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Paying cash


Uncle Homer

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i am in the process of buying a house and due to close next month, due to various reasons it would be easier for me to pay the full amount to the notaire in cash... will he accept that or do i have to pay with a cheque or bank draft??

thankyou in advance

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[quote user="Uncle Homer"]

i am in the process of buying a house and due to close next month, due to various reasons it would be easier for me to pay the full amount to the notaire in cash... will he accept that or do i have to pay with a cheque or bank draft??

thankyou in advance

[/quote]

I think that this amount of cash will cause some very sticky questions to be asked. If you tried to pay any amount over 10K into a French bank, you will beasked where it came from, likewise in the UK. If you want to launder some money, there are better ways than buying a house!

I think he will insist on a transfer - traceable, you see. 

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The best way is to arrange for a transfer of funds to the Notaire's bank account for a day or two before your appointment to sign the Acte de Vente.  Your Notaire will provide you with the account details you require (IBAN etc.) and all you need to do is arrange the transfer with one of the many commercial exchange companies, telling them which day the funds need to clear into the Notaire's account.

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You're right Hastobe. Our purchase was held up for three months, with other inconveniences thrown in, due to Credit Agricole Sud Med  suspecting us of being money launderers. All because we paid in cash and had more than one bank account!.  I cannot mention 'that bank' without grinding my teeth.
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Your bank had only been obeying the well published regulations relating to money laundering - as they're legally obliged to do.  Not to do so would have exposed the individual staff handling your transaction to arrest and prosecution with a maximum sentence of fifteen years.  So it's not the bank's fault, actually.

To be honest, transporting a large sum of cash (sufficient to buy a house!) and turning up at a foreign bank or notaire is extremely unusual to say the least - if not foolhardy.  Think how you'd look if the cash had been lost or stolen en route.

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LOL - we paid in cash for our place as, at the time, we"d left it a bit late to sort out a bank transfer.

This was the week after 9/11 and wad of cash was safely(?) stashed in my handbag when we arrived at Stansted. (Actually we missed our flight and had to arrange another later in the day to Bordeaux but that's another story).

Unfortunately, NO handbags or anything were allowed on the plane with us, everything went into the hold and I s**t buckets throughout the flight, wondering whether my bag woould arrive in tact at baggage control at Bordeaux. Never again!

We paid peanuts for our hovel, but the Notaire was very concerned that we paid this way as the signing was after the banks had closed. He said it was pas normale!
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Well, the person handling our mortgage had never heard of people having more than one bank account...ever! thats why they were suspicious. I tell you, french banking is way behind the times.
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