How to verify proof of funds from a cash home buyer is a document check, not a feeling about the offer. A cash price only helps if the buyer can pay it on the day the deed is signed. Ask for current proof before you sign, and let an independent title company read it with you.
Match the name on the proof to the buyer in the contract, confirm the date is recent, and confirm the available amount covers the price. Then ask the title company what it has actually received, because a letter is not the same as money in escrow. Pause if the name, date, amount, or closing company will not be put in writing.
This guide is for a seller in Oakland, Wayne, or Macomb County who has a cash offer and wants to check the funds before signing. It is not a credit report on the buyer, and it is not legal advice. A title company or a Michigan real-estate attorney can apply these checks to your contract. The next section shows which paper to request first.
How to verify proof of funds from a cash home buyer
Start with the document, not with the company’s website. Proof of funds is evidence that money is available for this purchase. It is not a promise that the buyer will close, and it is not an appraisal of your house. You are checking identity, timing, and amount.
Ask for one of two papers. The first is a letter on the financial institution’s letterhead, signed and dated, naming the account holder and stating that funds are available. The second is a recent bank or brokerage statement that shows the account name and a balance at least as large as the price. A screenshot with no bank name is not either of those papers.
Read four lines before you read anything else. The account holder should be the buyer named in the purchase agreement, or a company the agreement says will supply the money. The date should be recent enough that the title company will still rely on it. The available amount should cover the price, not a smaller deposit. The institution’s name should be one you can look up on your own.
A letter that says “funds are available” without an amount does not answer the question. A statement that shows investments you cannot sell before closing does not answer it either. If a partner or fund will pay, the contract should name that relationship. Do not guess it from a logo on the letterhead.
| What you asked for. | What it can show. | What it does not show. |
|---|---|---|
| Bank letter on letterhead. | Holder, date, and that funds are available. | That the money is already at the title company. |
| Recent bank statement. | Account name and a balance on that date. | That the balance will still be there at closing. |
| Brokerage statement. | An account value, if the assets are liquid. | That stocks can be sold and cleared in time. |
| Earnest-money receipt. | That a deposit reached escrow. | That the rest of the price is available. |
Keep the paper with the purchase agreement, not in a text thread. If the buyer will only show it on a phone and will not send a copy to the title company, treat that as a pause. A legitimate buyer can send the same document to the closing company you both name.
What should the letter or statement include?
You do not need the buyer’s full account number, password, or a screenshot of an online banking session. Those details create risk and do not help you. You need enough to match the buyer, the date, and the amount to this sale.
A useful letter names the financial institution, the account holder, the date, and a dollar amount or a clear statement that available funds cover a stated price. A signature and a phone number for the institution belong on the letter. You will not call a number printed only in an email from the buyer. You will use a number you find on the institution’s own site if the title company asks you to confirm anything.
A useful statement is recent and shows the account name. Black out the full account number if you want. Leave the institution, the holder, the date, and the balance visible. If the balance is in a brokerage account, ask whether those assets can be turned into cash before your closing date. A balance that takes a week to settle may miss a closing set for tomorrow.
Match the holder to the signature block in the contract. If the contract names a person and the statement names a limited liability company, ask which one is buying. If the contract allows an assignment to another buyer, ask who must provide the funds after that assignment. The proof should follow the buyer who will actually pay.
Separate this paper from the deposit. Earnest money is a small amount held while you move toward closing. Proof of funds is evidence for the rest of the price. A receipt for $1,000 does not verify a $200,000 cash price. Ask the title company which of those two it is holding.
Which questions should you ask the title company?
Do not verify the money by yourself if a closing company is already involved. The title company is the party that must receive funds and record the deed. Your questions are about what that company has seen, not about whether you like the buyer.
Ask these questions in writing, or by a phone number you already have for that company. Do not use a new number that arrived in an email about wiring instructions. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s note on closing scams says to confirm payment instructions with a trusted person by phone, using a number you already know.
- Who is the buyer on your file? The name should match the purchase agreement and the proof.
- What proof did you receive, and what date is on it? Ask whether that date is recent enough for this closing.
- Does the amount cover the price? A letter for a smaller figure is not proof for this contract.
- Have any funds arrived? A letter is not the same as money deposited for closing.
- Who sends the final payment instructions? Confirm them by a phone number you looked up yourself.
- What would make you delay recording the deed? Unresolved funds are a reason to wait.
A bank will not tell a stranger the balance just because you call. The title company can ask the buyer to authorize confirmation, or it can rely on documents it received directly. If the company will not say what it received, pause until it will. You can also ask a Michigan real-estate attorney to read the contract before you sign.
M1 Home Buyers buys houses directly in Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb counties and closes through a title company. You can ask for the proof and the closing company name before you accept a written offer. The offer is optional. Read how the purchase works if you want the steps after the funds check, and use this page only for the funds check itself.
Which red flags mean you should pause?
One missing detail is a question. Several missing details are a reason not to sign yet. The pattern that matters is a buyer who wants your signature before anyone independent has seen the money.
Pause if the proof is undated, older than the title company will accept, or silent on the amount. Pause if the account holder is not the buyer and nobody will explain the relationship in the contract. Pause if the only “proof” is a text message, a photo of a phone, or a letter with no institution you can identify.
Pause if the buyer refuses to send the document to the title company, or names a closing agent you did not choose and cannot look up. Pause if you are told the funds will appear after you sign, or that a lender will finance a deal that was offered as cash. A cash offer that quietly becomes a financed offer is a different sale with a different timeline.
Also pause if anyone asks you to wire a fee, a deposit, or “closing costs” to a personal account before the title company is involved. Selling your house should not require you to send money to the buyer. Confirm any payment instruction by phone with the title company, using a number from its own website or from paperwork you already had.
Pressure is its own signal. A same-day signature demand that leaves no time for the title company to read the letter is not speed. It is a skipped check. You can still want a fast closing and refuse to skip this one. For a wider look at warning signs around cash buyers, see how to read cash-buyer reviews, then come back here for the document itself.
How do you check the funds before you sign?
You can finish this review in one sitting if the buyer will share the paper. Use the purchase agreement and the proof side by side. Write the answers down so you are not relying on a phone call you cannot repeat.
- Name the buyer in the contract. Copy the person or company from the signature block, including any assignee the contract allows.
- Collect one real document. Ask for a signed bank letter or a recent statement, and send a copy to the title company rather than keeping it only on your phone.
- Match holder, date, and amount. The holder matches the buyer, the date is recent, and the available funds cover the price in the contract.
- Ask what has actually arrived. Have the title company say whether it has received proof only, earnest money, or closing funds.
- Confirm how you will be paid. Verify wiring or cashier-check instructions by a phone number you already trust, not by a number in a new email.
- Read the exit terms. Note any clause that lets the buyer cancel after you sign, and ask what happens to the deposit if that occurs.
- Sign only after the gaps are closed. If the name, date, amount, or closing company is still unexplained, wait.
This order keeps the funds check separate from the price check. What you net after commissions and taxes is a different question, answered on the page about what it costs to sell a home in Michigan. Use that page for costs. Use this one to decide whether the cash buyer can pay the price you are using.
Bring the same list to a Michigan real-estate attorney if the contract is hard to read or the buyer wants an assignment. An attorney can tell you whether the proof matches the party who must pay. The title company can tell you whether the money is in its file. You need both answers before the deed is signed, not after.
Request a written offer you can verify
Frequently Asked Questions
How to verify proof of funds from a cash home buyer if you only have a letter?
Check the letterhead, the account holder, the date, the amount, and a signature. Then send it to the title company and ask whether the amount covers the price. A letter shows what the institution was willing to say on that date. It does not show that closing funds have arrived. Ask the title company what it has received before you treat the sale as funded.
Is a bank statement better than a proof-of-funds letter?
They answer slightly different questions. A statement shows a balance on a date for a named account. A letter says the institution confirms available funds. Either one can be enough if it is recent, matches the buyer, and covers the price. Neither one replaces money deposited with the title company. Ask which document that company wants for your closing.
Can the title company confirm the buyer’s funds for you?
It can tell you what it received and whether it is prepared to close. It cannot force a bank to discuss a stranger’s account. The buyer may need to authorize the institution to speak with the closing company. If the company will not describe the proof in its file, do not sign on the hope that the funds will appear later.
What if the proof of funds is under a different name?
Stop and ask who is actually buying. The contract should name the person or company that will pay, or it should explain the relationship in writing. A letter for a friend, a fund, or an unnamed assignee is not proof for the buyer on your signature page. Have the title company and, if you want, a Michigan real-estate attorney review that name before you continue.
Should you wire anything to the buyer to “hold” the cash offer?
No. You should not send a fee or a deposit to the buyer’s personal account to keep an offer open. Deposits belong with the title or escrow company named in the contract. Before you send money anywhere, confirm the instructions by phone with that company, using a number you looked up yourself.
Ready to check a real offer?
Verify the name, the date, and the amount, then ask the title company what it has in hand. If you want an offer you can put through that same check, contact M1 Home Buyers and ask for the written price, the proof, and the closing company before you sign.