Anyone had to 'proof' their Betfair income to a financial institution?

[jamesg46]

It might be worth looking into Springboard mortgages, instead of gifting the money it will go into a savings account for 5 years and it pays around 2.5% interest. After 5 years if there is no default you can choose what to do with the initial amount and interest... either take it back or gift it on to your kids.

[spreadbetting]

It might be worth looking into Springboard mortgages, instead of gifting the money it will go into a savings account for 5 years and it pays around 2.5% interest. After 5 years if there is no default you can choose what to do with the initial amount and interest... either take it back or gift it on to your kids.

I'd think the deposit will be too big a percentage of the LTV for a springboard mortgage.

[ShaunWhite]

Only be used as a deposit

Can't imagine there'll be any problem with that, especially if you pay it direct from an account that's been well funded for years, people are allowed to have a few quid floating about aren't they? Transferring it to the kids account just for them to write the cheque seems like it could only raise unneccessary questions.

[firlandsfarm]

Buy the property for them . They then pay you per month under contract. That's what I did with my seven.

Have you considered buying it yourself on the basis as a buy to let. They move in on a reduced rent, save themselves in the meantime and gain some valuable credit worthiness as good tenants.

Further down the line they move out, buy you out or take over the mortgage. Things are a lot easier if you have records to prove you are a low risk prospect.

Buying the house yourself will bring future CGT problems (assuming you already own your principle residence). The CGT allowance will probably be peanuts compared to increased value when the house is sold (and that includes sold to them). Trying to sell for below market value may get past HMRC but they are not silly and look for sale values on tax returns where the buy/sell ratio does not equate with market prices (and they have access to Land Registry records). Also if you buy as a BTL then you will have to raise the mortgage and it will come under the lender's BTL T&C's which may be another problem as the 'rent' would need to cover the mortgage payments by about 125%, maybe more. That may not be a problem as you suggest the LTV is below 50% but the rent would have to be declared both to the lender and dear old HMRC again with annual accounts and you would be liable to income tax on any profit. Yes there are ways to overcome these but it's getting messy!

If your thinking far enough ahead gift them it now while they are still looking for a house so it's in a saving account in their name, 6 -12 mths down the line they could pass it as there own money saved up (esp if it's moved to another savings account also in their name after a few months).

Some lenders don't look favorably on 'gifted' money for deposits around the time of application as they see the buyers as still not having any of their 'own' money invested so still consider them slightly riskier.

Dallas makes good points, they make me wonder if he was a Personal Financial Adviser in a previous life! The only extra I would add is if the amount is 'quite a bit' think of splitting it over a few banks to spread your eggs but still move it as suggested so not too many because you will have nobody to switch to!

[Atho55]

You need to scatter some forward thinking real life scenarios into the mix and without being a prophet of doom it could be something like this.

1.In 10yrs time time you have a stroke and are unable to trade any more. Luckily you have a BTL property that will provide you with enough income for the future to pay for your healthcare. (Firlands is an expert on this)

2. You gift to your offspring and all goes well. You have a stroke, have to sell up and downsize as not enough £ to fund healthcare. Offspring want to put you in a care home but not pay to help.

3. You gift to your offspring. They get in with a bad bunch and marry a waster who you hate and they hate you more. Unforseen tragedy and waster rolls off into sunset giving you the finger with your hard earnt never to be seen again.

[jimibt]

You need to scatter some forward thinking real life scenarios into the mix and without being a prophet of doom it could be something like this.

1.In 10yrs time time you have a stroke and are unable to trade any more. Luckily you have a BTL property that will provide you with enough income for the future to pay for your healthcare. (Firlands is an expert on this)

2. You gift to your offspring and all goes well. You have a stroke, have to sell up and downsize as not enough £ to fund healthcare. Offspring want to put you in a care home but not pay to help.

3. You gift to your offspring. They get in with a bad bunch and marry a waster who you hate and they hate you more. Unforseen tragedy and waster rolls off into sunset giving you the finger with your hard earnt never to be seen again.

my god Mr Dickens, what a bleak trip it is to olde London town on this day, or as you would have said: “The universe makes rather an indifferent parent, I'm afraid.”

[spreadbetting]

Thanks, firlsands, certainly don't want to become their landlord along with all the CGT ,and dreaded HMRC, etc plus they wouldn't want me being their landlord either

At the end of the day they'll just be getting some of their inheritance a bit earlier to get a leg on the ladder. If they spunk it , so be it. I'd rather it was spent on a house than my healthcare, gambling for a living we're assessing probabilities every day so on balance I'd be happy with the choice i made and if it goes tits up it wouldn't be the first bet to go astray.

From bits I've been reading it really shouldn't be a problem and little more than a letter to confirm the money is a non returnable gift etc and maybe letter from BF/Bank to confirm funds have come from Betfair and not some crack house.

[Derek27]

You need to scatter some forward thinking real life scenarios into the mix and without being a prophet of doom [ ] it could be something like this.

1.In 10yrs time time you have a stroke and are unable to trade any more. Luckily you have a BTL property that will provide you with enough income for the future to pay for your healthcare. (Firlands is an expert on this)

2. You gift to your offspring and all goes well. You have a stroke, have to sell up and downsize as not enough £ to fund healthcare. Offspring want to put you in a care home but not pay to help.

3. You gift to your offspring. They get in with a bad bunch and marry a waster who you hate and they hate you more. Unforseen tragedy and waster rolls off into sunset giving you the finger with your hard earnt never to be seen again.

You left out scenario 4, the old murder for access to inheritance.

[Jukebox]

You left out scenario 4, the old murder for access to inheritance.

Carry on seeing your mates without social distancing attend a few illegal raves and make sure you kiss your parents and grandma at every opportunity.

[Atho55]

The seed has been sown....

[BeastofBrine]

Spreadbetting, if you're just gifting them the money, it's very unlikely that a bank will want to do any checks on you.

I was a mortgage broker/financial adviser until last year and never had any problems arise with the gifting process in respect of this issue (though I expect that rules will tighten further in the future).

[spreadbetting]

Spreadbetting, if you're just gifting them the money, it's very unlikely that a bank will want to do any checks on you.

I was a mortgage broker/financial adviser until last year and never had any problems arise with the gifting process in respect of this issue (though I expect that rules will tighten further in the future).

Thanks, think I was overthinking it a bit, guess earning a living in the grey economy you always want to keep your head under the radar.

[LinusP]

Thanks, firlsands, certainly don't want to become their landlord along with all the CGT ,and dreaded HMRC, etc plus they wouldn't want me being their landlord either

At the end of the day they'll just be getting some of their inheritance a bit earlier to get a leg on the ladder. If they spunk it , so be it. I'd rather it was spent on a house than my healthcare, gambling for a living we're assessing probabilities every day so on balance I'd be happy with the choice i made and if it goes tits up it wouldn't be the first bet to go astray.

From bits I've been reading it really shouldn't be a problem and little more than a letter to confirm the money is a non returnable gift etc and maybe letter from BF/Bank to confirm funds have come from Betfair and not some crack house.

As mentioned strongly recommend not mentioning betfair, layer it through something else like an investment account and say it’s savings, in the current market they may just say no if you mention betfair.

[BFDon]

I bought a house 2 years ago. I'd been full time on BF for 10 years with no 'income'. My share of the purchase was to come from savings amassed from BF winnings and my partner's mostly from a mortgage. The first broker we spoke to wanted to be clever and provide as little detail as possible about my 'job' and where the money for the deposit had come from. That seemed optimistic given I had numerous 4 figure transactions on my statements which I needed to send to them and one of the questions from the solicitor is to provide details of the source of the deposit. On top of that because I had no 'income' I was seen as a dependent so it reduced the amount my partner could borrow.

The next broker couldn't have been better, we were open about everything, I provided P+L statements and she secured a mortgage (based on my partner's income) with a highstreet lender at no higher rate. I think she also managed to use the dividends which I was getting from savings to boost the amount we could borrow. Had I approached them directly it probably would have been a different story.

But I have been consistently profitable on BF so all the transactions on my statements were money coming in and with the large deposit the LTV was small so low risk to the bank.

Some banks might take issue with a gift from gambling winnings (could argue you might want it back when you start losing) but there's plenty out there that wont. I'd speak to a broker anyway, they were worth every penny to us (pm if you want the online firm we used)

[firlandsfarm]

From bits I've been reading it really shouldn't be a problem and little more than a letter to confirm the money is a non returnable gift etc and maybe letter from BF/Bank to confirm funds have come from Betfair and not some crack house.

You certainly should have a letter confirming it is a gift (remember that it may need to be disclosed to HMRC as a gift in lifetime (gift inter vivos) depending on amount).

As mentioned strongly recommend not mentioning betfair, layer it through something else like an investment account and say it’s savings, in the current market they may just say no if you mention betfair.

And while I see the need to be open and frank about it I agree with LinusP I wouldn't volunteer it … half those working for solicitors/banks don't understand the difference between betting and gambling and still think it's a mugs game and the other half will see you as a money launderer for sure! I applied for a BTL mortgage years ago and they wanted to see copies of my last 3 months bank statements and despite the payments to/from bookies and Betfair showed a cash flow profit they turned me down because I was "clearly addicted to gambling"!