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Original poster

Gifted deposit - what happens if parent won't provide bank statements?

28 replies

Oddsocks3 · 22/07/2024 21:45

Panicking a bit here.

My dad gifted me some money (£45,000 in 2022 and a further £15,000 in Jan this year) which I will be using towards my house purchase. As a side note, we've had a strained relationship my entire life and I think he only gave me the money out of guilt as he wasn't a part of my life and didn't support me financially growing up.

I always knew that he'd be expected to sign a gifted deposit form, which (I think) he'd be happy to do. However, I don't think he'd be happy providing bank statements which apparently most solicitors ask for. I don't think he'd want people to know how much money he has. I'm now at the beginning of the conveyancing process and worrying slightly about what the solicitor is going to ask for in case he's awkward about it.

My mum has told me it will be fine and there will be a way around it, but looking online I don't think there will be as they have to complete these checks. I've worked myself into a frenzy over this now as I really think he will be awkward about it and I'll probably lose my house purchase over it. I haven't asked him yet as I want to see what exactly the solicitor asks for.

What happens in these situations? Does it basically mean I can't buy any property if he won't do these things?

OP posts:
anon2022anon · 22/07/2024 21:48

He doesn't have to provide it to you- he can do it straight to your solicitor.

Original poster
Oddsocks3 · 22/07/2024 21:52

@anon2022anon I thought that but tbh, I don't think that would make a difference.

OP posts:
Hairyfairy01 · 22/07/2024 22:01

Similar story with my dad, plus he had no form of acceptable ID. In the end I had to get FIL to pay the 'deposit' and do all the ID / gift / bank statements thing and then I paid him back. We would have been buggered without his help unfortunately. That was 12 years ago mind, perhaps things have changed? Have you talked it over with your solicitor?

Contraryjane · 22/07/2024 22:04

I had to show that I had gifted a deposit to a family member. On the bank statement I just blanked out all the other transactions.

Bluskyy · 22/07/2024 22:05

In the middle of this now with my Dad. He's had to sign two gift letters one for solicitors and one for bank. Do an ID check and provide six months bank statements there is no way around it, other than what previous s poster suggests getting someone to pay it and your DF pay them.

I did ask if they would accept his company account they said no (they only do this if it's the buyers company apparently). Tbh I thought my Dad wouldn't do it, he's had a couple of moans but he's done it.

OneCyanHiker · 22/07/2024 22:05

Have you asked your solicitor? The first solicitor we had only asked for three months of statements and a gifted deposit letter so you might be ok. BUT it felt a bit dodgy tbh and should have been our first red flag. She was hopeless. When we switched, the new solicitor asked for a lot more information. We had to give FIL’s bank statements and produce statements from years ago to prove our deposit came from own savings when our income was higher before

SummerInSun · 22/07/2024 22:12

They have to be sure there is no money laundering going on, that your father's money has come from legitimate sources. As PP have said, he can give the docs straight to your solicitor and you don't see them, and he can probably black out much of the detail of the transactions (though you'd need to check that with your solicitor). Hopefully your father will be an adult about this...

Original poster
Oddsocks3 · 22/07/2024 22:13

I haven't spoken to my solicitor about it yet as I didn't want to make her suspicious. It's definitely legitimate funds as he's had his own business for over 30 years. He's just very very awkward at times and can also be controlling when he feels like it.

We're not speaking properly at the moment, after a heated discussion where some not so nice words were exchanged a few months ago.

I guess all I can do is ask him and explain I won't be able to buy a property/use the money unless he does it. My family thinks he will do it as he wouldn't have given me the money otherwise but I'm not so sure.

OP posts:
Bluskyy · 22/07/2024 22:16

I didn't even give my Dad the heads up. I just gave the solicitors his details ( I told him that I'd done this) and let them deal with him. So I'm not copied @ in on any of thier comms.

Original poster
Oddsocks3 · 22/07/2024 22:24

@Bluskyy did your solicitor contact him via email or telephone?

I don't have his email address but have put his phone number on the form they've sent to me. I might ask my solicitor if she can just speak with him as it might be better coming from her. I'll still have to send the gifted letter to him from my mortgage advisor though.

OP posts:
Agapornis · 22/07/2024 22:54

Is the money already in your own account? My (fairly shit, very slow) solicitor didn't ask for any evidence, probably because I already had the money. My parents signed a gift letter, but they didn't even ask for that! The bank didn't either, just wanted several months of payslips and bank statements.

Mind you, my parents are abroad and use a euro bank account - probably another complication.

Original poster
Oddsocks3 · 22/07/2024 22:59

@Agapornis yes it's already in my account and has been for a while. He gifted me 45k between May-June 2022 and then a further 15k in January of this year.

I wonder if they will expect him to provide 2 years worth of bank statements as it's been in there so long?

OP posts:
ChilliSquib · 22/07/2024 23:11

What a difficult situation. I think I'd give it back to him quite honestly. I wouldn't want to buy a home with money that was provided by someone who I wasn't speaking to. It would make me feel so uncomfortable.

Original poster
Oddsocks3 · 22/07/2024 23:18

@ChilliSquib I will never get on the property ladder and will be stuck renting for the rest of my life if I do that.

OP posts:
Agapornis · 23/07/2024 00:09

To clarify, they wanted my payslips and bank statements, not my parents'. I doubt they can make you produce someone else's bank statements.

2 years?! I'd honestly be surprised if the solicitor even asked about it. You got a monetary gift - and then decided yourself to use it towards a mortgage. Don't worry about it :)

sadabouti · 23/07/2024 06:54

If you have the money on account don't you just show your bank statement and say it is savings?

Boopbeepbeepboop · 23/07/2024 06:59

I didn't even know this was a thing. I had a substantial amount gifted for a house purchase and wasn't asked to prove when it came from, it was just shown on my bank statement.

OpizpuHeuvHiyo · 23/07/2024 07:13

The solicitor doesn't need to see the whole bank statement. Just proof that the money left his account and ended up in yours, and evidence that he has legitimate sources of income to allow him to make such gifts. The solicitor needs to have a paper trail to show that your dad isn't a drug dealer whose income comes in as cash only.

His bank should be able to provide a single transaction record for each transfer. Either his employer, or his company accounts if self-employed, should be able to provide proof of his income sufficient to demonstrate that he had the resources to give £60,000 if the gift was from his income, or other records will show if it was e.g. from an inheritance from his own parents.

The money laundering regulations are there to make it difficult for criminals to convert their ill-gotten gains into legitimate assets. Everyone is assumed by default to be trying to use the proceeds of crime, unless they can prove otherwise.

duckduckswimming · 23/07/2024 07:16

When my dad sent me money for my deposit, my bank sent me a letter confirming who had sent it to me. My solicitor was happy with that and a gifted deposit letter.

Quitelikeacatslife · 23/07/2024 07:18

If you've had it for over 6 months you can show it in your account though, so just savings to pay deposit. I thought the issue was if it was a new deposit?

drowninginsick · 23/07/2024 07:19

Oddsocks3 · 22/07/2024 22:13

I haven't spoken to my solicitor about it yet as I didn't want to make her suspicious. It's definitely legitimate funds as he's had his own business for over 30 years. He's just very very awkward at times and can also be controlling when he feels like it.

We're not speaking properly at the moment, after a heated discussion where some not so nice words were exchanged a few months ago.

I guess all I can do is ask him and explain I won't be able to buy a property/use the money unless he does it. My family thinks he will do it as he wouldn't have given me the money otherwise but I'm not so sure.

Is the business listed on companies house? Wonder if they would accept proof from there

capspxnfiifb · 23/07/2024 07:24

Conveyancing solicitor here.
Your dad will need to provide at least 3 months worth of bank statements, along with photo ID and proof of address. This is to comply with the SRA's anti money laundering requirements. If he refuses, we would not be allowed to accept the money. Our firm is regularly audited (the same as all firms) and if we haven't asked for proof of funds we can be struck off- even if the money is actually legitimate.

I would always ask for your dad's details and contact him directly. I would ask him to send me the details directly and wouldn't share them with you as it would be a breach of his data to do so.

capspxnfiifb · 23/07/2024 07:25

Funnily enough we don't require a gifted deposit letter (although your mortgage company will).

Berga · 23/07/2024 07:27

Quitelikeacatslife · 23/07/2024 07:18

If you've had it for over 6 months you can show it in your account though, so just savings to pay deposit. I thought the issue was if it was a new deposit?

Unfortunately not, this used to be the case, but now it's the source of any large amounts. I had a similar nightmare with my last purchase even though I wasn't using that money for my house deposit. @capspxnfiifb is obviously completely right. But don't lose hope yet! It's very stressful but you will find a way through. Fingers crossed your dad will relent.

dhxxx · 23/07/2024 11:57

Quitelikeacatslife · 23/07/2024 07:18

If you've had it for over 6 months you can show it in your account though, so just savings to pay deposit. I thought the issue was if it was a new deposit?

You'd still need to show how it was acquired. Through saving salary, a gift. Otherwise people laundering money would just sit on it for months 😅