I wouldn't want to run around with $100's thousands in cash in my pocket.

unlikley, as there is a law requiring any cash transaction over 10k,i believe, to be reported.This was passed as a way to combat drug money laundering

I would only accept it if the closing was at the bank where I planned to deposit the money. I usually have about $1.98 in my pocket.

But it has always been one of my favorite fantasies to walk into an Open House, look around and then ask the realtor to ask the rif raff to leave while I ostentatiously snap the locks on my brief case revealing a multitude of neat stacks of money.

Well, no, because the title company would be in charge of handling the money, and they would refuse.

In the late 80's when we bought our farm the seller had no mortgage, so the sale proceeds were all his. (The closing coordinator was dumbfounded by that situation and kept fussing that there had to a note, somewhere.)

At closing we gave the sellers a certified personal check for more than a 100K, and our lender gave them another bank check for the balance. When the farmer and his wife left the closing they went directly to our bank and cashed our check and took the money home that night. Our bank manager was scandalized and tried to get them to open an overnight account, offering to waive fees left and right to allow a transfer the next day to their financial insititution. But they weren't having it and took the cash home with them. They were distressed when he wouldn't cash our lender's check (different, out of area, bank) on the spot. I think they thought since we had borrowed the money from a bank, they assumed it would be our local bank!

At the time I thought this very odd, but now that I know them better, having lived next door to them for nearly a quarter century, if I had 100K cash sitting around, I wouldn't hesitate to ask them to hold it for me.

This was the same seller who accepted all the cash we had on us (less than $100) as earnest money on the day we hammered out a P&S agreement on a yellow-lined pad while sitting at his kitchen table. Later I learned that he only expected a $1.00 - and that on a multiple hundred's of thousand dollar property. And he was perplexed when we told him it would take us 60+ days to get a mortgage commitment(needed a jumbo and a bridge loan) and go to closing. He thought we would be ready to close sometime the following week after we signed the agreement.

Molly~

Uh, excuse me but the last time I checked cash was considered "legal tender" in this country!

A company or an individual can "discourage" you from paying with cash but that title company won't refuse your wad of $100 bills. They "request" you bring in a bank certified check because they CAN refuse to accept personal checks. And, cash is a bit tricky to handle outside of a financial institution that maintains a vault (Title companies mostly DO have vaults).

As a lender who's conducted hundreds (probably, in reality a couple thousand) auctions...I've frequently had people bring cash to the sale. Is is disconcerting & a little nerve rattling to carry it back to the bank...yes...but would I refuse it? Absolutely not. As a banker, I've got a general idea of what to look for in counterfeit cash & I'd certainly give the cash a good hard look. But, other than that...it's legal tender.

A fnancial institution does have to report cash coming in (or, going out). That reg is not limited to banks. Credit unions, brokerages, etc. must do the same thing. It, originally was to assist law enforcement with drug laundering but now has been incorporated into the Patriot Act which contains lots of new regs for financial institutions that are equalling as invasive to your privacy.

So, sure...pay with cash. It's guaranteed to rattle some people's nerves!

Tricia

I should also have noted that there is a heirarchy of "legal tender". Cash is at the top of the list! Even bank certified checks are not considered as "secure" as cash. They can (and ARE) falsified. Letters of Credit are not as secure either. Cash is still KING as recognized "legal tender" in our country despite the amount of plastic Americans carry around.

As a banker, I cannot refuse to accept cash.

Why? Well, one reason is because it is assumed that people recognize currency. If you receive a bank certified check...you may, or may not, recognize the bank thus creating a "safety" risk for the transaction. Legal tender is supposed to remove as many risks as possible.

Of course, counterfeiting is a problem. Our new paper money has reduced that risk considerably. Even with the counterfeiting potential...the top of the heirarchy remains cash.

Tricia

"Legal tender is supposed to remove as many risks as possible."

What about the risk of the personal safety of the one carrying that cash to the bank? That would be my worry.

"What about the risk of the personal safety of the one carrying that cash to the bank?"

Put it in a brown paper bag and carry it tothe bank.
No one wil give you a second look.

Supposing I could get Wells Fargo or similar armed transport service to wait there for the exchange, I'd still want to make sure the money was not counterfeit. It would take quite a while to stike one of those markers against every single bill!

Who's going to know you're carrying around that much money?

My fil had several non-realty related transactions about five years ago. He sold an older gentlemen in his 90's some heavy machinery costing over $100k each. The gentleman went out to his older model cadilac (sp?) and unscrewed a panel on the inside to get the money. He paid in 100's.

When I bought my first house I was told to get a cashiers check for an amount greater than my estimated closing costs as a contigency. They said that if the costs were higher than the amount of my check that they would NOT accept cash.

Quirky...actually the risk of you receiving a bad certified bank check is higher than the risk of receiving counterfeit currency...financial institutions all over our country are really struggling right now with this. Scams from Eastern Europe are coming in almost on a daily basis. New regs have been put into place recently requiring another layer of protection. I, personally, would not accept a bank check without phoning the bank & verifying.

Tricia

clg7067, Yep, they probably told you that because they don't like cash. But, had you arrived with the entire purchase price in cash & held your ground they would have had to accept it. Cash is "legal tender" in America...period.

Tricia

Even though 'Cash is King', and maybe people have to legally accept it, it doesn't mean they will accept it. They could refuse to take it and refuse to sign the papers. What are you going to do then? Sue them? I doubt a judge would rule against them if they were to state that they feared for their safety by carrying that amount of money around. Or if they feared that it may be counterfeit.

I didn't know that about the cashiers checks.
But I think the difference between issuing a bad cashiers check and play doh is that once you deposit the play doh, you've reserved your own 6x8 space in the big house and once the buyer hands you the bad check, they've reserved their own selves a space in the big house and the property comes back to you. Am I right?

Can you just verify the cashiers check with a phone call too?

Actually, Greg...you're incorrect with that assumption. There are a few caveats, however. If I, as an individual, am conducting a garage sale Saturday morning & you hand me cash for that old dresser I've got...I could refuse to accept your cash...maybe. Possibly, not even then if you were to actually take me to Small Claims Court. Why? Because by offering my dresser at the garage sell, it could easily be argued that I was willing to enter into a contract to sell the dresser for some price. If I agreed to your price offer...cash is "legal tender" for payment in the US.

Fearing for one's safety does not negate cash being "legal tender". Imagine what a nighmare this country would be in if everybody could go around saying, "I won't accept your American dollars as legal tender"? That was a problem back in the days of the old Silver Certificates that were issued by individual banks. We corrected the problem and now have a centralized banking system with one national currency.

And, to answer your question more directly...

If I'd signed a P&S Agreement with a Seller and I arrived at closing with cash & the Seller would not accept my cash as "legal tender"...you bet your life I'd sue. And, I'd win. That's the law of the land...like it or not. Cash remains "legal tender" in the US. You just can't escape that.

Now, it's certainly not always practical to pay with cash which is really what most of you are talking about & I agree with you from that standpoint. But, those who say cash won't be accepted are just wrong. The laws of our country say otherwise. You're getting confused with company policies...it is the company's preference that you not pay with cash. But, by Golly, if you don't trust banks & all you ever use is American Greenbacks...that company legally has to accept your currency. They may huff...and they may puff...because it's a PITA for them; but, they HAVE to accept your cash.

Tricia

Tricia, I think you're missing a subtle thing here. Cash is legal tender for "All Debts, public and private." If a debt doesn't exist you can't make someone take cash.

You could argue the P&S agreement created a debt, and you maybe right, but there's no forcing method to make you accept cash for a straight purchase. If that weren't the case you could sue vending machine companies for not taking your legal tender $10,000 bill.

Closing instructions to the Title Company spell out how the sellers net proceeds and the type of funds are to be distributed, electronic, cashiers check or closing companies trust account check. It also calls for "good funds" to be disbursed which does not mention any cash.
I suppose previous arrangements with the Title Co./attorney can be made if cash is to be involved.

I've bought houses before with cash; it was demanded by seller. Lots of property transfers (don't want to say 'closing'), occur outside of title companies. There are still a lot of people out where I live who do almost all business by cash. I've been to large farm auctions where buyers, particularly from out of state, will have cash (and we're talking a lot...I mean, a big combine is not cheap, even if it is used). I would think as long as everyone is in agreement and it's written, cash should be fine. Of course, it really shouldn't be that big a deal for the buyer to take the wad of cash into a bank and get a cashier's check, either.

What about stores that refuse to take bills larger than $20s? Can they do that, or must they take the hundred dollar bill?

According to the US Dept of Treasury, one does not have to accept cash as payment.

Here is a link that might be useful: US Treasury FAQs

There's also a growing trend of some businesses not to accept cash (e.g. credit cards only). Happened to me last week in fact, when I tried to pay cash and was told they only accept credit cards.

I really don't understand the problem with paying in cash. Just along the transaction is in a neutral setting and all documents are all signed, why not?

The thought of someone coming to me and paying my house in full and in cash- I wouldn't have any problems.

I guess you can look into this.

Recently in my community, there was an item in the news concerning this very topic. Apparently there was a buyer with enough money to qualify to buy a home in a nice neighborhood. However, he had no documentation to show where the money came from. Knowing that he would have major problems with a conventional loan, his realtor steered him to a listing that would accept owner financing. The helpful realtor took a major amount of cash to her bank (I believe it was about 30,000) and purchased two cashier's checks for the down payment.

It was apparently investigated and the realtor lost her license (don't know if she has been on trial yet). I believe that the would=be home owner is in prison on drug-selling related charges.
A realtor in town was quoted as saying that the use of cash is an outmoded system and that real estate professionals would not accept cash transactions.
Susan

I work at a title company and we won't accept cash over $5k. Period. There is a risk to us going to deposit it, and the person depositing the cash is required to give THEIR social security number...not my business ID, but MINE. No thanks. We tell people to take their cash to any financial institution and get a cashier's check. It's not illegal to refuse it.