Hi! I'm about to sell a car for more money than the buyer or myself are comfortable handling in raw cash ($25k). I am posting here just to make sure I have this right in my mind:
- A 'cashier's check' is guaranteed good by the bank that issued it, and is in the bank's name, not a client's name. The check is like cash, in that the value is lost if the check is lost/destroyed. The value is stored in the check. The check may take 10+ days to clear.
- A Certified Bank Check is a personal check drawn on the client's account, except that the bank also 'allocates' and guarantees the funds available for the check, and certifies to the holder that it will clear. The value is stored in the bank client's account, 'set aside' to cover the check. The check can be authenticated by calling the bank's (real) number. The check clears faster, in a few days, than a cashier's check.
Is this pretty much correct? Any other important details I should know or steps I should take to ensure I don't hand over my car to a fraudster? I know that both types of check can be counterfeited well enough that a depositor's bank might even go ahead and deposit one, only for it to bounce days later. It seems like as long as I call the ACTUAL issuing bank, and not a phony number printed on a phony check, that I should be able to trust that a verified check will actually cash when I deposit it, right?
My preferred method would be this:
The buyer and I go to the buyer's bank. I personally observe a bank teller cut me a check. The buyer and I go to my bank and deposit the check. I hand the car keys and title to the buyer and we part ways.
However, this buyer is flying in from out of state to arrange professional transport of the car (a specialty vehicle, only a few thousand exist) and his primary bank does not do business in my state, which is why he prefers to pay with a certified bank check issued by that bank. He DOES have a Wells Fargo account though, and COULD transfer the $ to that account before he heads out here, so that I could still satisfy my preference to witness a bank teller cutting me a check.
What do you think? Should I err on the side of caution, being more strict and make the buyer transfer the money from one account to another, or can I relax a little and trust a Certified Bank Check after personally calling the bank to authenticate it? Thanks in advance!
Submitted January 01, 2019 at 10:53AM by slvrsfr http://bit.ly/2VlNOeK
