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AIBU?

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Original poster

To put the property back on the market?

53 replies

Lobster2018 · 04/11/2021 07:13

We sold a property to a cash buyer 2 months ago and we've just been told this buyer won't start searches until his money has been cleared by the solicitors. He appears to be having trouble showing where the money has come from.

We have had an offer accepted on a house we want to buy with the hope of being in before February as we have a baby due. I don't want us to lose this house waiting around for our buyer to prove his funds especially when he's already had a fair amount of time to do so.

DP wants to give the buyer more time...I want to put the property back on the market and feel like we're being messed around.

Who is being reasonable here ?

OP posts:
hellcatspangle · 04/11/2021 09:32

Put it back on. He's had plenty of time to prove his funds.

Jarstastic · 04/11/2021 09:34

Why wouldn’t he start searches? He knows where his money came from. He knows if it’s legit and if so there wouldn’t be an issue. If he’s not willing to put his hand in his pocket for a few hundred he’s wasting your time.

I’d expect some last minute gazundering from someone like this.

Franklin12 · 04/11/2021 09:41

We had a potential 'cash' buyer for our last house. The EA was great and found out within 48 hours that what he actually meant was that he needed a mortgage but because it was 'him' he knew he would get it so it was the same as cash!! He just couldnt accept that his mortgage application might be turned down. He also had some difficulty in providing ID. We just moved on very very quickly. There are such time wasters around.

That and the family that wanted to bring 12 people to look around the house in one viewing. Apparently they ALL needed to come to view. It was a big house but I refused and said from a security point of view it would be impossible to manage.

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 04/11/2021 09:47

Give him a deadline to provide proof of funds and say it's going back on the market if not.

^^
I agree, and it should be a short deadline!

Noidlet · 04/11/2021 09:48

We had something similar when attempting to sell our flat a couple of years ago.

Buyer had an issue with proving where 5k of the deposit had come from. Apparently it had come from an extended family member's business in a developing country, unsure if gift or loan. The solicitors didn't want to forward that on to his potential mortgage lender as they knew it would cause issues. Stalled the whole process as they were trying to make the buyer magic up another 5k from somewhere else.
To be fair we had already been messed about by the potential buyer, low ball offers, slowness and some general odd behaviour. So this was the final straw and the property went back on the market. Was snapped up pretty quick after that. We also had a house that we didn't want to lose!

I would put the property back on the market, at the very least it might light a fire under the buyers.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 04/11/2021 10:13

Back on market unless he sorts it within 72 hours....

Theur response could tell you what you need to know.

Know of several sellers where buyers messed them around massively... With several of these buyers turned out they were messing around several buyers in tandem... Hmm

Wallywobbles · 04/11/2021 11:23

If he can't show where the money is from within an hour or two there's an issue. I've worked in the section of the bank susceptible to money laundering and it's not difficult for him to do. Unless it's dodgy.

crikeycrumbsblimey · 04/11/2021 11:55

“Cash buyers” often have the cash (or have borrowed enough to show it) but need a mortgage so they lie upfront and desperately try and get a mortgage in the background.

Might not be but sounds like one of those,

Sprig1 · 04/11/2021 12:02

Put it straight back on the market. I don't know how you have got 2 months down the line and this hasn't been resolved.

Original poster
Lobster2018 · 04/11/2021 13:17

Thank you everyone! I've read all your replies and read them all to DP, the property we are selling was our first bought so we're first time sellers!

We have spoken with our EA and our buyer has got until 3pm tomorrow to sort it out and if not it's going back on the market!

OP posts:
Loudestcat14 · 04/11/2021 13:29

Oh god, reading this brings me out in a rash. We had a cash liar buyer and they put us through hell because it turned out they didn't have the money sitting in their account but instead tied up in investments that needed to be drawn down. What should have taken 12 weeks – our vendor had already moved out, so there was no onward chain – took six months of utter stress. The only reason we held out was because they were paying over the odds for our property, we were buying our forever house and our vendor was prepared to wait. If you're not in a similar position, OP, I'd definitely re-market.

S2617 · 04/11/2021 13:57

Every single buyer should go through AML checks. That is the basic service any EA should be providing. If you had a cash buyer and they were genuine, the EA should have told you this BEFORE you accepted the offer.

It’s not for solicitors to only check, the first check is done by any competent estate agent.

Mumdiva99 · 05/11/2021 19:23

@Lobster2018 how did it go?

YoungGiftedPlump · 05/11/2021 19:26

@SirYawnsAlot

When we sold our grandparents house we agreed on a reduced offer because the Estate Agent told us it was a cash offer and the sale would be quick. 2 months later and still chasing, the EA said there was a delay because they were still trying to sort their mortgage out. Either the EA or had lied to get a quick sale or buyer to get a reduction, or both. It should take a couple of days to prove finances and a couple of weeks to transfer funds.
But not everyone knows

We are viewing a flat tomorrow
Might be a cash purchase- might have a mortgage.

Wont make up our minds until we agree a price and timescale.

SummerSazz · 05/11/2021 19:46

Proof of funds is easy but source less so.

However mine was done in a week with the solicitors - I provided the grant of probate, account statements for the bank this went to and followed all bank transfers through to the various accounts where the money had finally ended up 18 months later. It was a big pack of statements with colour coded highlighting showing the trail. I used to be an auditor though so that probably helped me present it in a way that didn't raise too many questions!

Original poster
Lobster2018 · 07/11/2021 23:16

[quote Mumdiva99]@Lobster2018 how did it go?[/quote]
Well...we are unsure what the waste agent is playing at, we told them we wanted it back on the market at 3pm Friday if the buyer hadn't sorted out source of funds and neither have happened! Estate agent seem to want this buyer. It's not back on tomorrow I think we'll looking for a new estate agent aswell at this rate.

OP posts:
Original poster
Lobster2018 · 07/11/2021 23:18

Haha amazing autocorrect 'waste' agent, obviously meant estate agent but waste agent seems more appropriate at the moment.

OP posts:
Mumdiva99 · 08/11/2021 09:39

Good luck with it all. Sounds really stressful.

DaisyNGO · 08/11/2021 09:43

@Chemenger

We’ve recently bought with cash from a variety of sources, including overseas earnings and had to jump through many hoops, showing evidence of every significant income and movement of money between accounts, before it was approved by our solicitor. We had to produce evidence of the money existing before we offered, I think, but not the sources. However, it was all done within a week of constant back and forth. Our solicitor seemed to be able to devote a fair bit of time to it and knew what she was doing, which really helped. We were also working to a tight timescale of 6 weeks between offer and completion (Scotland) so she had to keep things moving.
This worries me as well

We've been moving loads of money around online because we go after every penny of interest.

How do we "prove" that? Will bank statements do?

DaisyNGO · 08/11/2021 09:44

OP it sounds like the buyer is falling foul of OTT checks which might happen to your next buyer.

Peridot1 · 08/11/2021 09:52

We had similar last year. Our house was being bought by a company and they couldn’t prove where the money came from. We ended up going back on the market. Wasted a couple of months like you.

So frustrating.

Loudestcat14 · 08/11/2021 09:52

Lobster2018 If the EA isn't carrying out your instructions, you might be able to terminate for breach of contract. I'd run a mile from this buyer and the EA if they keep pushing them as a good bet as you could be heading for the same hellish scenario we went through.

Loudestcat14 · 08/11/2021 09:53

Especially as, if it had been re-marketed by 3pm on Friday as per your wishes, you could potentially have had viewings lined up for the weekend.

minimecantrollerskate · 08/11/2021 10:21

If it's still not appearing on RM or whatever portal the EA uses, I would ring them today to ask why not and insist that it goes back on today.

You are doing the right thing, if he has had 2 months and hasn't provided proof then he is not going to now. The solicitors have a job to do, to prove that the money isn't proceeds from crime, money laundering etc, and he would have been made aware of this from the start.

NeilBuchananisBanksy · 08/11/2021 17:27

The EA needs to be reminded that they are working for you and not the buyer. I hope you have got onto them today. Grrr.