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Original poster

Gifted deposits

38 replies

Amichelle84 · 01/07/2022 20:58

After a year of searching we've found a property we love that is in budget and have made an offer.

We are very lucky and our deposit (5%) is being gifted by partners parents.

The estate agent has asked us to provide some info including proof of deposit in way of a bank statement which FIL is reluctant to give.
The last thing I want is to not be taken seriously because of this, does anyone know a way round this or anything I can say to FIL to reassure him? We can obviously block out any of his personal details - I don't really see the problem.

OP posts:
LidlCinnamonBun · 01/07/2022 22:41

We had a gifted deposit from my parents. We had to prove where it had been for six months.

redwaterbottle · 01/07/2022 22:45

We had a gifted deposit years ago. Estate agent didn't ask to see it but our solicitor want to see 12 months of FIL's bank statements. This was only told to us as we were signing contracts. Fil refused (old school private man) and solicitor was happy with Fil providing proof of the transaction to us only.

WoolyMammoth55 · 01/07/2022 22:55

OP, in posts above you've got people describing 2 different things:

  1. EA wants proof of funds, i.e. a bank statement showing deposit is there, and probably also your AIP from mortgage co. This is to prove to the vendor that you are a serious buyer, not a time-waster.

  2. Solicitor needs to do due diligence on funds, i.e. where they originate from, to comply with anti-money-laundering regulations. AFAIK these checks are usually triggered above a certain figure.

Your FIL may or may not have to do the disclosure for solicitors (e.g. we bought with £200K cash in 2019 and didn't have to do them) but the EA is likely to hold it against you if you don't prove funds to them.

So I think, for now, FIL simply transferring you the "gift" so that you can show a statement to the EA is all that's required.

Cross the in-depth AML requirements bridge if and when you need to!

Best of luck.

Original poster
Amichelle84 · 02/07/2022 07:04

abw94 · 01/07/2022 22:37

I worked in estate agency from 2012-2015 and back then you would always have to prove you had the deposit so it's not a 'new thing'.

They have to do their due diligence for their vendor. Think of it this way, you're using an agent to sell your house and you have an acceptable offer, wouldn't it be standard the EA checks the potential buyers can actually buy the house? Imagine if they didn't? You could then go on to buy your new home, have a chain then it collapse as your buyers actually can't afford it. What a waste of time & money and who would be to blame? That's right, the estate agent as they didn't check out their buyer has got a DIP and the deposit to make it up to purchase price.

What do you think an estate agent is paid for?

You may have misread my post, I totally get why they are asking for it - I was looking for advice on how to make my FIL understand that or anything else I could give them.

Definitely not discrediting why the EA is asking for it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Amichelle84 · 02/07/2022 07:09

Yes we do have a DIP.

Im not being nasty towards him, it's perfectly fair to call him awkward despite giving us this money.

What's the point of giving it to us if not providing a bank statement to show the money exists stops us from buying a house which they are so desperate for us to do.

OP posts:
Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 02/07/2022 07:13

He does realise when the solicitors do money laundering checks, they need full transparency, doesn't he? He can't just transfer it and not show where it's come from in terms of from him. My family gifted money and had to show the exact accounts it was from and how it had been accumulated. If he offers the deposit he needs to realise that checks need to be done.

Twiglets1 · 02/07/2022 09:02

I gifted money to my daughter and had to show her solicitor where I got the money from. I got it from selling a property so I didn’t have to show my bank statements only the completion statement.
Your father in law may not need to show his bank statements but he will need to show where the gift money is coming from.

BlueMongoose · 02/07/2022 12:15

Would the HS accept the solicitor's word, if he'd show it to them in confidence? Eventually he'll have to, because money laundering, and everything being what it is.

SaltandPepper22 · 02/07/2022 20:34

My DF gave us money last year. He is opposite to your FIL in that he likes to go over and above to make sure the paperwork side of things is done to the letter so he submitted his redundancy statement and two years worth of tax returns to our solicitor to prove that the money gave from voluntary redundancy in 2019.

Is the money definitely reputable? I’m struggling to understand why your FIL is so reluctant to submit something similar

Haribosweets · 03/07/2022 20:48

I had this with my DF last year. All the houses we had offer accepted they would not take off market until estate agents saw proof of funds. My DF refused saying it was against the law and they had to trust him he had the money. He refused to transfer to me, wouldn't let me take a photocopy etc. It was extremely stressful. Must be an older person thing as my DF still thinks its still about 1980 and rules are still the same as back then!

Original poster
Amichelle84 · 04/07/2022 11:16

He transferred the money to us just in time for best and finals.

OP posts:
Original poster
Amichelle84 · 04/07/2022 11:17

He understands and knew he'd have to do forms etc for the solicitor, I really don't know why the EA was an issue but all sorted now.

OP posts:
Kite22 · 04/07/2022 17:44

That's great news.

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