Information requested by EA

Marvel1

I wasn't requested for this, the only time I showed was to my mortgage broker who did it on my behalf of the lender.

dorset_nurse

I agree with Londonsu- I hated being hassled by the EA's when buying my house. They were ringing to ask every step of the way when I was trying to get on with a busy job in a new area and each time the phone rang I was worried it was a problem.
As it was the only problem I had was that the EA's didn't bother to check I was given all the keys to the house when it completed which caused problems as I couldn't store any furniture in the garage on moving in.
They were the same EA's for my next door neighbour 2 months after me and she had the same issues!
I'm not going to use AJ homes to sell/let my property!

DVardysShadow

Doozergirl wrote: »

... As for the money laundering, it is accepted Best Practice by the OFT that EAs should verify buyers ID as well as their own vendors. So whilst it isn't necessary, it's probably right.

That document is outwith the ML legislation. It does not carry any legal weight as far as I can see.

The fact remains that a buyer is not conducting any significant financial transaction with the seller's Estate Agent as long as they do not take financial or legal services from the Agent

Doozergirl

DVardysShadow wrote: »

That document is outwith the ML legislation. It does not carry any legal weight as far as I can see.

The fact remains that a buyer is not conducting any significant financial transaction with the seller's Estate Agent as long as they do not take financial or legal services from the Agent

Best Practice. I certainly didn't say it had any legal weight, but there is some common sense behind checking that the person is who they say they are before your client spends money with their own solicitor.

I wouldn't be offended by being asked once an offer had been accepted, so I wouldn't stamp my feet either about whether or not it was a legal requirement. Not really bothered.

Ulfar

I wouldn't give them bank statements but a utility bill + your passport will do just as well. If they try to say it isn't good enough then they are trying to work out how much more you can pay.

When I bought I had to provide a passport and utility bill to MY solicitor, not the SELLERS estate agent.

geoffky

when we bought last aug we did not have to show where the money came from..i was expecting all sort of questions as it was a cash sale. i was not asked by my solicitors and do not think i paid a fee for money laundering checks.

neverdespairgirl

Danny_UK wrote: »

Hello,

We're first time buyers and we've had an offer accepted on a house. The vendors estate agents have just rung me and said that they need copies of our passports, 3 months bank statements and a utility bill.

Is this normal?

Thanks,

Danny

Nope. I'd tell them to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

Our seller's EA got confirmation from our solicitor that we were who we said we were, and could afford it.

paddedjohn

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

nope. I'd tell them to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

Our seller's ea got confirmation from our solicitor that we were who we said we were, and could afford it.

Word for word what i was going to say. If they dont like it tell them you will withdraw your offer, after all its a buyers market at the moment.

System

When I read the OP's post I thought no way would they stoop that low and thought I was being too cynical. Then I scrolled down and saw other people also thought this was mortgage application material.

The buyers solicitor will conduct the ML procedures for the buyer so I'm not really sure how ML even comes into this.

westv

I was under the impression that, when it came to financial transacation like house purchases, each part of the chain (solicitor, EA, mortgage provider etc) had to independently obtain ID from the individual they were dealing with - be that buyer or seller. Thus, if anything did go wrong, each could independently prove they had taken steps to ensure the indentity of the party they were dealing with.
I'm certainly no expert in this but isn't all the ID pain in the rear stuff covered by the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 which increased the duty of EAs etc?