Reply With QuoteI’ve never been a fan since the late 80’s endowment scams but my daughter’s recently used a local guy who was great £200 I think he charged and helped her no end
I suppose it depends on who you use
My lad's going to to be looking to buy a house in the not too distant future and there will be a loan (not gift) to assist him with the purchase.
He's been advised to speak to a mortgage broker as the loan complicates things.
However it's been suggested that a number of them now are simply using compare the market type tools to look for deals rather than working with the lenders to explain the situation and negotiate a good deal.
Anyone got any better info than the rumour mill and ideally suggestions of ones worth considering in the Birmingham area (if geography matters)?
I’ve never been a fan since the late 80’s endowment scams but my daughter’s recently used a local guy who was great £200 I think he charged and helped her no end
I suppose it depends on who you use
We had a slightly out of the ordinary situation when we last remortgaged and used a guy in Birmingham (remotely so never actually met). He sourced us a few options that definitely weren't available other than through a broker. Liam Thomas of LT Mortgages Ltd. Found him via Pistonheads where he is (last I looked) very active under the user name Sarnie.
As I recall, no fee was payable unless we went through with a deal so no harm in asking I guess. So based on our (singular) experience, recommended.
I always use London & Country - used for my previous 5+ mortgages (on multiple properties). Excellent service, and no more expensive than going direct.
Another vote for London and Country - have used them a few times and always been impressed with the service.
We’ve used brokers 4 times for house purchases. Takes the hard work out of it as they provide all the forms etc and chase the mortgage provider or yourself for info should it be needed. Ours also sorted our life insurance .
We've used london and country 5 times now. They are fee free, and whole market they take a lot of rhe form filling on for you I will continue to use them for sure.
Me too, been very happy with their service.
Thanks all - all very encouraging!
Never used a broker in the past as always found just as good, if not better deal through my own research. The intersphere makes that research very simple these days.
They are not free. Ultimately in some way customers pays to keep the brokers buildings rented and heated, their taxes, salaries and commissions paid.
Another vote for L&C from me too. I have used them many times. In the background I also run my own checks on the comparison sites to benchmark their numbers.
Any challenges I raise, L&C have comeback and provided clarity as to why the product I have seen would not work for me.
Regarding the loan of deposit, I understand this does cloud matters, but I good broker like L&C would be able to advise. At the end of the day, it a liability the mortgage provider has to consider.
I haven’t felt the need to cross over to a paid Broker. Although given the initial leg work/research required, I can see why an independent broker would ask for a fee for their time.
A lot of lenders will not like a loan for deposit. You could try the high street to see if they are happy as they will offer the best rates. If that’s a fail then a good broker will know if it’s possible and where.
Why tell them if it is a private matter between father and son? Although I am sure it would bust the Ts&Cs big time if they found out.Originally Posted by awright101
They will ask for a gift letter. If the father is happy to sign that but have a private arrangement then happy days but a unsecured loan might cause problems
Every penny has to be accounted for, its for money laundering, my in-laws gave my son 5k a few months ago when he moved and it was a bloody pain in the arse. The in-laws had to proven where the money came from, copies of bank accounts. My son had to declare every penny to the solicitor.
Yep, but I presume you could pretend to give your son the money while having a private informal loan arrangement in the background.
That way the money could be accounted for.
This 100%.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Maybe I am out of touch, but this does not sound right?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
It’s spot on. Some lenders will not ask for evidence and others proof. Solicitors will ask as they are bound by the same money laundering rules.
Sadly it is Chris…the hoops they all had to jump through were ridiculous. Even if he had kept stum about the gift it would have come out when they ask where all the funds come from, proof has to be shown. Its best to come clean rather than lie and backtrack
Yep but then i would have to prove where the money came from, it crazy i know but thats how it is.
Thanks D, I get that - thankfully not something I have ever had to be involved in.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I have to do that once every year with the bank in Spain. I have to provide evidence of all my pensions etc. It's a pain but if it does make money laundering more difficult then it's all for the common good.
We can't complain about ineffective policing if we moan about a 10 minute exercise to prove that we are legit.
I think they're a lot less valuable than they used to be as there's a lot more trnsparency and online information. However, weighing the risks (downside limited to a couple of hundred quid, upside could be thousands), I'd say its worth a look.
We used one 15yrs ago and it's the best financial decision we've made.
If any of you are on PH there is a guy called Sarnie who is well regarded for sorting mortgages out.
My parents signed a gift letter, and that was all that was required in my case. As it transpired, in the inbetween period I sold a number of watches that more than made up the “gift”, and I returned the then loaned amount of money my parents had transferred to my account before I’d even bought the property.
The problem with having it declared as a loan is that it will be taken into account in the amount deemed available to cover any mortgage payments; which could well restrict the amount a lender is willing to lend for the mortgage. If you accept that it’s a private arrangement, and the risks that comes with you might be able to structure your help a line different to benefit all.
It's just a matter of time...
Gifts of money need to be declared as a 'gift without reservation'.
Also needs declaring to avoid future accusations of mortgage fraud.
Was an IFA with a mortgage broking arm for over 30 years.
We sourced and the 'difficult' cases. Residency, Poor credit, LTV's etc.
Our fee was a fixed £350.
Best value for money ever...we saved our clients £1000's over the years and 95% came back to rebroker their deals.
Never found a deal on a comparison site that we couldn't 'blow into the weeds"
It would be a great shame for lenders to take a blinkered view where the contribution from “bank of Mum and Dad” takes the form of a soft loan from parents, grandparents or a family trust. There can be very good reasons for structuring the contribution in this way- not least where one of joint purchasers has the advantage of a much bigger sum than the other from family money to put towards the purchase deposit.
Sadly my experience with numerous banks over the years is that they will all too often shy away from anything non-standard.
I would avoid pretending the loan is a “gift” as that may well negate whatever estate planning led to the decision to make a loan in the first place. In my view such a loan should, in an ideal world, be properly documented and secured by a second charge over the property, with the mortgage lender naturally requiring a first charge.
I’d also be keen to have an introduction to a mortgage broker who can facilitate this sort of exercise as it’s needed for a family matter, and my go-to mortgage lady is now retired.
They have their plus sides. I like seeing if I can find better than them. If I cant then great ill use them
a loan for deposit has to be factored into the affordability. One lender actually promoted the fact that it could be a personal loan towards deposit recently; subject to affordability. This isn't usually acceptable but does give an indication that the market is slow and lender are keen to do business.
the gifted deposit has to be declared and as mentioned confirmed to be without reservation. Due to the regulations; banks, brokers and solicitors all have to be able to account for where the deposit funds are coming from; even to the extent of showing an accumulation of funds; which can be a real PITA.
If a case is vanilla enough you might be able to source and deal with it directly. Some lenders have different rates for direct clients but they are few and far between these days and rely heavily on the broker market for business.
As a broker I'd suggest we offer a little more by being able to advise across the whole market and source a lender that fits you if your circumstances are slightly unusual. Each lender has their own USPs and you might start with the wrong lender and find yourself 2 or 3 lenders down; with all of the time invested when a broker might have ruled those lenders out immediately due to a good understanding of the criteria and impact on you.
I did my own with Barclays recently and still had to go through several hours of BS even though it was basically a product switch (with complications due to their systems). Some lenders might not be able to actually allocate an adviser for a week or so, by which time the estate agents will be screaming for a survey/offer etc.
Horses for courses; good luck in sorting it out.
Last edited by westberks; 22nd November 2023 at 14:20.
I gifted a deposit to my eldest and had no issues with signing to that effect or evidencing the source of funds. I'm no fan of excess scrutiny but I understand why it's necessary.
I also wonder about the motives and morality of those who advocate either lying or being intentionally economical with the truth.
As for using a broker, I haven't done so on recent occasions but will consider it now based on the comments above.
A good ‘whole of market’ broker will typically have access to nearly 100 lenders, some of whom you may never have heard of. If each lender has several different products, there will potentially be a huge amount of options available depending on circumstances and situation etc. That’s where a broker will be better than a high street bank.
From experience, some will charge what can be described as a relatively small fee for all of their ongoing efforts to submit your application to a lender who will most likely offer more competitive interest rate than those on the high street. Even with said fee (£hundreds, not thousands,) the client will still be better off than going somewhere direct as a broker will have access to better “mortgage products”.
The majority of earnings for a broker will be paid to them by the lender, which will only be a very small percentage (less than 1% for instance) of the overall loan amount.
Regarding loan gifting, a good broker as well as a conveyancing solicitor should be able to advise on that. Traceability of funds is essentially due to the amount of money laundering that happens nowadays so lenders need to be certain that everything is legitimate, hence the hoop jumping and scrutiny.
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