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What is Proof of Funds When Buying a Property
Before we can go sale agreed on a property, we need to have had sight of proof of funds. This is simply, as the term suggests, proof that the buyer has the financial means to complete the transaction at the amount of his/her offer. There are a number of means by which someone can finance the purchase of a transaction and equally a number of methods by which proof of funds can be conveyed to an agent.
Examples of Proof of Funds:
This is the most common proof of funds for those financing a transaction partly with cash and partly with a mortgage. To prove a cash balance, a bank statement or screenshot of same will be acceptable. Alternatively an email from a bank official / solicitor confirming that a sufficient bank balance is in place is acceptable. To prove that a mortgage is in place, we require a letter of offer or approval in principle from the lending institution. The combined amount of the cash and mortgage approval will need to be at least the amount of your offer on the property.
We require a bank statement(s) in your name with cash balance(s) equal to or in excess of your offer amount. Alternatively a letter from your bank or solicitor confirming a cash balance of at least your offer amount is also acceptable.
Very often, a buyer will be financing the purchase of a property through the sale of an existing property. From a vendor’s point of view, it is a little bit risky to accept an offer that is subject to the sale of another property - this is referred to as being in a chain and if for any reason the sale of that property falls through, the offer then no longer holds any water. If trying to use the sale of an existing property as proof of funds, an email from the selling estate agent as to the offers currently on that property will give some comfort to a vendor and is probably the best thing to do in this situation.