Does a gift letter also require seeing a solicitor

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Hi i have been gifted 10,000 towards the deposit on a house from my mother. I understand the need to submit a gift letter but will the person giving the gift also need to go to a solicitor to make a declaration ? Mortgage with Ulster bank, my broker is saying they will eventually ask for the gifter to do this. Has anyone else had any experience of this with Ulster Bank.?
 
I know nothing about this, but why on earth are you getting a mortgage from Ulster Bank?
Your mortgage will be sold to permanent tsb and you will be stuck on high rates and be forced to switch which is a lot of trouble and expense.
If you want to pay high rates, go straight to ptsb and, at least, get cash back.

Brendan
 
I got a mortgage with UB in 2018.

In my case, my parents gave me a bridging loan.

However, I think I recall that it was described as a gift to us.

Yes, UB did insist on my parents getting legal advice.

A solicitor telling my father how CAT works for half an hour cost me 150+ VAT = 184.
 
You should not need to visit a solicitor. All most banks require is a letter from the person giving the money stating that it is a gift and not repayable. Your broker will know what’s required for UB
 
I have recent experience of this ( pre Covid) I can't remember which bank but the gift letter was not sufficient and I had to sign a standard declaration form that the bank provided and the solicitor had to witness me signing it. However, she could witness the signing over facetime and I posted the original to her.

Check with the bank, and dont leave it to the last minute, like we did !
 
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As can be seen from the variety of replies above, different banks have different procedures. Some require independent legal advice for the donor; some don't. Some only insist on independent legal advice for the donor above a certain gift size. Some look for it, but will be satisfied if the donor declares that they were advised to get independent legal advice and declined it. I haven't had an Ulster Bank mortgage application with gift across my desk for quite some time and I can't remember what their rules are. Your broker seems to be clear on which one applies here.
 
Asking for a gift letter in the first place is obtrusive enough although I can (just about) accept there's a possible good reason for it. Insisting on independent legal advice is ridiculous - particularly if the donor signs a declaration that they've been advised to do so and have declined. Does the Central Bank not have the power to stop this unnecessary expense being foisted on purchasers and their families?
 
Brendan Burgess said:
I know nothing about this, but why on earth are you getting a mortgage from Ulster Bank?
Your mortgage will be sold to permanent tsb and you will be stuck on high rates and be forced to switch which is a lot of trouble and expense.
If you want to pay high rates, go straight to ptsb and, at least, get cash back.

Brendan
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Hi Brendan, I hope you are doing well? May I enquire why you don't recommend PTSB for a mortgage. We are a self build, gifted site, self employed long standing business. PTSB seem to be the only one who will give us the amount we need. What would you advise? Thanks
 
Just saying said:
Hi Brendan, I hope you are doing well? May I enquire why you don't recommend PTSB for a mortgage. We are a self build, gifted site, self employed long standing business. PTSB seem to be the only one who will give us the amount we need. What would you advise? Thanks
Click to expand...
Permanent TSB are not popular on this forum because their good rates are only available to new customers, or they offer new customers high rate and a large amount of cashback. But, in either case, at the end of the fixed rate you will only be eligible for their high rates. You may say that you will just switch to another lender at that time but most people don't because they forget or they are too busy or their financial situation has deteriorated and another lender will not take them.

So if possible go with a lender that has low rates and offers at most a small amount of cashback. The lenders to focus on are AIB, Avant, Finance Ireland (their long-term fixed rates) and Haven.
 
The lender may want to ensure that the third party does not have any right to the property, so declaration would be required. This may be witnessed by another person or solicitor (this will depend). Don't leave this til the last minute as could hold things up.
 
Baby boomer said:
Asking for a gift letter in the first place is obtrusive enough although I can (just about) accept there's a possible good reason for it. Insisting on independent legal advice is ridiculous - particularly if the donor signs a declaration that they've been advised to do so and have declined. Does the Central Bank not have the power to stop this unnecessary expense being foisted on purchasers and their families?
Click to expand...

The gift letter is required because otherwise the money is a loan and therefore has to be paid back. This will impact on the amount that they can borrow.

A solicitor has to be engaged anyway for probate. I am not sure if there would be much, if any additional cost, by getting this letter witnessed if the same solicitor is used for probate.


Steven
www.bluewaterfp.ie
 
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