known each other? How much time spent together?

And are you sure you want to tie yourself, financially, emotionally, legally to someone who by your/his own admission is financially unreliable.......

MacPingu1986

Just to flag there's also additional stamp duty of 2% property value payable when a non-UK resident purchases UK residential property. You might also exclude yourself from the first time buyer stamp duty reduction if that's something you'd qualify for on your own.

There might be carve-outs (eg: if the person moves to the UK shortly after purchase), but it's another thing to definitely check.