Mortgage Deposit and Solicitor Costs

DaffyDuck316

Hi,

The house I am living in went on the market and as people viewed it, I put in an offer and snapped it up.

Unfortunately money is tight at the moment.

I have just about enough for a mortgage deposit but my solicitor is asking for some monies up front. My plan was to pay this money with my credit card as it is not too much. But I can't find an option to pay them with my credit card. There is an account number and sort code, but I can't find an option to pay with a credit card. I'm aware there would be some charges for doing it this way but my credit card balance is virtually nothing.

If I pay with my debit card, there would be enough for a mortgage deposit but it would cut into my arranged overdraft. Might that go against me? I'm worried my mortgage application might get declined if I do this.

Any help appreciated.

user1977

If you're not sure whether your solicitor accepts cards, ask them! Some do. Though it would be odd for them to be silent about it if they do.

born_again

Given the fee's for credit card payments, & the chance this will be viewed as a cash advance by CC provider..
I'm not surprised they do not take CC's.

DaffyDuck316

Ok, I will ask them tomorrow, thanks.

Also, is another option to wait for my mortgage offer to be officially approved? Then I can send the money? I have a DIP so it should all work out, I'm just worried about messing things up.

TheJP

Are you currently renting the property you are living in and have had an offer accepted by your landlord? Are you an FTB and will you have to pay any SDLT? How will you pay the remainder of the solicitors bill, have you had a quote? Be prepared that the costs may be higher than what was quoted depending on how complex the sale could be.

Myci85

Check if your solicitor will accept credit card payment. Ours were happy to, though we didn't pay that way. I think paying a small amount on cc looks better on your credit history than going into your overdraft. 
If you have any worries about if the mortgage application will be successful (a DIP doesn't guarantee a mortgage) it is fine to request your solicitor to hold off on any chargeable work until you receive it. We did this as not straight forward case and didn't want to owe lots to solicitor if we couldn't find a lender. 
However, don't do this thinking you can then use your overdraft as much as you like once you've a mortgage offer, as lenders can (and do) check your credit file right up to completion and can retract the offer if anything changes that they're not happy about. 

DaffyDuck316

I am currently renting the house I am living in and have had an offer accepted by the landlord. I am a FTB and there will be no SDLT. I was planning to pay the remainder of solicitor fees with my overdraft once my mortgage deposit has been accepted (or possibly my CC if it is allowed). I mean, I will generate some money in the next few months so I can pay off some of the fees, I could probably pay off 30-50%. I am a bit worried if you say there will be checks right up to completion, am also worried about the mortgage valuation. Thanks for listening.

user1977

You may just need to slow things down until you have enough cash.

badger09

DaffyDuck316 said:

Hi,

The house I am living in went on the market and as people viewed it, I put in an offer and snapped it up.

Unfortunately money is tight at the moment.

I have just about enough for a mortgage deposit but my solicitor is asking for some monies up front. My plan was to pay this money with my credit card as it is not too much. But I can't find an option to pay them with my credit card. There is an account number and sort code, but I can't find an option to pay with a credit card. I'm aware there would be some charges for doing it this way but my credit card balance is virtually nothing.

If I pay with my debit card, there would be enough for a mortgage deposit but it would cut into my arranged overdraft. Might that go against me? I'm worried my mortgage application might get declined if I do this.

Any help appreciated.

What do you mean by ‘mortgage deposit’? 

It’s normal to pay £10% of the purchase price when you exchange contracts. Do you have that?
Or do you mean the difference between your mortgage offer & the balance you’ll need to complete the purchase?  

Solicitors usually ask for £250 - £300 when you tell them you want them to act for you. Thats’s to cover things like Local Authority searches. Apart from the amount due on exchange, you shouldn’t need to pay them any more money until everyone is ready to complete. A few days before, they’ll tell you exactly how much they need from you, including their bill.  

DaffyDuck316

I have got a concessionary mortgage, but I felt like I needed to contribute some money to get the offer accepted as the offer was tabled for months and half a dozen people came to view the property.

It's the gap, a few days before completion and actual completion. I guess it would be a bit harsh to get a credit check then and pull the plug.

silvercar

DaffyDuck316 said:

I have got a concessionary mortgage, but I felt like I needed to contribute some money to get the offer accepted as the offer was tabled for months and half a dozen people came to view the property.

It's the gap, a few days before completion and actual completion. I guess it would be a bit harsh to get a credit check then and pull the plug.

You mean between exchange and completion, I guess.

So you need a mortgage offer that will allow a concessionary mortgage (often viewed as a gifted deposit from the seller). Basically the seller reduces the price to reflect that they are selling to the current tenant, seen as reducing hassle and potentially no estate agent fees. A broker will know which lenders will allow this.

Could you up your card spending on every day items, that would normally go on your debit card, to increase the amount of cash you have available?