CREDIT CHECKS WHEN BUYING A PROPERTY

nicrae.17

IM A BIT NAIVE, SO ... IF IM BUYING A PROPERTY OUTRIGHT IN A LUMP SUM WITH INHERITANCE MONEY FROM MY PARENTS, AND WITH NO MORTGAGE NECESSARY ... DOES A CREDIT CHECK STILL HAVE TO BE DONE BY THE AGENT ?  
I KNOW IT'S USUALLY FOR LOANS.
WHAT ABOUT PAYMENT OF HOUSEHOLD BILLS, DIRECT DEBITS  etc. ?   DO UTILITY COMPANIES HAVE TO CHECK WHETHER I CAN PAY REGULARLY - OR IS THAT JUST UP TO ME TO MANAGE RESPONSIBLY ?   

I DON'T WANT TO ASK MY FAMILY COZ I FEEL A SILLY !   

jonesMUFCforever

If you have the money and no loan is required then no as a general answer - nobody needs to credit score you. The agent might ask you to prove that you have the funds in case you are just a timewaster.
Utilities can score you and report your payment record to the CRA's. Where I live Welsh Water records my water bill payments.
Is there any reason why you would not want to be credit scored? Do you have any late payments or defaults on your files?

Lastly the conveyancer or solicitor will insist on doing due diligence on how you obtained the funds to purchase the property so expect to provide all sort of documentation for that.

nicrae.17

No major failings, except 600 on ONE Credit card to pay back, and rather 250 overdrawn, but with an arranged Overdraft up to 250.  Bill payments always paid regular and no arrears !  
But actually BUYING a place in lump sum, and not borrowing money, hopefully not a problem.  

I can get copies of Ledgers about my Rent payments and Council Tax payments, to provide if necessary.  

Thanks for your feedback. 

MovingForwards

It's only a bankruptcy check solicitors do, regardless of if the purchase is cash or with a mortgage and cash.

Solicitors will look at bank statements to see where the money has come from, it's up to them how far they go back especially with a cash purchase. Usually they will want to see the statements to show where the money has come from eg another account and the money was moved to a better interest paying account.

They won't care about your rent and bill payments, that's more from a mortgage side, which you're not having.

Some utility companies do credit checks. 

When you get the keys to your property, take photographs of the gas and electric meters to show the meter number and meter reading in the same photo. You need to set up an account with the current supplier before being able to transfer away from them.

maxximus75

If you have credit checks by utility suppliers, they tend to be looking for a history of non-payment, defaults, CCJ's etc so, unless you have any of those, you should be fine.  The worst case scenario really is that they may insist that you have prepayment meters fitted but they only normally do that for adverse credit.

In terms of your purchase, as you are not requiring any credit then you shouldn't be subject to credit checks.  There may be some checks made by the solicitor etc.

DaMoon

Your solicitor may seek to ID you electronically, which may leave a footprint on your credit file

PaulW922

As mentioned above you will need to prove who you are and credit bureaus are often used for that - which saves you a lot of hassle if your solicitor can do it that way. But that is not a credit check. It is also highly likely that you will need to demonstrate to your solicitor where you got the money to make the purchase from. This is a standard anti-money laundering control and applies to all property purchases but especially when the purchaser is a 'cash buyer'. That means you may have to provide details of your inheritance. Jus be prepared and ready to assist.