Cashier's check at Closing - a No No

I’m surprised that in NYC is ok to pay at closing with cashiers checks….everywhere else I’ve bought and sold real estate the final closing disbursements are done via wire transfer. Also I’ve read old stories where people bought expensive items such as used cars using FAKE cashier/bank checks, I guess the technology has improved so much that now criminals are able to manufacture very realistic fake cashier checks. Just out of curiosity…why do real estate agents not like wire transfers? Is the that banks impose? If it’s a $1 million plus transaction, a $35 fee seems a pittance to pay in exchange for the security of a wire transfer

Turbo, Closing in NYC are via Attorneys. Real estate agents don't touch the money. Seller's Attorneys has more work to do such as waiting for wire to hit their account and then disbursing to the seller. But they pass the buck for their conveniece as with Cashier's Checks, it is Seller who has to chase their bank. Fraud is not typically the issue but delay in funds being available by the Seller's bank is for any cashier's check bigger than $5525. They can hold you money up to a week. Many seller's attorney don't give a damn which is violating their fiduciary resposibility but putting their convenience first rather than client's interest.

The reason I started this thread that sellers should know the issues with Cashier's check and demand wire transfers. If their attorney doesn't want to do that, time to change.

I remember many years ago I paid for my nyc condo in cash, with a cashiers check. I was very nervous walking from the bank to the closing attorney’s office carrying a small piece of paper worth almost $1 million. I much prefer to do everything via wire transfer, I always triple check the account #’s but have never had a problem. The fees bank charge for wire transfers is a little annoying but for me the security is worth it vs. carrying a very, very large cheque around Manhattan

Assuming you have some modest amount of savings or market investments, that can take care of all wire fees. For example, it seems that if you park $75K of brokerage assets (Vanguard index or T-bill ETF or whatever) at Chase, you get monthly fees waived for a no-wire-fee checking account tier. I pay the rent by wire, FWIW.

Nada, The issue is notthe cost of wire for large transactions - call it $1mm or more cashier's check. The issue is seller's lawyers shirking their fiduciary responsibilty to the sellers as in they need to spend more time waiting for wire to hit at closing and with Cashier's check their client takes the risk of forged cashier's check and delays in fund availability when the client deposits the Cashier's check to their bank. I will fill you in offline as to how I am trying very hard with a major bank's executive office to release the hold on funds despite payor banks already paying them the money.

Forwarded you my email to the big bank.

300, sorry I was unclear — I was just responding to this:

>> The fees bank charge for wire transfers is a little annoying

In my particular case, a major bank policy is just designed to just earn interest for them after they have collected the check from the payor bank.

That's how they do it.