New regulations on money laundering make an already slow conveyancing process in England even more complicated. When I bought a retirement apartment recently, the compliance officer at my solicitors could not accept that I had built up funds in an ISA over a number of years.
Fortunately the funds platform Hargreaves Lansdown came to my rescue and produced many pages of documents listing transactions over several years, swamping the solicitor with information.
Now I have been helping one granddaughter with her purchase of a property in Wales after she discovered her inner Welsh woman.
First the Welsh solicitors requested that I present myself at their Pembroke office, some 200 miles from where I live, to prove that I am who I say I am. We have now reached a stage where I have had to provide my last tax assessment by the HMRC.
I do have one weapon in reserve, two native Welsh speaking nephews. I have found that dealing with officialdom in Wales is often expedited if one writes in Cymraeg.
I have one more granddaughter who is looking at properties, so the challenge is not over. Fortunately, my great-grandaughter is just coming up to three.
I helped another granddaughter financially a few years ago and did not encounter these problems. Money laundering is a serious problem, but it seems to me that these regulations are causing difficulties for ordinary people.
