Gifted funds | Winston Solicitors

Buying a home with the help of your parents

First time buyers are finding the only way to jump onto the property ladder is with the help of “the Bank of Mum and Dad." Parents help out their children to buy their first home by way of giving them the funds. This may be considered an early heritance with money that would be coming their way in due course and parents are happy to pass it on to their children who need it.

What happens when you buy a house with the help of your parents?

When funds for a house purchase are gifted or loaned, the buyer’s conveyancer will need to carry out additional checks alongside the usual conveyancing process.

The extra checks when house purchase funds are gifted or loaned include:

EVIDENCE: asking for evidence of identity and proof of address in respect of each giftor.
PROOF: Asking for proof of funds and evidence of the source of the funds.
IDENTITY: Carrying out electronic identity checks in respect of each giftor.
SEARCHES: Carrying out bankruptcy searches in respect of each giftor.
CONFIRMATION: Asking for confirmation of the amount of the gift.
GIFT or LOAN: Asking for confirmation that it is a gift, that no part of the gift is repayable, that each giftor will have no stake in the property, and that no giftor will live at the property.
LEGAL ADVICE: Recommending that each giftor obtains independent legal advice. This is particularly important because:
- Making a gift may have inheritance tax implications.
- A gift may not be the best option from the funder’s point of view. It may be preferable for the funder to secure a stake in the property by means of a Trust Deed or mortgage, protected by an entry on the register of title. This will ensure that the property cannot be sold without the funder’s consent, unless the mortgage lender repossess it.
COMMUNICATION: Referring the matter to any mortgage lender who is involved with the property purchase.

Proving source of funds for your conveyancing

It’s a legal requirement to prove where the funds come from when you buy a property. Conveyancers have a duty to guard against mortgage fraud and money laundering and must take steps to ensure that all funds used to purchase a property have been acquired in a legal way. If all the boxes are ticked and the conveyancers have no suspicions, lenders are normally happy to lend where gifted deposits are provided, but may be more reluctant where the funder wishes to claim a stake in the property.

To discuss buying a property with the help of gifted or loaned funds please contact our experienced conveyancing team on 0113 218 5455 or email @email

A ‘giftor’ is the legal term given to the person giving the financial gift. Have a look at our legal glossary of conveyancing terms for further explanations of the terms used in the conveyancing process.

Sidraa Razaq

Conveyancing & divorce solicitor

0113 218 5498

@email

Samantha was absolutely fantastic at completing the conveyancing for our property. As first time buyers we were very nervous about the process but Samantha's professionalism and aptitude boosted our confidence and made the process seem easy and stress-free.

Mrs Burgess
Wonderfully helpful and easy to contact. We had a really quick, smooth and easy sale thanks to Winston Solicitors.

Mrs Dindorf
Sam is great. Will use again (as I have before!)

Mr Martell
Samantha was absolutely brilliant throughout the conveyancing process. Would definitely recommend using them.

Mr Power
Utterly professional . Friendly and very efficient . Took the worry out of the whole process . I would have no hesitation to recommend .

Ms T
We used Winston Solicitors for the sale of our house and the purchase of our new home.
We were very impressed by the professional care from the Conveyancing Team,and in particular we cannot praise Sidraa Razaq enough..

Val a
Great service; professional, reliable, fast-working. Would really recommend

Ms H
Very helpful, no hassle and the whole process was made easy and stress free!

Anonymous
Would not use another firm after the service Leasa and the team provided. Excellent communications and updates, immediate responses and actions, simply superb! Chased and pushed other side who were non responsive and evasive. Leasa was proactive throughout and kept us all informed and updated. Our move would not have happened if it were not for Leasa.

Robert G
Very good to deal with

Mr & M
Sam at Winstons was professional whilst friendly and informative all the way through our conveyance dealing efficiently with the buyer's solicitor who was far from helpful and steering us to a successful completion. Thanks Sam for all your help

Anonymous
Found Winstons from Google Reviews and decided to go with them for our conveyancing. Brilliant service from start to finish. Really liked the progress report they provide you with so you can check your purchase as a percentage

Miss K
Winston Solicitors gave me excellent service during the sale of a property in Gledhow. When it looked as if there might be difficulties, Leasa Foster and Julie Smith, worked really hard to move things along. They always kept me informed and always responded quickly to my phone calls and emails.

Mr Ludlow
We have found Winston Solicitors Ltd very professional and helpful .
We have been kept fully up-to-date with any developments with regards our sale and have received sound advice. Every effort was made to chase up the other party, in order to keep things moving and to reach a speedy conclusion.

Mrs Ludlow
Leasa was fantastic throughout, all queries/activities were promptly dealt with. We managed to complete on a freehold in just over 6 weeks!

Mr Beagle
Excellent communication throughout. It was so reassuring to have leads and the team acting as our solicitors and advocates throughout our recent house purchase. We'll can't recommend highly enough!!!

Drs D