Gifted Deposit

jgiddings

Afternoon,

We have just had an offer accepted on a property and have received a list of documents required by the estate agents.

Not only do they want to see our photo ID and proof of address before agreeing on the purchase, but, as we have been gifted small amounts towards the deposit by various relatives, the estate agent requires photo ID and proof of address in person by all those providing a gift. Some of them are over 90 and all live more than 3 hours drive from the estate agent's office!

They have since indicated that they will accept certified documents, which can be done at the bank, but to me, it seems ridiculous that the estate agent needs to see all of this.

I can understand the solicitor needing the see the documents, but the estate agents are not doing the conveyancing...

Is this normal?

davidmcn

Given the solicitor will (also) need to deal with anti-money-laundering requirements, and their policies might differ from the EA, you might want to liaise with the solicitors to check that you're covering everything in the one go.

How small are the gifts?

jgiddings

Well, not that small. Between 5k and 10k.

If we used one of the giftee's 5k to cover conveyancing, surveys, other costs etc could we get away with not involving them in the Anti-Money Laundering process at all?

[Deleted User]

estate agents are covered by the same Anti Money Laundering regulation as everyone else. There were a few cases a few years back of a couple of the big agents getting large fines for not doing enough. It scared everyone eo tighten up i think.

Here is an extract from the government guidance to estate agents:

You must carry out customer due diligence on your customer and the counterparty to the
transaction. The level of due diligence will depend on your risk assessment of each person
in line with your overall risk assessment.

Maybe the risk assesment they carried out has resulted in them having a policy of getting proof of funding for the transaction. Doesnt seem so far fetched that they want to check it has come form legitimate source.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/801373/EAB.pdf

shinytop

When I helped my son with his deposit I needed to provide this stuff to the EA and the solicitor also. One of them also wanted to know where I got the money. I got my IDs certified at a post office. I also had to prove my ID for the solicitor when I sold a house recently.