Gifted Deposit: What information do I need? Your conveyancer will need a signed letter from the person gifting you they money confirming the amount they are gifting you, whether or not this is repayable (if it is the basis on which it will be repaid), their certified photo identification, and proof of address, and evidence for their source of funds (for example if this is savings from wages we will need to see three months’ worth of statements from the account/s that this money has been accumulated in overtime).
If the gifted deposit has already been given to you and is in your account then we do still need to see all of this documentation in respect of the gift.
Offer Ready is an exclusive service from Attwells Solicitors. This new approach to conveyancing allows home buyers to upfront some of the conveyancing work free of charge, however, you must instruct Attwells before you make an offer.
Whilst you browse for a home Attwells will:
- Verify your Identity for Attwells and an Estate Agent
- Understand and evidence your Deposit for Attwells and an Estate Agent
- Prove Funding for the purchase for Attwells and an Estate Agent
- Be ready to start the legal work immediately on sale agreed
This will save you on average over 4 weeks.
By having this legal work completed you will have a greater chance of making a successful offer and moving quickly. We will provide your Offer Ready Certificate to your Estate Agent all free of charge. The Offer Ready Certificate will demonstrate to that Estate Agent that you have met all the steps to be Offer Ready.
Many of the traditional solicitors will not entertain this method due to the up-front costs they occur. But Attwells believe it’s important to support first-time buyers. Therefore, we are willing to begin working on your conveyancing straight away at no extra cost.
Declaration of Ownership
There may be various reasons why co-owners choose to separate their shares in the property.
This may be for the simple reason that one co-owner is putting in more money than the other to the purchase of the property and wants to ensure that they receive those funds back in the event of a sale.
Alternatively, one party may be paying more in terms of mortgage and bills as ongoing costs and may therefore wish to state that they own a greater share in the property than the other party.
Living together
The relationship between the co-owners will often dictate how the equity is divided. For example, friends or business partners will likely want to specify their shares in the property so that they can ensure this is left to their own family members on their death.
In order to document these shares co-owners should enter into a Declaration of Ownership.
What is a Declaration of Ownership?
A Declaration of Ownership is a contract between co-owners that clearly sets out the parties’ intentions at the time of the purchase.
If a dispute ever arose in the future the Court would use the Declaration of Ownership as the starting point and there would need to be strong evidence to show that the position outlined had since been varied.
