Make sure they count it in front of you when you hand it over.
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I’m surprised to see so many people saying they would only take cash for various things, especially such a large sum of money.
I, too, would feel very uncomfortable walking around with that much cash. But, I almost never have cash on me in any amount, so perhaps that’s a factor.
It’s really not hard to deal with personal checks - you simply do not “hand the reins” over to the buyer until the check has cleared your bank account. It’s written into my sales contract. If it’s a horse being sold, the buyer does not take ownership until the funds are actually in your account, and the horse cannot leave seller’s property until such time, either. If it’s a saddle or item being sold, you don’t ship it or give it to the buyer until the funds have cleared. Check bounces? No horse or item. It’s that simple, in my opinion.
A bank check is not a blank check. A bank check or cashier’s check is completely safe. “A cashier’s check or cheque is a cheque guaranteed by a bank, drawn on the bank’s own funds and signed by a cashier. Cashier’s checks are treated as guaranteed funds because the bank, rather than the purchaser, is responsible for paying the amount. They are commonly required for real estate and brokerage transactions.” You pay the bank for the check, they take the money from your account, and it is guaranteed to be good by the bank. Still uncomfortable because of “scams?” Same principle as a personal check - horse/item doesn’t leave your possession until the money is confirmed in your bank account.
I would not be comfortable, myself, walking around with thousands in cash for a purchase. Therefore, if a seller demanded only cash, I would have them meet me at my bank, make the withdrawal with them there to witness, and immediately hand over the money. And I’d have another witness with me to watch the exchange, perhaps take a video or photo. And the contract would be signed before this happened. You guys are paranoid about checks? I’m paranoid about cash, I guess :lol:
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This wouldn’t feel weird to me at all. There are other ways to do things for long-distance sales or higher dollar value horses, but for an on-site sale of a horse in the few thousand dollar range, cash is absolutely the way to go - buying or selling. Low risk exchange on both ends – cash can protect the buyer as much as the seller. Just don’t lose the envelope! :lol:
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Horse, hay, farm machinery… For a few thousand… Cash is the medium of exchange. It’s a disappointing sized wad of $100 bills
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Might be helpful to ask the seller why he wants cash. If he wants cash because he doesn’t want to assume the risk of a personal check, then he might agree to a cashier’s check or a wire. If he wants cash because he doesn’t want to have to deal with the red tape of recording the income on his tax returns, that is a different story.
Back in the day, we sold/bought horses using cash or personal checks all the time. Never got burned but it could just be dumb luck. In this day and era, virtually all our transactions are wires (purchases and sales).
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Does the seller own the horse? I would try to investigate the situation before handing over cash to someone you don’t know.
I’ve paid for several in cash, even up to $7,500 or so. I usually get it the day before so I’m not hanging around with that much cash on me, but it’s never been an issue. Easier for buyer and seller, and count it out in front of them and just sign a Bill of Sale.
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Eh, cash is a handy negotiating tool when you have it right there in your pocket. It’s also nice for your own limiting factor if you’ve decided on a “this is the highest I’ll pay” amount - if it’s all you got, you can’t stretch it higher to an amount you didn’t want to pay.
I paid $9,500 in cold hard cash for a horse trailer. I went into the bank and made a withdrawal of the amount in $100 bills. Seller wanted $12,000. That amount became very negotiable when all I had was the $9500 and was prepared to walk away if the seller didn’t take the offer. That $9500 was what I had decided the trailer was worth to me…if the seller refused the cash, well, oh well.
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You can always wire money for large amounts. Also, just because a check has cleared your bank doesn’t mean it has cleared the writer’s bank. Talk to your bank manager about the time needed to make sure you don’t end up holding the bag with a bounced check.
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I can think of a lot of reasons the seller might want cash. Could be for the reasons stated above. Also, lots of people these days don’t have bank accounts. Banks won’t give people accounts if they have bad credit. So it costs them money to turn paper into cash.
But I also would be very careful about going to some farm where a person would be waiting for me to show up with a wad of cash.
Do you know these people? Do you know people who know them?
I don’t allow clients to wire money into my account - my banker advised me against it. I’ll take a check and wait for it to clear my account - but I’m selling a service and if my clients don’t pay they don’t have a lawyer, so it’s different from your situation.
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The last horse we purchased, I paid 10K cash. We took the trailer with us when we went to try, and brought the horse home. (I was not doing the drive twice) We were complete unknowns to the seller and wanted them to feel comfortable allowing us to leave with horse.
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Cash doesn’t seem weird to me, but if you feel awkward go to the ATM! Although if you have a $1000 or so daily withdrawal limit you may have to make several trips LOL
I don’t usually sell horses I tend to keep them forever, but all the ones I’ve ever bought have been paid for in cash.
I did have enough of one precious mare last year and decided to sell her. She was being sold out of the country to clients of a trainer my fiance knows. So they send a money transfer through Western Union… Numbers were off something didn’t work, they couldn’t seem to help us. We had already arranged trailering for her and so we sent her anyway. Not sure what happened with Western Union, but they buyers did send us a personal cheque via snail mail which arrived about a week after the mare left. I had mailed them a signed paper transfer in this time as well. I guess there was a chance the money wouldn’t have come but she wasn’t crazy valuable and I needed the kicking witch gone :lol:
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Cash is the safest way to accept payment. I only accept checks from those I “know,” and most of my purchases were via cash. Agree with a bill of sale and cash receipt.
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Many banks now offer ways that you can pay people directly from your account electronically. You might look into if you can do that with your bank. It is usually pretty easy and you only need the recipients e mail address.
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Well did you get the horse?
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A cashier’s check done by somebody smart enough to put legit routing numbers on it will clear, and your balance will go up, and everything looks hunky-dory. It’s only about a week later that they mail it back with a big red “COUNTERFEIT” stamp and your balance goes back down again. (I’ve got a nice one around here somewhere–the scan was terribly obvious, but the check looks 100% legit.) I don’t think there’s any way to know for sure that it’s really truly cleared without verifying it directly with the issuing bank, and I’m not even sure that’s guaranteed. (Ideally I’d want to do the deal in that bank’s lobby and turn it into cash then and there.)
These days I’d just as soon take a personal check as a bank check, but only from somebody I know. I sure do like the folding green stuff.
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Requiring cash payment allows the seller to circumvent the IRS. That’s not your problem. As others have mentioned, get all the proper paperwork and hand over the money.
We’ve bought horses, vehicles, tractors etc with cash always. The only time I had a problem was when a new-to-me instructor claimed I hadn’t paid her, but I had a reciept.
It may be different now but when I was in the plant business you went to the airport with a big wad o’ cash to buy Holland bulbs. A grower down south got in a boatload of trouble because they thought he was a drug dealer.
A few thousand doesn’t make a very big wad.
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I’ll do this sometimes too, maybe not in such large amounts, but still. I like to separate my money into two pockets - pocket 1 has the amount I’d like to start negotiating at, usually lower than I think the item is worth. If the seller accepts my first offer, I’m laughing. If not, I know I have X amount in pocket two that I can use to further negotiate “and go get” if the seller doesn’t take my first offer. Saves me the hassle of counting out bills and the seller seeing that I actually did have extra money.
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“Requiring cash payment allows the seller to circumvent the IRS. That’s not your problem. As others have mentioned, get all the proper paperwork and hand over the money.”
Actually you are supposed to send a form 1099 to anyone to whom you pay over 600 at the end of the year and a copy goes to the IRS. What the recipient does with the reporting is their business/problem. It is your responsibility to report payments over 600.
