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>The escrow 'company' didn't have any sort of need for a paper trail of where money came from when buying my house. Why in the world would they? I’ve bought an

>The escrow 'company' didn't have any sort of need for a paper trail of where money came from when buying my house. Why in the world would they? I’ve bought and sold lots of properties, and that has happened literally zero times ever. If the escrow company asked me where my money came from, I’d tell them to get fucked and I’d use a different company. It’s absolutely none of their business.

VirusNewbie 5y ago
That's not my point. My point is there is now no record of where the money came from, anywhere. If I go deposit 500k in a TDAmeritrade account or at Wells Fargo, you can bet it's going to be sent out to the IRS or have a flag flipped somewhere and that transaction is going to be recorded.
- beervirus 5y ago
  Why would TDA report a deposit to the IRS? If it’s cash over 10k sure, but otherwise…
  - justin66 5y ago
    They're required to investigate and possibly file a suspicious activity report if they thought a transaction or a series of transactions was (wait for it...) suspicious. They might simply believe "there is no way this guy has $500k." This kind of report doesn't necessarily result in any kind of action that the client will notice, even if the investigators decide to pass it on to the government. This is all governed by laws like the Bank Secrecy Act. There's been a push in recent years to make it personal with bank personnel, who are reminded that they're subject to civil and criminal penalties if they look the other way and knowingly let the wrong kind of transaction through.
    - beervirus 5y ago
      So if I make a large deposit they probably won’t worry about it, but if a black guy does, maybe that’s a different story? Great.
      - justin66 5y ago
        Do you feel like you understand the banking system well enough to make a comment like that? I'm still just describing the basics to you. There's ample information online, so have at it...
- slownews45 5y ago
  If the funds come from another account in your name and are not cash very unlikely for there to be further reporting, there already is a good paper trail. Escrow companies keep good records as well on flows in and out on a file. So checkable if needed.
  - VirusNewbie 5y ago
    But what i'm saying is all these escrow companies used to buy multi-million dollar houses are out of business. they don't exist anymore. Did they transfer their records to some government agency?
    - spicybright 5y ago
      Adding on, would anyone expect ex-employees from these dead companies to hold onto the paper work endlessly and produce it when asked?
      - citizenpaul 5y ago
        The current owners just do some extra paperwork that asserts the original papertrail that was lost, basically that's it. The downside is that it usually results in a significantly lower sale price if you try to sell down the road because there is a risk of contested ownership that will result in legal fees or losing the property (very rare). I did work for what I later learned were shady real estate/escrow companies some years back, maybe it changed since then.
    - slownews45 5y ago
      Interesting and good point! The bank records usually include a file number reference, but obviously less detailed.

VirusNewbie 5y ago

That's not my point. My point is there is now no record of where the money came from, anywhere. If I go deposit 500k in a TDAmeritrade account or at Wells Fargo, you can bet it's going to be sent out to the IRS or have a flag flipped somewhere and that transaction is going to be recorded.

beervirus 5y ago
Why would TDA report a deposit to the IRS? If it’s cash over 10k sure, but otherwise…
- justin66 5y ago
  They're required to investigate and possibly file a suspicious activity report if they thought a transaction or a series of transactions was (wait for it...) suspicious. They might simply believe "there is no way this guy has $500k." This kind of report doesn't necessarily result in any kind of action that the client will notice, even if the investigators decide to pass it on to the government. This is all governed by laws like the Bank Secrecy Act. There's been a push in recent years to make it personal with bank personnel, who are reminded that they're subject to civil and criminal penalties if they look the other way and knowingly let the wrong kind of transaction through.
  - beervirus 5y ago
    So if I make a large deposit they probably won’t worry about it, but if a black guy does, maybe that’s a different story? Great.
    - justin66 5y ago
      Do you feel like you understand the banking system well enough to make a comment like that? I'm still just describing the basics to you. There's ample information online, so have at it...
slownews45 5y ago
If the funds come from another account in your name and are not cash very unlikely for there to be further reporting, there already is a good paper trail. Escrow companies keep good records as well on flows in and out on a file. So checkable if needed.
- VirusNewbie 5y ago
  But what i'm saying is all these escrow companies used to buy multi-million dollar houses are out of business. they don't exist anymore. Did they transfer their records to some government agency?
  - spicybright 5y ago
    Adding on, would anyone expect ex-employees from these dead companies to hold onto the paper work endlessly and produce it when asked?
    - citizenpaul 5y ago
      The current owners just do some extra paperwork that asserts the original papertrail that was lost, basically that's it. The downside is that it usually results in a significantly lower sale price if you try to sell down the road because there is a risk of contested ownership that will result in legal fees or losing the property (very rare). I did work for what I later learned were shady real estate/escrow companies some years back, maybe it changed since then.
  - slownews45 5y ago
    Interesting and good point! The bank records usually include a file number reference, but obviously less detailed.