Gifted Deposits

Not all lenders offer this option, most lenders will only accept the gifted deposit from a close family member.

How it works

For a lender to accept the gifted deposit, the deposit must be a gift, as a loan would count against affordability, generally the person giving the gift needs to sign a letter confirming the gift and that it is not repayable.

Gifted deposits can also work where a relative is prepared to sell their property to a family member under the market value.

Example

For example, say a father has a property worth £150,000 and he is prepared to sell it to his son for £130,000, so long as the property is valued by the lender at £150,000 then this has created £20,000 deposit/equity in the property, and there’s no need for his son to put in a deposit of his own.

Government Schemes

There are a range of government schemes available to help people purchase houses.