Best Way to handle large EUR to GBP Transfer for House Purchase?

lb00

Hi everyone,

My mum is generously gifting my brother and me money to purchase a flat in London, which means she needs to transfer around €650k for the transaction. Our solicitor has already verified the source of the funds, so that part is all sorted.

My mum's bank in Italy, Fineco, offers a currency conversion service that is quite convenient, so she will likely use that. Wise also seems like a reliable non-bank option but would likely require additional documentation for such a large transfer so she'd rather go with her Italian bank instead.

I'm looking for advice on making the transfer process as smooth and hassle-free as possible. The current plan is for my mum to convert the funds to GBP through Fineco and then make two bank transfers (50% each) to our UK bank accounts. I bank with Starling Bank, while my brother banks with the Bank of Scotland.

A few questions:

1. Should we notify our UK banks in advance about the incoming transfer?
2. Are there any documents we need to provide to our banks to facilitate the process?
3. Would it be more efficient for my mum to transfer the funds directly to our solicitor's client account instead of our personal accounts?

I’m concerned about potential delays. How long might UK banks hold the funds if they need to review the transfer? I’m particularly worried about not being able to meet the agreed completion date.

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Hoenir

lb00 said:

1. Would it be more efficient for my mum to transfer the funds directly to our solicitor's client account instead of our personal accounts?

Would appear the most seamless route to effect the transfer. 

PRAISETHESUN

lb00 said:

Hi everyone,

My mum is generously gifting my brother and me money to purchase a flat in London, which means she needs to transfer around €650k for the transaction. Our solicitor has already verified the source of the funds, so that part is all sorted.

My mum's bank in Italy, Fineco, offers a currency conversion service that is quite convenient, so she will likely use that. Wise also seems like a reliable non-bank option but would likely require additional documentation for such a large transfer so she'd rather go with her Italian bank instead.

I'm looking for advice on making the transfer process as smooth and hassle-free as possible. The current plan is for my mum to convert the funds to GBP through Fineco and then make two bank transfers (50% each) to our UK bank accounts. I bank with Starling Bank, while my brother banks with the Bank of Scotland.

A few questions:

1. Should we notify our UK banks in advance about the incoming transfer?
2. Are there any documents we need to provide to our banks to facilitate the process?
3. Would it be more efficient for my mum to transfer the funds directly to our solicitor's client account instead of our personal accounts?

I’m concerned about potential delays. How long might UK banks hold the funds if they need to review the transfer? I’m particularly worried about not being able to meet the agreed completion date.

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

1) You can notify them, but it won't really change the outcome. If you could simply let the banks know in advance then all the criminals would be doing the same!

2) It will depend on the specific requirements of the bank if it gets frozen - but typically they will want to see evidence of where the money has come from (eg. bank statements, pay slips, etc) and where it is going to.

3) Quite probably this would be the easiest, simplest and cheapest way to do things

lb00

Hoenir said:

lb00 said:

1. Would it be more efficient for my mum to transfer the funds directly to our solicitor's client account instead of our personal accounts?

Would appear the most seamless route to effect the transfer. 

PRAISETHESUN said:

lb00 said:

Hi everyone,

My mum is generously gifting my brother and me money to purchase a flat in London, which means she needs to transfer around €650k for the transaction. Our solicitor has already verified the source of the funds, so that part is all sorted.

My mum's bank in Italy, Fineco, offers a currency conversion service that is quite convenient, so she will likely use that. Wise also seems like a reliable non-bank option but would likely require additional documentation for such a large transfer so she'd rather go with her Italian bank instead.

I'm looking for advice on making the transfer process as smooth and hassle-free as possible. The current plan is for my mum to convert the funds to GBP through Fineco and then make two bank transfers (50% each) to our UK bank accounts. I bank with Starling Bank, while my brother banks with the Bank of Scotland.

A few questions:

1. Should we notify our UK banks in advance about the incoming transfer?
2. Are there any documents we need to provide to our banks to facilitate the process?
3. Would it be more efficient for my mum to transfer the funds directly to our solicitor's client account instead of our personal accounts?

I’m concerned about potential delays. How long might UK banks hold the funds if they need to review the transfer? I’m particularly worried about not being able to meet the agreed completion date.

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

1) You can notify them, but it won't really change the outcome. If you could simply let the banks know in advance then all the criminals would be doing the same!

2) It will depend on the specific requirements of the bank if it gets frozen - but typically they will want to see evidence of where the money has come from (eg. bank statements, pay slips, etc) and where it is going to.

3) Quite probably this would be the easiest, simplest and cheapest way to do things

Thank you both.

I plan to speak with my solicitors about having the funds wired directly from my mother to them. However, I have one concern: if the transfer were to be frozen, the solicitors might not be prompt in providing the necessary documentation to the bank. In such a case, I would prefer to be personally involved to avoid any delays caused by their response time.

Or do you think that transferring the money directly to the solicitors would reduce the likelihood of it being flagged as potentially fraudulent and getting frozen?

Thanks again for your help!

eDicky

A firm of solicitors would probably have large sums passing through their business account regularly, so in theory at least there should be less chance of a hold up than with your own bank.

anoukis

It's quite a large amount, I would also look into using a (regulated) currency/FX broker, so that you don't lose too much in the currency conversion and transfer fees. You can call them up and get a quotation. 

I did just that more than 10 years ago and it wasn't much of a hassle and it was very fast, once I managed to set up the account with the broker. I moved my own money across the border this way, plus some money gifted by my dad (same use of the gift - property purchase). 

wmb194

anoukis said:

It's quite a large amount, I would also look into using a (regulated) currency/FX broker, so that you don't lose too much in the currency conversion and transfer fees. You can call them up and get a quotation. 

I did just that more than 10 years ago and it wasn't much of a hassle and it was very fast, once I managed to set up the account with the broker. I moved my own money across the border this way, plus some money gifted by my dad (same use of the gift - property purchase). 

Fineco usually offers really good FX rates so this might not be an issue.

lb00

@anoukis @wmb194
Yes I have checked through Monito and only Atlantic Money would give me a better deal than Fineco but I prefer Fineco as it's much more straightforward to set up given it's a bank.

@eDicky indeed I think this is the easiest option. I will speak to my solicitor about this today. I suspect he would like the funds to come in mine and my brother's name but let's see.

anoukis

Thanks @wmb194, I know Fineco. For large amounts such as this one, better deals could probably be negotiated with brokers. The deals wouldn't be available on comparison sites. You'd need to ring around, ask for quotes and/or negotiate but I guess that takes time. Best of luck, @lb00!

eDicky

As it's your mother sending the funds, probably best to stick to her intention to send direct from her Fineco account already converted to GBP, rather than the added complication of her using a separate transfer service for the sake of a marginal saving.

I bank with Fineco and it's what I'd do in your situation, with time restraint and hope of avoiding holdups.

lb00

eDicky said:

As it's your mother sending the funds, probably best to stick to her intention to send direct from her Fineco account already converted to GBP, rather than the added complication of her using a separate transfer service for the sake of a marginal saving.

I bank with Fineco and it's what I'd do in your situation, with time restraint and hope of avoiding holdups.

Have set up the payment for tomorrow. Will let you know how it all goes. Let's hope there are no hiccups.
Last time I did a transfer with Fineco it was credited same day so hopefully will be the same this time.