Gifting a son for a deposit

Adly812

Hi all, I am gifting my son some monies towards a deposit for his house. I understand I will need to make a declaration or statement to confirm that I will have no interest in the property and the money is not a loan but of a gift, which is completely fine with me. At what stage do I transfer the money into my son’s account? Do I do this when he has found his property and will need to show affordability to the Estate agent during their financial checks at offer and acceptance, or do I pay the solicitor directly at the time of exchange? Does it matter ? Thank you for any advice and guidance 

user1977

Shouldn't matter. Let him worry about it!

Keep_pedalling

You can do it anytime, we gifted well in advance of our children buying their first houses. 

youth_leader

I've gifted both of my kids a deposit,  and the important thing is to make sure your paper trail is very clear. I used a template from the internet and sent copies of all the paperwork to both.  I'd actually forgotten to include the statement showing the source of my funds, the house sale, I had to send that on separately. 

Good luck to your son house hunting.  

eddddy

As you suggest, the estate agent will probably want to check that the deposit money exists (as well as a mortgage arrangement in principle).

But I imagine that if you show the estate agent your bank statement, and explain that you will be gifting the deposit to your son, the estate agent will be happy with that.

silvercar

We gifted by paying the solicitor direct.

youth_leader

This article might be of interest - How to Gift and Accept Money for a House Deposit | MoneySuperMarket

TheJP

I think gifting a child for money is illegal....

BikingBud

TheJP said:

I think gifting a child for money is illegal....

I was thinking of swopping daughters for camels!

saajan_12

Adly812 said:

Hi all, I am gifting my son some monies towards a deposit for his house. 

ohhhhh, I thought you were giving away your first born! 

It doesn't matter as far as the purchase is concerned.. even if the money is already in his account, the solicitor / lender will ask for the source, at which  point you'll be asked for the gift letter. 

Just depends on what you're comfortable with.. eg what if he doesn't find a property for months / years.. would you want the money returned? Would you mind if he changed plans and spent it on something else? If you're not fussed then may as well transfer it now. If you are then transfer it later or directly to the solicitor if they allow.