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Staged mortgage income?

11 replies

deityone · 05/05/2021 14:04

Anyone have knowledge of what classes as UK mortgage fraud? I have relatives who are in the process of buying a house at around £850k. They both earn a good salary as far as I know. They have equity in their house and savings amounting to no more than £150 k. One of them owns his own business and received a government backed covid loan for small businesses. I think £100k. The purpose of this loan was to prop up the business and invest during this economic downturn. However, he took the money out to boost his income when applying for a mortgage. I don’t know whether he intends to invest the money in the house or pay it back into the business. It just seems very wrong to me and looks like he fraudulently staging his income to increase the mortgage offered. They would not be able to afford an £850k house without this. Can anyone clarify?

OP posts:
PinglePongle · 05/05/2021 14:07

Who cares so long as they can afford the monthly payments?

ComtesseDeSpair · 05/05/2021 15:53

Self employed people applying for a mortgage typically need to show two - three years worth of certified accounts. The lender will also ask to see the origin of funds: they can’t simply transfer sums of money from a business bank account to their personal one and call it income without it being questioned. A lender is going to pick up very quickly on any anomalies.

As PinglePongle says, unless you are genuinely concerned for your relative getting into trouble - either legal or financial - this doesn’t seem to have anything to do with you, particularly as it’s unlikely you know their full financial position.

deityone · 05/05/2021 16:10

'they can’t simply transfer sums of money from a business bank account to their personal one and call it income without it being questioned'

This is exactly what he did. Whether or not you think it's got anything to do with me is really not to the point. My question is simply whether he's committed mortgage fraud.

OP posts:
ComtesseDeSpair · 05/05/2021 16:12

If he’s transferred sums of money from a business bank account to a personal one then the lender will question it. They can then decide whether they consider it fraud.

deityone · 05/05/2021 16:19

Thank you.

Previously, he got into over £20k of debt gambling which his parents paid off entirely. I'm just worried it's another poor financial decision which will affect his family.

OP posts:
deityone · 07/05/2021 11:04

Any mortgage advisors around who may know more?

OP posts:
katmarie · 07/05/2021 11:34

I'm not a mortgage advisor, but I do manage the accounts for a small business, and took a look at the covid loans in that context to see if it was something our busines could use. I've also bought and sold a couple of houses.

If he is intending to use that money to buy a house or put down a deposit, then he will need to prove where it came from, when the solicitors do their mandatory money laundering checks. The lender will also do checks about his income, credit history, and any proposed deposit amount. He will also have had to provide detailed business financial records and information to get the covid loan in the first place.

Ultimately, however, the government loan schemes for covid recovery are not restricted in what you can use the funds for as far as I can tell, there are no checks on where you move or spend the money, save for the normal business and tax restrictions, and money laundering rules that apply about moving money out of a business. And they are meant to prop up and reinvigorate businesses who have experienced a covid downturn.

He might well argue that had it not been for covid, his income would have been higher, so the loan is being used to supplement his income. He might also be intending to use the property as a business premises, in which case spending business money on it is not unreasonable. He might be exploiting a loop hole to gain a higher mortgage. Unless you know the ins and outs of his business accounts information, income and savings in detail, and his dealings with his lender and solicitor, then you can't possibly know the facts.

user1471528245 · 07/05/2021 11:35

It depends, if he is a limited company director he could have taken it as dividends from profit generated or he could have taken this a loan from his own company, or he could be buying the property as a company asset, all perfectly legitimate, if he is self employed any money he receives will be his and seen as earnings regardless of where it came from

haveaday · 15/05/2021 19:55

I know of at least three people that have taken Covid loans and grants and bought property with them. It is what it is.

sst1234 · 16/05/2021 12:51

@haveaday

I know of at least three people that have taken Covid loans and grants and bought property with them. It is what it is.
Nice attitude. I hope you don’t complain about any aspects of public life in that case, since you don’t seem to care about how taxpayers cash is spent.
haveaday · 16/05/2021 13:16

@sst1234 as a PP said there is no restrictions on what the money can be spent on and no one checking to see where it's gone. The loans are repayable with interest and are from banks not government so I dunno why you're mad at me.

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