Legal Q&A: my parents are giving me a house deposit, but will I be able to get a mortgage?

How will a lender decide whether to lend to me and how much to lend?
Merrily Harpur
Fiona McNulty4 June 2018

Question: My parents are planning to give me some money for a deposit so I can get a mortgage and buy a house. A couple of my friends have had their applications turned down. I know nothing at all about mortgages. How will a lender decide whether to lend to me and how much to lend?

Answer: To be offered a mortgage, you will need to satisfy the criteria of the lender to whom you make your mortgage application.

Lenders have different lending criteria but in general, they look at affordability to assess whether you are a suitable borrower and, if you are, to determine the amount they will lend you.

Your lender will take into account your employment status, income, outgoings, debt and credit score.

The amount of your deposit will also be taken into account.

As your parents are gifting you the deposit you must disclose this fact to your lender, who will require written confirmation from them that the money is indeed being gifted to you.

You should ensure that you do not fall into debt and always take care to pay your bills on time. A missed monthly credit card payment could affect your credit score. Do not exceed any overdraft limit that you may have.

You check your credit score using a credit reference agency.

Consider getting a mortgage agreement in principle, which is basically a good indication that the lender is likely to lend to you, although it does not guarantee you a mortgage offer.

These answers can only be a very brief commentary on the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor.

If you have a question for Fiona McNulty, please email legalsolutions@standard.co.uk or write to Legal Solutions, Homes & Property, London Evening Standard, 2 Derry Street, W8 5EE.

We regret that questions cannot be answered individually, but we will try to feature them here. Fiona McNulty is a solicitor specialising in residential property.

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