Is it normal 4 seller to ask for bank statements to show proof of downpayment?

I am about to put an offer for a house in Irvine. The sellers would like to see my bank statement before I can submit the offer to show proof of funds for the down payment and where the funds is at. I am a bit uncomfortable with that as I think this information is private. I have already stated that I can provide an actual lender approved letter verifying my qualifications for the full offer amount inclusive of down payment.

The offer I am submitting is below asking price if that matters. 

Any thoughts as whether I should be okay or not okay providing this requested information? We have placed offers before and never was asked for this.

Thank you in advance.

This is actually more common after the credit meltdown. On several of the offers I got when we sold a home, the copy of their bank statement was actually part of the offer.

Just sharpie out the sensitive data and show the balance.

Last sale was to FCB. We asked for this to make sure they had their cash out of China.

Once a seller accepts your offer, they can accept backup offers but likely will stop active marketing. You're effectively taking that house off the market, even before a deposit is put down. So it's reasonable to expect the seller to want some proof you can close.

Thank you for the responses.

Would this weaken my negotiation power since I am offering below asking price and funds would show that I have little more than enough to purchase at asking price?

We are not paying full cash for this thus our lender can attest that we have the funds, that the funds are in the US (not overseas), etc.

I don't think you have to worry about them seeing you have more than you offered.

They just want to make sure if they accept your offer, the escrow won't go sideways because of funding. Showing extra actually strengthens your offer as they know you can weather any unforeseen funding needs.

I thought that's "sort of" a standard of practice that buyer provide supporting financial statement like proof of fund and loan pre-qualification when making an offer on a house.

When I sold my previous home, all buyers provides these info along with their offers without even asking. 

Yes I think it's the norm now a days

When I put in my offer for a home recently, they had us include our bank statements in the offer.  They didn't care as much for an attached credit report as the bank statements.  Essentially, the seller had multiple offers at the same price but chose our offer because we had a larger down payment than the other bid.  I think the sellers feel more comfortable with a buyer with larger funds, usually 25% or more than one with barely 20%...from a banking perspective, I know sellers are concerned with the LTV.  If a buyer has exactly 20% down payment or less, in the event the appraisal comes back a bit less than the asking price, the buyers have 2 things that protect them.  The loan contingency and the appraisal contingency which would allow the buyer to stop escrow and get their deposit back.  Essentially if the appraisal came back $1000 short, the buyer could back out and they would have to start the process again..

Just my 2 cents

Home4me said:

I am about to put an offer for a house in Irvine. The sellers would like to see my bank statement before I can submit the offer to show proof of funds for the down payment and where the funds is at. I am a bit uncomfortable with that as I think this information is private. I have already stated that I can provide an actual lender approved letter verifying my qualifications for the full offer amount inclusive of down payment.

The offer I am submitting is below asking price if that matters. 

Any thoughts as whether I should be okay or not okay providing this requested information? We have placed offers before and never was asked for this.

Thank you in advance.

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just curious what did your realtor said about this or were you just asking for other opinions?

Home4me said:

Thank you for the responses.

Would this weaken my negotiation power since I am offering below asking price and funds would show that I have little more than enough to purchase at asking price?

We are not paying full cash for this thus our lender can attest that we have the funds, that the funds are in the US (not overseas), etc.

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Why not just show an account that has funds to cover the down and then some? I'm assuming the loan amount isn't at a level where qualification is an issue.

Thank you so much for all the helpful responses and comments. I feel so much better knowing that this is not so uncommon.

I did speak to the realtor after posting. She explained that in Irvine there are a lot of international buyers whose money is in overseas accounts. Because of this it can take a while for them to get their money here to the US thus delaying the time to close, etc. They wanted to verify that the money is already here in the US and of course to also know that we have the funds for the down payment.

The selling agent is okay as of now with speaking to our lender directly and having the verbal and written communication that we are strong buyers and the money is indeed here in the US. So perhaps I will not need to provide bank statement information after all. However if I do, I feel better and more comfortable about it, thanks to all your comments and responses. 

Never hurts to get a summary statement from your bank that shows only your name, the last 2-3 numbers of your account and present balance printed on bank stationary in advance of any written offer. Since there's zero security to your personal data in situations like this, at least with a stripped down letter from the bank you've got some protection from the rampant ID theft today. I'd be very wary of sending credit reports to an unknown seller via a careless realtor or mortgage loan officer. There are other incentives besides personal data you can use to show intent - short contingencies, rent backs, repair waivers, along with a letter to the seller saying you were a victim of ID theft and are protective of your personal data, sometimes are more engaging that your bank data splayed out for all to read.

My .02c

SGIP

Soylent Green Is People said:

Never hurts to get a summary statement from your bank that shows only your name, the last 2-3 numbers of your account and present balance printed on bank stationary in advance of any written offer. Since there's zero security to your personal data in situations like this, at least with a stripped down letter from the bank you've got some protection from the rampant ID theft today. I'd be very wary of sending credit reports to an unknown seller via a careless realtor or mortgage loan officer. There are other incentives besides personal data you can use to show intent - short contingencies, rent backs, repair waivers, along with a letter to the seller saying you were a victim of ID theft and are protective of your personal data, sometimes are more engaging that your bank data splayed out for all to read.

My .02c

SGIP

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+1  Several of my buyers would just send a PDF of the front page of their recent bank/brokerage statements showing their names and amount balance while blacking out their account number/s.  Sellers want to see that you have enough liquid funds for the downpayment. 

Well, at least your putting an offer. I call an agent about seeing a home for sale and she said the sellers are requesting to show bank statements!!! This is just to see a house!! :-\
I said, I'm not going to show you my financials to see if I even like a house. Oh well, its still sitting after 65 day and I am a serious buyer. Their loss!!! ;D

RHOC said:

Well, at least your putting an offer. I call an agent about seeing a home for sale and she said the sellers are requesting to show bank statements!!! This is just to see a house!! :-\
I said, I'm not going to show you my financials to see if I even like a house. Oh well, its still sitting after 65 day and I am a serious buyer. Their loss!!! ;D

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Now that's extreme.  Doesn't sound like a serious seller to me.  Plenty of other fish in the sea.  Good luck with your search.