Crypto – Can I use it when buying a house?
Crypto is becoming a more commonly used destination for those looking to invest but there are many high street firms that will refuse to accept crypto for the use of deposit or balance payments when purchasing a property.
Why isn’t it accepted by some firms?
Unfortunately, many looking to invest do not appreciate the difficulties the legal sector can encounter when assessing and considering source of funds for AML and due diligence purposes. As solicitors; we have a duty to investigate the source and validity of funds that would pass through our accounts and very few can be more difficult to trace and consider than crypto investments.
Whilst it is accepted that supplementary evidence like transaction history, receipts for payments, ICO Details and wallet transactions can all be produced, the complexity of the investments can often require hours of dedicated review and research and more often than not the cost for such a review would exceed the fee being charged for the initial works.
As a firm we have made the decision that until there are reliable, government backed and regulator approved summaries and reviews of crypto investments made available we will not accept this as a source from clients.
Recommendations
If you do regularly invest in crypto or are considering investing in the future I would recommend creating a new account with your bank that is dedicated purely to the receipt of crypto funds and further investments. This way you can keep separate any other sources that you may be looking to use to fund your next property purchase or legal transaction and remove the risk of tainting said source with crypto.
Partner / Head Of Department / Solicitor
Jack Stewart is a Partner of the firm and Head of the Property Department. Based in our Saffron Walden office Jack specialises in Residential Property matters and is able to assist clients with an extensive range of residential property work including sales and purchases of both freehold and leasehold matters, shared-ownership and new builds. Jack prides himself on his approachability and client orientated service which he feels is key during what can be a stressful and testing process.
Hobbies and Interests: In his spare time Jack loves nothing more than going on days out with his family followed by evening entertainment supporting his favourite football and NFL teams, Manchester United and LA Rams.
