NatWest mortgages are available to over 18s. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
What is a gifted deposit?
When you take out a mortgage, you'll need to place a mortgage deposit. This is an amount of money you pay upfront towards the cost of the property.
A gifted deposit means someone else, often a family member, provides the funds for some, or all of, your mortgage deposit.
How does a gifted deposit work?
As the name suggests, a gifted house deposit is a gift. This means the person giving the money doesn’t expect repayment.
When you receive a gifted deposit, make sure you can prove the transaction is legal. This is often very easy to do – especially if it’s a mortgage deposit gift from your parents or a friend.
All you need to do is:
- 02
Declare your gifted deposit. When putting down your mortgage deposit, you need to declare how much of it was a gift. You can do this by handing in a gifted deposit letter to your lender.
- 03
Provide any extra details. Your lender might require further information to confirm your gifted deposit. For example, you might be asked to provide:
- To confirm the identification of your donor – for example, your parents.
- Bank statements. To help confirm where the funds came from. Lenders may also need to perform anti-money-laundering checks.
- 04
If your gifted deposit is accepted, you can then go through the usual mortgage application process.
Why do I need a gifted deposit letter?
If part or all of your house deposit has been gifted, a mortgage lender may ask for proof that it’s a gift. A gifted deposit letter shows that you’re not expected to pay the amount back. This is sometimes referred to as a 'gifted deposit declaration'.
A gifted deposit letter is signed by the gifting party or parties. Your conveyancer or lender can help ensure the letter has everything it needs to support your mortgage application.
What is NatWest's gifted deposit policy?
At NatWest, we currently don't have maximum gifted deposit limits. This means that a gifted deposit can be used to cover any percentage of the total deposit within a property purchase.
Looking to take out a NatWest mortgage with a gifted deposit? We require a confirmation letter or email (no signature required) from the gifting party. This should confirm whether the gift is either non-repayable or repayable.
If repayable, the details of the repayment should be outlined in the letter. This will then be included in affordability calculations. This is how we decide how likely you are to be able to afford mortgage repayments.
Our first time buyer guide
Getting on the housing ladder can be a daunting prospect. Our first time buyer guide is here with some useful information, tips and things to consider.
More tips on saving for your deposit
Saving for a deposit can be difficult. There's no silver-bullet, but there are things you can do to make the process easier.
NatWest are now offering 91-95% LTV mortgages
With our range of 95% mortgages, you could buy your new home with just a 5% deposit with NatWest.
Exclusions & eligibility criteria apply.