Property Purchase Bank Account

[sam1942]

Our three families are each lucky enough to have about £70k in savings in three different banks. With interest rates being low we are considering putting a lot of that money together into a buy to let property in an area where there's lots of students who are looking for a house share so we would get regular income.

If we buy a property we wouldn't want to gather £180k into one bank account for the purchase. Apart from which one of us would hold that 'master' account, if that one bank failed the pooled money would be well in excess of the government guarantee of £85k for bank failure.

Does the money for a property purchase in England have to be from one bank account, say by bank transfer or by a cheque, to the solicitor/conveyancer handling the purchase or could each of us pay a third of the price separately to that solicitor/conveyancer?

If the answer is that each of us could pay separately do we have to make those payments on the same day or can they be paid within a period of a few days prior to the the solicitor/conveyancer who will then make the purchase payment through the seller's solicitor?

Thanks

[ladybirder]

You agree a completion date on exchange of contracts and your solicitor will call for your money probably the day before completion and you must all make sure it is there on time. Doesn't matter how many accounts it's come from. Nothing to stop you sending it earlier if you wish.

[factor-fiction]

If you have £180000 in a major UK bank for a few days I can't see it going bust and you losing the money. The government wouldn't let it happen.
But I can't see any problem with keeping separate accounts and paying 3 separate bankers drafts/transfers. The solicitor will advise you of the timings at the time

[sam1942]

Many thanks ladybirder and factor30 that has answered my questions.
I do agree with you factor30 that a bank going bust is unlikely but after what happened a few years back, you never know!

[factor-fiction]

No-one lost any money from Northern Rock, if that's what you are referring to.
But if you want peace of mind you could open a joint account- I recall you each get protection up to the limit.
However as we said it's easier just to pay from 3 separate accounts

[ladybirder]

Yes, and nobody can run off with it all then:-)

[sam1942]

Thanks factor30 for that suggestion about a joint account That could well be the solution if what you say is correct that each of us could have that protection. I'll check that out.
As ladybirder has commented a joint account would give us that added security but I guess only if it is arranged that all parties have to sign for any withdrawal.
Thanks again to both of you for your advice.