Chain broken - possible money laundering

EssexHebridean

Hoenir said:

EssexHebridean said:

The question in my mind is why the solicitors had only done their AML checks that late in proceedings - usually that is done as soon as instructions are confirmed! 

The problem with handed down stories is that there's nothing factual on which to comment. Could well have been an ongoing issue that finally hit the buffers when the time to exchange to approached. The question in my mind is why changing solicitors is going to result in a different outcome. Not least if there's a mortgage involved. As there's the lender to be considered. 

Agreed - but we can only take at face value what is written by the OP in a thread. 

I would agree that this doesn't sound as though a change of solicitor "should" make a difference! 

saajan_12

Could be a number of things..
* perhaps the documents were requested at the start and were "on their way" but a few rounds of providing documents and the solicitor saying they are insufficient later, the assumption is it won't be possible to satisfy this solicitors' criteria. 
* perhaps there's a surprise £x,000 coming from a relative who can't or won't provide their personal info. 
* perhaps the solicitor doesn't accept the records from a particular bank in the chain if they don't provide letter headed statements etc. 
* perhaps perhaps perhaps...

Hoenir said:
The question in my mind is why changing solicitors is going to result in a different outcome. Not least if there's a mortgage involved. As there's the lender to be considered. 

Well it might do - one solicitor may have different criteria to another in how far back they go, how small an amount needs to be queried, the format and 'officialness' of documents they'll accept.. The lender would likely just listen to the solicitor, who's insurance would be liable if their checks were insufficient. The lender isn't going to get into the weeds of whether a particular document satisfies the AML criteria - that's what the solicitor is there for. If the solicitor is changed to another one on the lender's panel, the lender will listen to the new solicitor. 

IMO the problem is really how much of the checks need redoing. 

Hoenir

saajan_12 said:

Could be a number of things..
* perhaps the documents were requested at the start and were "on their way" but a few rounds of providing documents and the solicitor saying they are insufficient later, the assumption is it won't be possible to satisfy this solicitors' criteria. 
* perhaps there's a surprise £x,000 coming from a relative who can't or won't provide their personal info. 
* perhaps the solicitor doesn't accept the records from a particular bank in the chain if they don't provide letter headed statements etc. 
* perhaps perhaps perhaps...

Hoenir said:
The question in my mind is why changing solicitors is going to result in a different outcome. Not least if there's a mortgage involved. As there's the lender to be considered. 

Well it might do - one solicitor may have different criteria to another in how far back they go, how small an amount needs to be queried, the format and 'officialness' of documents they'll accept.. The lender would likely just listen to the solicitor, who's insurance would be liable if their checks were insufficient. The lender isn't going to get into the weeds of whether a particular document satisfies the AML criteria - that's what the solicitor is there for. If the solicitor is changed to another one on the lender's panel, the lender will listen to the new solicitor. 

IMO the problem is really how much of the checks need redoing. 

Bottom line is that regulations are getting ever tighter. Panel solicitors aren't going to risk their reputatation for the sake of the fees on one property transaction. The lender is going to ask for further information. 

Mildreds_Earrings

Thanks for all your replies. 

I don't know how changing Solicitor will make any difference 🙄 but we cannot afford to wait, as nobody seems able to tell us how long this will take, or even whether a new Solicitor means they'll pass the AML checks. 

The property went back on the market today (sigh) 😒

youth_leader

So very sorry, best wishes for another offer soon, so stressful for you with Christmas prep on your mind now.

My husband died and I had to sell our wonderful family home.   I gifted both of my kids a deposit from the sale funds, and as neither of them were purchasing, just took a template from the web stating it was a gift, nothing official.  A poster on this forum said her relative that had gifted her a sum had been asked for far more evidence than she had anticipated, and it made me look at my 'paper trail' again.  I'd missed out the most important statement showing where the solicitor had credited my bank account with the funds, and sent a copy to each of my kids to complete their 'gift'  paperwork.  My daughter in Belfast is now trying to buy and I'm sure I'll have to send something as ID when they get to that stage - sadly after a survey on their 'first' offer, they can't afford the repairs and had to withdraw..

horsewithnoname

And yet the actual criminals still seem to get away with it. Especially in London I believe. 

EssexHebridean

It's a bit like the laws around gun ownership - they reduce the likelihood of every T, D & H who fancies owning a gun being able to do so, but if someone is really intent on doing so, for criminal reasons, no law will ever stop them. 

Mildreds_Earrings

Mildreds_Earrings said:

Thanks for all your replies. 

I don't know how changing Solicitor will make any difference 🙄 but we cannot afford to wait, as nobody seems able to tell us how long this will take, or even whether a new Solicitor means they'll pass the AML checks. 

The property went back on the market today (sigh) 😒

Just thought I'd give an update...... The property went back on the market for £10k higher than the offer we accepted. The Buyers saw the advert and this panicked them into action. I then received a jubilant call from our Solicitor saying they wanted to exchange today and complete on Friday. We're beyond happy 🥳🥳🥳

HouseMartin567

Mildreds_Earrings said:

Mildreds_Earrings said:

Thanks for all your replies. 

I don't know how changing Solicitor will make any difference 🙄 but we cannot afford to wait, as nobody seems able to tell us how long this will take, or even whether a new Solicitor means they'll pass the AML checks. 

The property went back on the market today (sigh) 😒

Just thought I'd give an update...... The property went back on the market for £10k higher than the offer we accepted. The Buyers saw the advert and this panicked them into action. I then received a jubilant call from our Solicitor saying they wanted to exchange today and complete on Friday. We're beyond happy 🥳🥳🥳

That’s great news! Good luck with the move. Any chance you know how they resolved the issue? I presume they just managed to provide their original solicitor with enough information to satisfy them (which would beg the question why they couldn’t have done that earlier!).

Hoenir

Tale of the story appears to be don't get caught up in other people's games.