What documentation do I need to give an estate agent when buying a house?

It is easy to get caught up in the complicated details of buying a house, so the finer details like legal documents can often get overlooked. Regardless of whether you are buying or selling, there are always two documents that will kickstart the transaction; your identification documents, and a proof of residence. In addition, the various parties will request proof of funds and/or the source of said funds.

Proof of identification

Not to overstate the obvious, this is proof that you are, well, you. It is standard practice for solicitors and agents to ask for photo identification to follow due diligence, so the following documents will suffice;

• Valid passport (and visa permit, where applicable)
• Current UK/EU photo driver's license (EU will possibly not be considered valid after Brexit)
• HMRC (Inland Revenue Tax Notification)
• State pension or benefits book

Proof of address

Aside from verifying who you are, you also need to be traceable with contactable references. Any of the following documents are accepted as proof of residence, assuming it displays your physical address and not a postbox address;

• Recent mortgage statement
• Bank statement
• Rent card or tenancy agreement
• Current tax bill
• Utility bill (mobile bills are not currently accepted)

If for some reason you have no documents with a registered address assigned to your name, say, you were staying with your parents up to this point, you will need an affidavit to verify your address.

Proof and source of funds

Estate agents may ask you for proof of funds before you make an offer to purchase. You don't have to provide anything at this point, but it does help to get you considered as a serious interested party.

However, the estate agent (and solicitor and mortgage lender) will insist on proof of funds after you have made an offer on the house. You will in most cases also be required to show the source of income to verify that the money was acquired legally. You will need to come to the party and provide the required documents if you want the purchase process to continue.

We have covered proof and source of funds extensively in our why do I have to provide proof of funds article.

Further proof may be required

In addition to querying the proof of funds for the property purchase, you may also be asked to provide more information from all parties mentioned above on where and how you obtained the money for the deposit. The same type of documents will be accepted as proof as with proof of funds to purchase the property.

It is always in your best interest to keep supporting documents of your funds going towards the purchase, and how it was obtained. Also, agents have the right to perform any additional checks and searches on the buyer whenever due diligence requires it. They may, for example, carry out Google searches or look at your social media accounts.