Gifted funds | Winston Solicitors UK

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.

Call us on 0113 320 5000

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.

Call our conveyancing team on 0113 320 5000

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.

To discuss buying a property with the help of gifted or loaned funds please contact our experienced conveyancing team on 0113 320 5000 or email conveyancing@winstonsolicitors.co.uk

Contact Sidraa today

Sidraa Razaq

Conveyancing & divorce solicitor

0113 320 5000

@email

Leasa was great at keeping me informed at the progress of my conveyancing transaction (or lack of progress from the other side!). She was relentless in chasing contact from the other side, with numerous emails and phone calls, and firm with the other side when needed.

Robyn
Professional service, pushing progress at all times.

Lee
Winstons is our family Solicitor that we use for all legal requirements. They are professional and highly efficient in all departments. We have used Wills, Trust and Probate (Howard) and the Conveyancing Department (Samantha) who are second to none and as someone else has said in a previous review "makes everyone else look like Amateurs".

Debra
Winston Solicitors and their Conveyancing Executive, Samantha Robertson-Strong, are excellent. We had three property transactions to simultaneously complete, and they handled everything with such confidence. It goes without saying that moving house is stressful, but Samantha made the whole process as painless as possible.

Mr Corns
We were very impressed with the service and the attention to detail Winston Solicitors gave to protecting our interests in relation to the process of our house purchase. We would have no hesitation in using their services again or recommending them to others.

Mr & M
Very much satisfied with their service.

Anonymous
Leasa, from Winston Solicitors, helped with the sale of my property. Communication was spot-on from day one and throughout the process - making it hassle free. Highly recommended.

Craig
Winston Solicitors recently took care of my sale and purchase (of a listed building). The service was impeccable and I couldn't recommend them highly enough.

Joe
Leasa was so helpful throughout the whole process, answered all of our questions and was available whenever we needed more information or guidance.
This experience made everything go very smoothly with the step by step breakdown of what we needed to do at each stage, regular updates of where things were at and what we were waiting for next.

Dominic
Helpful efficient and proactive

Anonymous
Sidraa, was an extremely efficient solicitor and very thorough with her work. Will most certainly be using her/winston’s again in future. Many thanks to you Sidraa.

Jackson
Excellent work from Sidraa. She was quick and efficient at replying to enquiries and completed within reasonable timescales. Thank you

Farzana M
We were recommended to use Winstons solicitors and in particular Leasa Foster by the estate agent (Rhys Elvins) that we were buying our house from.

Sandra
I have been very happy with the service provided. I am now using for another property which I am hoping goes through quickly

Susan
Sidra was prompt and efficient. We felt looked after.

Mr Gumbs
I have been very satisfied with all the work completed by the conveyancing team at Winston's. The team is friendly and have worked hard to complete the sale of the property on our behalf, under quite difficult circumstances.

Elaine