Ever been offered a bag of cash....?

wwl

Thought I'd share this amusing incident that happened on Sunday..

Background - I inherited late Mother's place, in need of total refurb, & a few minor structurals. First buyer at 675K fell through after a few months as couldn't get mortgage due to structurals. Re-marketed as "cash buyers only", accepted offer of 630K, due to exchange early this week,

On Sunday, to clear out the last dregs of contents, mostly books, I was putting everything out the front with "Free stuff -help yourself" signs, to reduce what I'd be having to dump.

This guy knocks on the door, said he'd been looking to buy in the area, had enquired with the agent previously a few times & told it was under offer. He asked to look around - I said we were about to exchange, but fine, no harm I thought.
He kept saying how much he liked it & how annoyed he was that he'd missed out, then asks what I'd accepted, I (foolishly) said the actual figure of 630.
So then he starts serious smooth-talking, addressing me by name ( which he'd overheard at the tail end of a conversation I was having with a neighbour), said he'd be prepared to offer 650 & exchange next week. I explained that as it was selling below the 675K probate value, I could reclaim some of the IHT already paid, so his extra 20 would only be worth another 12K to me. He then suggested that maybe a part cash deal might be possible, at which point I (repeatedly) made it clear I wasn't interested in messing the other buyer about and was more interested in getting it all done & finished than earning a bit more money (The latter aspect really seemed to confuse him).
I agreed to take his number "just in case there was a problem with the other buyer" & he leaves.

Couple of hours later, he shows up again, with his wife in tow, complete with London transport "Baby on Board" badge (which I thought looked a little out of place on the exquisite traditional Indian dress).
Asks if he could show her round, "Fine" I said, rolling my eyes, no harm I thought...

So a few mins later he starts more smooth talking, how his wife loves it, saying she's pregnant, pointing at the badge (wasn't obvious if she actually was).
He then insists on us going inside to have a "private discussion" (It was only me, him & the mrs, just outside the door), he opens a thick folder of papers & starts showing me a bank statement with about £330K balance, the business card of "his solicitor who he grew up with & can sort everything next week", and another of an accountant, another "mate" who could figure out a "tax-efficient way" of handling things.
I repeated several times, but politely, that I wasn't doubting that he had the money, I just wasn't interested messing around my buyer.
I was increasingly getting the feeling that he'd be a pain to deal with & wasn't worth the risk of being messed about, even if he increased the offer (which he didn't), and stuck with my "polite refusal" approach.

"OK let me just show you one last thing", he said, at which point he opened his bag, to reveal what I guess was at least £25K in neat wraps of fresh 20's, pulling one wrap out to show me....

Once again I politely assured him that I wasn't doubting that he was serious & he finally got the message that I wasn't interested, and only paused to check that I'd kept his number before leaving.
Unfortunately I was a bit too phased to see how the Mrs was reacting to all this.

Now if he'd made a more conventional approach with a serious offer, I might have actually considered it.

Seems like some people just can't understand that money isn't everthing to everyone. Like the three Eastern European gentlemen earlier who were browsing the piles of stuff looking slightly puzzled and asked "Free ?...Why is Free..?" and later left with armfuls of stuff.

csgohan4

Seems dodgy, but well done to you for not accepting the gazumping, a seller with morals finally.

I_have_spoken

Goodness, gracious me!

iantojones40

Very similar story happened to someone I knew back in the early 90's... the house wasn't even up for sale and was just an ordinary, modern 3 bed detached on a cul de sac of identical houses.
An Irish guy knocks on the door one day and told them how he'd very much like to buy their house, they politely told him it wasn't for sale and they had no desire to sell, he was quite persistent until he seemed to eventually get the message and left.
The next day he turned up again with a carrier bag containing several thousand in cash and said he wanted them to take it anyway just to show how serious he was!

keith969

Sounds like a scam to me, might be worth reporting it to your local plod.

moneyistooshorttomention

I would say you gave out the wrong message to him - twice over. First you showed him around, then you showed his wife around.

No wonder he thought you might give way to pressure and so just kept piling it on. Personally - he would have "turned me right off" the second he made a point of making sure his wife had that "baby on board" badge on. I'd have just thought "He's hitting low - playing the Baby Card" and told him straight out that I knew that was A Tactic and such tactics didnt work with me.

antrobus

Here is someone who accepted a bag of cash.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5458642

theartfullodger

Thank him for his kind offer but state any monies must be handled, with full money-laundering checks, through solicitors, and you will not accept offers of cash in notes. I'd get his name & address and put that it writing to him.

What the f*** has ethnicity got to do with it?

If I find I'm aware of someone I think may be fiddling their tax or benefits I inform the authorities, regardless of their background. Easy to find out how on't t'InterNet..

silvercar

We had a buyer who somewhat through the process said it would help him if he could pay £30k in cash as it would save him stamp duty. He was a jeweller so had access to cash from work, he claimed. We said we weren't interested. He then pulled out because he had been using our address to get a school place for his eldest and when it hadn't worked the house was not so attractive to him. I did write to the school and inform them that he had no connection with our address.

Just shows, prepared to commit fraud in one area and you usually find dodgy dealing in another area.

Person_one

So we've got an Indian couple gazumping, Polish guys taking free stuff, for completeness what nationality/ethnicity are you and the buyer?

AnnieO1234

Many years ago, I met with a client to sign contracts, ID check etc before proceeding to exchange. No mortgage required.

I was explaining that he would need to transfer the deposit to our client account the day before exchange. He proceeded to put his briefcase on the table, open it, and tell me that he had brought the funds with him for completion! This was on a circa £700K property.

I then spent the next 30 minutes with an increasingly astonished client explaining how house sales work in the UK and money laundering regulations. He was quite insulted that we wouldn't accept his cash. In his home country, in the Mid East, one could simply buy a house like you might buy a second hand piece of furniture. Walk up, present the cash, get the keys. Done.

I wonder if there is a possibility that something similar is what has gone on here?

Xxx