Proof of funds- estate agents

This might be of interest to some, I enquired about these apartments late last year on behalf of an elderly relative trading down, all were sold at the time but a new block would be available in 2021.

Last Wednesday, 26th May, I had an email from Savills with a list of instructions and very short deadlines if I wanted to qualify for this release;

Thank you for confirming your interest in the Clay Farm Development – by the award-winning Park Developments Group.

If you would like to qualify for this release, please read the below carefully before filling out the form supplied at the end of this email.

What are "Full Proof of Funds"?

This is proof that a buyer has the financial means to purchase a property. Mortgage approval alone is not sufficient, we require proof for all sources of finance to the value of the full purchase price of the property. This could include;

• Mortgage Approval in Principle which is in date
• Evidence of Help to Buy Grant available
• Evidence of all savings that will be used in the purchase
• Evidence of gifts from family members, if applicable
• If purchasing with cash, a bank statement or letter from your solicitor confirming funds are available.

What are the timelines?

Monday 31st May: The below form must be submitted by 11am on Monday 31st May. We will not be accepting submissions after this time and we will not be able to request further proof of funds from you once you submit your application. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure you upload everything you require when you get to the end of the form.

Tuesday 1st June: If you have qualified to purchase an apartment, we will contact you on Tuesday 1st June.

Wednesday 2nd /Thursday 3rd June: An email will be sent either on the 2nd or 3rd June and we will be allocating appointments in the order that responses are received. Slots will be booked on a first come first served basis and will begin from Friday 11th June.

Friday 4th June: Appointment slots will be allocated.

Friday 11th June: Private viewings by appointment begin from show apartments

What do I need to do now?

In order to simplify the process we have created a step-by-step form which is available below and must be completed very carefully. After you "submit" this form you will be prompted to upload your full proof of funds via the online link.

If you secure an appointment and would like to reserve a home you will need:

• €10,000 deposit payable via Bank Draft to Matheson.

DeeKie said:

We are in the market for a new house. We are being asked for proof of funds as a condition of viewing properties. I understand that it could be explained by being a policy to avoid time wasters in Covid times. However telling estate agents, who are incentivised to maximise sale price, your budget seems incredibly anti-competitive and anti consumer.

What do others do to deal with this? I’m considering complaining to the CCPC, but wanted to sense check my views here with you good people.

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I'm told mortgage approval in principle is what they are looking for to avoid "tyre kickers"?
So the rep in my bank told me when I was applying.

How about the estate agents being made to evidence every bid on every property that they offer for sale?

MrEarl said:

How about the estate agents being made to evidence every bid on every property that they offer for sale?

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Do you mean prove the existence and validity of all bids to the vendor or prospective purchasers / tyre kickers / nosey neighbours?

Agents code of practice says they must keep a record of all bids for a period of 6 years. Of course that only comes into play if the vendor has a complaint. They are employed by the vendor, they have no duty or obligation to provide any details to a potential purchaser. Proving the existence of bids to third parties while complying with Data protection would be tricky at best.

Leo said:

If they're buying in a quiet area where the vendor is happy there's any offer to buy and are willing to wait, both parties work via their solicitors to close both sales in quick succession. Some aim to close both transactions on the same day, few make that work.

In busy areas most vendors don't want to wait around what might be months for a few extra k. An approach I and many others have taken is to go back to the lenders to alter the proposal to including retaining and letting the current property. Some banks will allow a percentage of the projected rent as income. Once you buy the new house, you can then sell the old one, the bank will not care that you don't follow through and let it. You can then take the proceeds of that sale to pay down some of the new mortgage (bear in mind if fixing)). Of course this only works if you have the full deposit in savings and you're not close to the loan to income lending limits.

If you are looking to borrow close to the limits or don't have significant savings, the alternative in these areas is to sell the current house, stay with family/ friends or rent while you close on the next home. Of course there are risks to that approach too in that what you plan to be a few weeks turns into a few months or more if supply is low, and if the market is rising at any significant rate, you don't want to cash-out too long before you buy back in.

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Am I missing something here? I’m from England originally where chains of buyers and vendors all exchange at the same time on the same day. Otherwise you would need to rent somewhere short term and store your furniture somewhere and pay for movers twice.
Does it work differently in Ireland?

MrEarl said:

How about the estate agents being made to evidence every bid on every property that they offer for sale?

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Ha! No chance. Donald Trump uses email more than an estate agent!

time to plan said:

Am I missing something here? I’m from England originally where chains of buyers and vendors all exchange at the same time on the same day. Otherwise you would need to rent somewhere short term and store your furniture somewhere and pay for movers twice.
Does it work differently in Ireland?

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Conveyancy goes at a snails pace. Everything to do with property takes months/ years to finalise. They're doing their best to avoid using the internet!

NoRegretsCoyote said:

It depends on the vendor and the property. Someone selling a wreck in the middle of nowhere can't be choosy. An executor might be happy to wait around and take a higher offer from someone reliant on own sale.

AFAIK Irish banks don't do bridging finance which is a big pity.

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They USED to - but mostly don't now.

SparkRite said:

It has 'worked' like that for years though, hence the proverbial 'property chain'.

However there appears to be a move away from that nowadays with chain free purchasers being favoured for obvious good reason.

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Its a symptom of the sellers market.

New guidance from the data protection regulator about seeking such a degree of information about a person simply wanting to view a property

On this an acquaintance of mine when he last moved house bid on multiple properties which he wasn’t in a position to complete on as their own property wasn’t even on the market. In one instance they bid the house up by around €30knwhen the agent specified the bid could not be subject to a sale but never asked for proof. i was horrified as they essentially cost some other party 30k needlessly to purchase a family home

I moved house back around 2012 when asking for proof of funds was a thing especially with receiver sales, personally I was delighted as I got comfort that at least we were bidding against bona fide bidders