Conveyancer can't act for us, telling Estate Agent w/out house falling through

[dubgal]

Hi,

Some help would be greatly appreciated

We went sale agreed on a property on Thursday in UK which we are planning to buy in cash.

We live outside of UK and had our conveyancer lined up but now she is saying she is unable to act on our behalf as our funds are sourced from outside the UK. We can provide a full source of funds (savings from salary, stocks etc). My priority is to find a Conveyancer who would be able to act but I really do not want the sale to fall through.

Has anyone ever dealt with similar? Any advice for telling the Estate Agent?
Thank a mil.

Can the funds be moved into the UK prior to sale?

@creamsnugjumper yes no issue with that (I can move them from next week), but the original Conveyancer stated that the movement of funds was not the problem but the origin being outside the UK.

Is this a conveyancer or a conveyancing solicitor? This should not be a problem for a solicitor if you have certified proof of funds. Money laundering checks are a bit slower but it's totally doable and any half decent solicitor should be able to do this.

@MrsCrabOrange a conveyancing solicitor. AFAIK it is practice of the firm not to accept internationally sourced funds.

Just ring round and find a solicitor that will act for you. Then tell the Estate Agents you’ve changed and tell them why. You aren’t very progressed anyway so it shouldn’t make much difference.

Just say you decided to change conveyancing firms because they were too slow at responding and you saw similar reviews online/heard them from people you know.

If you can't find a second firm to act for you then you have a problem!

I sold my fiat to a guy in Hong Kong and it was no problem so I think your conveyancer is a one off. I used Acumen Law in Brighton lady called Erin

Thanks so much all for taking the time to provide your experience, you are calming an anxious first time buyer!

You need to find a solicitor (and a firm) who are happy with money sourced abroad. They exist - as do firms who wont touch it.
You've just been unlucky. It will all be fine. Contact a couple of places tomorrow, and state the money was earnt abroad. Then tell the EA you've got a new solicitor.

It would be his conveyancer responsible for the checks, not yours.

OP, try and look for a firm with a conveyancing function that also has a branch or a partnership in your country.

One thing to consider is if you are in a country which is classed as high risk due to corruption or poor financial regulations you are likely to find it more difficult. Are you UK nationals? This will make some difference. If not UK nationals I would strongly recommend using a firm who specialise in overseas purchases and expect to pay a bit more in fees

@MysteriousFalafel yes sorry I should have explained this upfront. I'm a UK/Irish National and my husband is an Irish/Colombian National. We are both currently resident in Ireland which I believe is not classed as high risk.

Does the money originate in Ireland? Ie was it earned in Ireland, proceeds of house sale in Ireland etc. What the conveyancer is looking for is the ability to prove source of funding is low risk. Are you buying in cash or with a mortgage? If it’s with a mortgage the conveyancer will also need to satisfy the requirements of the lender and they can be very strict about overseas funding.

@MysteriousFalafel thanks for replying - yes we are buying in cash with money that has come from saving our salaries and also from proceeds of stock given to me by my company. All money has originated in Ireland.

That shouldn’t be too tricky then. I can DM you a recommendation who might be able to help, obviously do your own research and check you’re happy with them!

Our buyers had part of their funds coming from Germany, bar an extra piece of paperwork from their side basically certifying it there was no problems at all!

Some conveyancers don't really want to touch transactions that involve any complexity. This often applies to the cheaper online conveyancers as their model is stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap. It's just not worth the extra effort for them - the transactions take longer and there can be more risk in it for them if they cock it up. Just move on and find another solicitor. You could get one sorted in the next 24 hours and then just inform the EA you've changed. No need to tell the EA upfront or explain why you've changed.

I remember being told the money had to come directly from an account in our names but I can't remember if it needed to be from a UK bank or not. Whichever it was, we provided evidence of funds in an overseas account and moved it later. Happy to recommend our conveyancer if it helps.

We used funds for a house sale abroad for our UK home the conveyancer was fine with it. We had all the paperwork in order and had transferred the money over prior to hiring the conveyancer.

*from a house sale abroad.