Chapter 6 of 10 · Buying in a particular situation · 7 of 14
Buying a house with cash in Ireland: proof of funds
Checked 21 Oct 2026the Central Bank's mortgage measures, Revenue's rules and the scheme operators' published terms.
Cash purchases: proof of funds, anti-money-laundering checks, survey and solicitor still needed, and how a cash buyer can close faster.
Check before you hire: a solicitor should be on the register kept by the Law Society of Ireland. Law Society: find a solicitor
Written in plain English for the person buying, selling or switching. This guide covers the Republic of Ireland only.
Paying cash takes the lender out of the picture. It does not take out the solicitor, the survey, the stamp duty or the checks on where your money came from. This guide covers what changes, what stays the same, and how to use the one real advantage a cash buyer has: speed.
What changes when you pay cash
| With a mortgage | With cash | |
|---|---|---|
| Central Bank limits | 4 or 3.5 times income, 90% of the price | None |
| Approval in principle | Needed before agents take you seriously | Replaced by proof of funds |
| Lender's valuation | Required, about €185 | None |
| Mortgage protection insurance | Required by law in most cases | Not required |
| Home insurance | Required by the lender from signing | Your choice, but sensible from signing |
| Solicitor | Needed | Needed |
| Survey | Your choice; most buyers get one | Your choice; the only check on the home's condition |
| Stamp duty | The same | The same |
| Time from sale agreed to closing | 8 to 16 weeks typical | 4 to 8 weeks typical |
The right-hand column is shorter. It is not empty.
Proof of funds: what agents and solicitors ask
An agent (with a PSRA licence) wants to know an offer is real before taking the home off the market. From a buyer with a mortgage, that means approval in principle. From a cash buyer, it means proof of funds. Read about the estate agent.
Proof of funds is one of these.
- A recent bank statement showing the balance, with account numbers blacked out if you prefer.
- A letter from your bank confirming you hold the sum.
- A letter from your solicitor confirming that you hold the proceeds of a sale, or that funds are held in the solicitor's client account.
Most agents accept any one of them. Some ask again at a later stage, for example before contracts, if the first was dated months ago.
Anti-money-laundering checks
Solicitors, estate agents and banks must check who you are and where your money came from. This comes from the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010. The check applies to every buyer, but a cash buyer gets more of it, because there is no lender doing the same work.
Your solicitor asks for the story behind the money, with documents. The common sources and what each needs are these.
| Where the money came from | What the solicitor asks for |
|---|---|
| Savings from salary | Bank statements over the saving period, payslips |
| Sale of a home | The contract or completion statement from that sale |
| An inheritance | The grant of probate or a letter from the executor's solicitor |
| A gift from family | A gift letter, and often the giver's bank statement showing the money leaving |
| Sale of shares or a business | The broker's statement or the sale agreement |
| Money from abroad | Statements from the foreign account and the transfer record |
Nothing here is an accusation. The solicitor is required to ask and to keep the answers. A clear file speeds everything up; a gap stops the sale until it is filled.
A gift towards the price can also have a tax side. Capital acquisitions tax (CAT) is the tax on gifts and inheritances. A child can receive up to a lifetime group A threshold from a parent before CAT applies (€400,000 as of Budget 2025; check Revenue's current figure). On top of that, the small gift exemption allows up to €3,000 a year from any person (check Revenue's current figure). Read the gift letter guide.
You still need a solicitor
A solicitor (check the Law Society's register) does the legal work of buying. Read about the conveyancing solicitor. With cash, the work is the same minus the lender's paperwork.
- Investigating title: checking that the seller owns the home and can sell it, and what rights or charges sit on it.
- Raising requisitions: the written legal questions to the seller's solicitor about planning, boundaries, services and the rest.
- The contract: checking the special conditions and advising you before you sign and pay the 10% deposit.
- Closing: paying the balance, taking the deeds and the keys.
- After closing: filing and paying the stamp duty within 44 days, and registering you as owner with Tailte Éireann.
A solicitor's fee is typically €1,500 to €3,000 plus VAT, with outlays of €400 to €1,200 on top. Read solicitor fees.
You still need a survey
With a mortgage, the lender sends a valuer. A valuer looks at what the home is worth, not at what is wrong with it. With cash, nobody comes at all unless you send them.
A survey is a report on the home's condition from an engineer or building surveyor (Engineers Ireland or the SCSI). It costs €300 to €600 plus VAT for a standard report, or €1,500 to €3,000 plus VAT for a full structural survey of an older or altered home. It finds the damp, the roof, the wiring, the extension without planning, the pyrite. Read about the house survey and what to look for when viewing.
A cash buyer is the buyer with the most at stake and the fewest checks done by others. The survey is where you make up for that.
Stamp duty is the same
Stamp duty is a tax on buying property. It does not depend on how you pay. The rates since 2 October 2024 are these.
- 1% on the price up to €1 million.
- 2% on the part from €1 million to €1.5 million.
- 6% on the part above €1.5 million.
On a new home it is charged on the price without VAT. There is no first-time buyer exemption. Read stamp duty.
A worked example: Liam buys a second-hand house for €420,000 with cash. Stamp duty is 1% of €420,000, which is €4,200. His solicitor files the return and pays it from the money Liam sent for closing, within 44 days of the deed. The stamp duty calculator does the sum for any price.
How much faster is closing?
A purchase with a mortgage waits on the lender: the valuation, the loan offer, the conditions, the drawdown. Each takes days or weeks. A cash purchase skips all of it.
What is left is the legal work and the seller's side. Where the title is clean and the seller is ready, four to eight weeks from sale agreed is typical. Where the seller is in a chain, waiting on probate, or buying somewhere else, the cash buyer waits like anyone. Read how long it takes to buy a house and plan the dates with the buying timeline.
Speed and certainty are why sellers sometimes take a cash offer below a higher offer that depends on a mortgage. That is a choice for the seller, and this site makes no prediction about it.
Cash and a new build
A new build closes when the builder finishes, not when you are ready, so cash does not speed it up. Help to Buy needs a mortgage of at least 70% of the price, so a cash buyer cannot claim it. The First Home Scheme needs a mortgage too. Read buying a new build.
Cash at auction
Auction sales are binding on the day, with 10% paid then and the rest within weeks. Cash suits that. Read buying at auction before you bid.
Keep some cash back
The price is not the whole cost. Keep money aside for stamp duty, the solicitor, the survey, insurance, the move and the first repairs. The cost of buying calculator lists every item and when each is paid. Read the hidden costs of buying.
Where this leaves you
Get your proof of funds and the paper trail behind it ready before you bid, because they are what an agent and a solicitor ask for first. Run the stamp duty calculator on your price so the duty is in the budget. The first-time buyer journey shows every step, and get quotes puts you in touch with the solicitor and surveyor a cash buyer still needs.
Questions people ask
What is proof of funds when buying a house in Ireland?
A document showing you have the money to buy: a bank statement, a letter from your bank, or a solicitor's letter confirming sale proceeds. Agents ask for it before they accept an offer from a cash buyer. Your solicitor asks for it again, with the story of where the money came from.
Do I need a solicitor to buy a house with cash in Ireland?
Yes. The solicitor checks the title, raises the legal questions, handles the contract, pays the stamp duty and registers you as the owner. None of that depends on a mortgage. Without a solicitor you cannot complete a sale in practice.
Do cash buyers pay stamp duty in Ireland?
Yes, the same as anyone: 1% of the price up to €1 million, 2% on the part from €1 million to €1.5 million, and 6% above that. On a €350,000 home that is €3,500. Your solicitor files and pays it within 44 days.
How long does a cash purchase take in Ireland?
Faster than a purchase with a mortgage, because there is no loan offer, lender's valuation or drawdown to wait for. Four to eight weeks from sale agreed is typical where the title is clean. The seller's side can still slow it.
Why does my solicitor ask where my money came from?
The law on money laundering requires solicitors, agents and banks to check the source of funds on every purchase. A cash buyer gets more questions because there is no lender doing the same check. Savings history, a sale, an inheritance or a gift each have their own paper trail.