Nasty Estate Agent Man

kerryhoney

Hey all, not been here for a while! This could be a long one so please bear with me.

My partner and I have found a house we like. I own my own house which I will be renting. I have spoken to my mortgage lender and they are happy to do this on the basis that I have enough equity in the house to cover this. My partner owns his house with his friend. His friend is going to buy him out and some of this money, £20k, will form the basis of our deposit.

We have found a house we like and made several offers, all rejected but then made an offer today which we think may be accepted. We don't know if it has been accepted because of the estate agent. The agent says that the vendor has told him that he wants to make sure we can afford the house with the offer that we are making. The agent recommends that we go in with all of our finances, speak to their in-house mortgage advisor so that we can get things moving quickly. We have our own broker and I don't want to be suckered in by using the agent's own advisor. Soooo, we don't know if our offer has even been accepted!! He is telling us he won't indicate whether the offer is accepted until he knows we can afford it, the agent says he is confident he can persuade him but I wouldn't trust the agent for anything!

(I know this is long already, soz!)

We spoke to our broker and he is going through our figures, looking for suitable mortgages on the basis that my partner still owns his house with his friend, even though he is going to be bought out. Is this normal practice? Surely, its only the same as him being in a chain and waiting for the people to buy his house, so he won't have this credit commitment when we move?

The broker is then going to recommend a product to us, we then apply for an agreement in principle and take this to the agent as proof that we can afford the house. However, what if they then say that they don't accept our offer? It is my understanding that the agreement in principle has to do credit checks. If we then want a mortgage in 6 months time because this offer is refused then this will look bad on our credit report?

The most confusing thing now is about this AIP, the fact that the broker is taking into consideration that my partner still pays towards a house (but won't be when his friend buys him out!), and why the agent won't tell us about whether the offer has been accepted.

I have found the vendor's number on the internet as he is selling the house on several DIY websites and am so tempted to ring him. I have been advised against this by someone who has a lot of experience in buying houses.

Some advice would be so much appreciated. I am literally driving myself insane with worry!!!!!!!!
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

kerryhoney

PS Ignore that total debt on my signature, that was a couple of years ago and have got it down to £9,000. Yay!

Strapped

I think it's perfectly reasonable of the vendor to ask whether you are genuinely in a position to proceed if he is considering accepting your offer (which it sounds as though he is). The agent is trying it on in trying to get you to see the in-house mortgage broker - politely decline if you are happy with your current advisor and don't want a second opinion. But you will need an AIP if you want to look like serious buyers.

kerryhoney

Thanks Strapped - do you think it will be a problem re my boyf's application for a joint mortgage with me when he is already on another mortgage?

Kerry

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kerryhoney wrote: »

Thanks Strapped - do you think it will be a problem re my boyf's application for a joint mortgage with me when he is already on another mortgage?

Kerry

Kerry, I don't think he will be able to get a mortgage with you whilst still on another one, in fact i'm pretty certain.

Ms_Chocaholic

It is possible for a person to have two mortgages at once (my OH did at one time) but this is dependent on the amount currently owed on his current mortgage.

Could you not wait until your parnter is bought out of his current mortgage before you think about buying a property together. Could he move in with you?

gordonstights

I've been told by my mortgage advisor that in the case where an EA wants to know if you can afford it, you simply ring your mortgage advisor and they ring the EA and tell them that you can afford it. If they need to see a mortgage in principle then the mortgage advisor can always write one out for the amount you are trying to buy the house for. This avoids the EA knowing the true amount that you are allowed to borrow.

kerryhoney

Ms Chocaholic - yes he could move in here, that would be a perfect solution but now we've found the perfect house so not getting the offer on this house because we have to wait a week or two for his friend to complete the transaction will be crazy stressful!

As for the other suggestion re getting the broker to call the EA (Sorry, i've forgotten your name) he has done this but the EA wants proof in a hand delivered letter. The broker won't do anything until we go through the full application!

As for being certain that he can't get another mortgage whilst he still has one, I feared that'd be the case. Ohhh cr%p!

Debt_Free_Chick

kerryhoney wrote: »

The broker is then going to recommend a product to us, we then apply for an agreement in principle and take this to the agent as proof that we can afford the house. However, what if they then say that they don't accept our offer? It is my understanding that the agreement in principle has to do credit checks. If we then want a mortgage in 6 months time because this offer is refused then this will look bad on our credit report?

You are not normally credit checked for an AIP. An AIP is generally worth very little, but many sellers readily accept it as proof that you will get an offer. Usually, an AIP just looks at your finances and - if it's a product based on salary multiples - it checks that your salary is sufficient. If it's a product based on affordability, it looks at your current income and expenditure.

The most confusing thing now is about this AIP, the fact that the broker is taking into consideration that my partner still pays towards a house (but won't be when his friend buys him out!), and why the agent won't tell us about whether the offer has been accepted.

Sounds like it's a product based on affordability - but even if it's based on salary multiples, existing debt would still be taken into account.

I have found the vendor's number on the internet as he is selling the house on several DIY websites and am so tempted to ring him. I have been advised against this by someone who has a lot of experience in buying houses.

Damned if you do; damned if you don't. We have no idea of knowing how this particular vendor will react. We can tell you what we would do if it were us - and some of us would be fine about it, whilst others would "get the hump". But we can't predict what this vendor will do - sorry

chickmug

I am an EA and we need to ensure that those who want to buy can get, or have got, the money. It is laid out in our Code of Conduct, etc with the NAEA that we must find out about such matters so we can advise the seller that the person making the offer really can afford it.

Bear in mind that a high percentage, when they are quizzed, can NOT afford the properties they are trying to look at so little wonder why some Ea's are so doubting.

Having said this I would accept a phone call from your broker but it seems some EA's are so money grabbing they want to find every way they can to sell you ther finance services. I guess the problem is they can make as much from that as from the house sale commission.

I would be tempted to -out of courtesy - keep the seller appraised of what you are doing and wha his EA is asking for. Use the phrase "out of courtesy I am informing you that, etc".

Is the EA a member of the NAEA?

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

You are not normally credit checked for an AIP. An AIP is generally worth very little, but many sellers readily accept it as proof that you will get an offer. Usually, an AIP just looks at your finances and - if it's a product based on salary multiples - it checks that your salary is sufficient. If it's a product based on affordability, it looks at your current income and expenditure.

Most AIPs do Credit Checks.

Kerryhoney, is your Bf's friend buying him out of the house NOW? If he is, then your broker doesn't need to look for a mortgage that assumes he is going to be keeping this one going, with most lenders he'll just need to complete on that before your purchase completes. Not knowing the full situation, it may be that your broker knows something we don't and that's why he's being cautious.

I would tell the EA that you are happy with your broker and you are happy to show them your AIP or to get the broker to send them a copy. Not all lenders give AIP certificates, so they can't insist on this for all cases.

On several occasions I've told EAs that if they don't take my word for it that the client has an AIP, then we will deal direct with the seller.