Have I scuppered the relationship with my EA

jodami84

Having been put on the spot last week i agreed to see the local estate agents mortgage advisor. I soon began to wonder what i was thinking and the realisation of a 300 charge for their advice confirmed i'd made an error.

Reluctant not to get on the wrong side of the EA i rung to cancel my appointment and explained that i was obliged to go see the Santander mortgage advisor as I was involved in a first-time buyers account with them. The advisor is ringing later in the week to rearrange an appointment, despite me saying I wasn't that bothered, but i got all the normal chat. I have no intention of only listening to Santander but i was looking for an out

Normally i would be quite happy to tell them to naff off, but i dont want to annoy them as the property we are most interested in is on with them.

Have i anything to worry about?

poppysarah

jodami84 wrote: »

realisation of a 300 charge for their advice confirmed i'd made an error.
Have i anything to worry about?

Erm as long as you remember that you shouldn't be bullied into things in future I think you'll be fine.

chewmylegoff

jodami84 wrote: »

Having been put on the spot last week i agreed to see the local estate agents mortgage advisor. I soon began to wonder what i was thinking and the realisation of a 300 charge for their advice confirmed i'd made an error.

Reluctant not to get on the wrong side of the EA i rung to cancel my appointment and explained that i was obliged to go see the Santander mortgage advisor as I was involved in a first-time buyers account with them. The advisor is ringing later in the week to rearrange an appointment, despite me saying I wasn't that bothered, but i got all the normal chat. I have no intention of only listening to Santander but i was looking for an out

Normally i would be quite happy to tell them to naff off, but i dont want to annoy them as the property we are most interested in is on with them.

Have i anything to worry about?

do they want to charge you £300 just to have a chat with them, or if a mortgage is actually arranged? if the former then refuse, if the latter then the only real harm to it is that you'll waste your own time.

poppysarah

chewmylegoff wrote: »

do they want to charge you £300 just to have a chat with them, or if a mortgage is actually arranged? if the former then refuse, if the latter then the only real harm to it is that you'll waste your own time.

The EA may end up with private information - and they work for the seller not the buyer.

Yorkie1

chewmylegoff wrote: »

do they want to charge you £300 just to have a chat with them, or if a mortgage is actually arranged? ... if the latter then the only real harm to it is that you'll waste your own time.

Except for the oft-quoted risk that the EA therefore gets to know your financial position.

There is an EA Code of Practice which says that they mustn't deal with you any differently if you decline to see their mortgage advisor etc. (Assuming they subscribe to the Code). Someone else will be able to quote chapter and verse, I can't remember the details off-hand.

jodami84

I hadn't even thought of what they could potentially use my information for in the future. Really could use that info to help a seller if we were going for a property. Just confirmed I wont be going. Will put a line through it when they ring.

In answer to the earlier question, there is a 300 charge if a mortgage is agreed

chewmylegoff

what does it matter if an EA knows you can theoretically afford to borrow £100,000 more if you are not willing to offer 1p more? in any case the EA will try to get you to pay more whether they know your financials or not, so it's immaterial in my view. i wouldn't go myself - but that's just because i couldn't be bothered to waste time on it rather than being terrified about what they will do with the information i give them.

jodami84

I would say it almost definitely helps them when it comes to any cheeky offers.

Genuinely believing someone cant go higher and then knowing they can, is a bit of a difference.

missile

An unscrupulous EA (is there any other kind?) may give preference to you if they think they will get a fee for arranging your mortgage.

chewmylegoff

jodami84 wrote: »

I would say it almost definitely helps them when it comes to any cheeky offers.

Genuinely believing someone cant go higher and then knowing they can, is a bit of a difference.

well, each to their own. my opinion is that a seller is rather unlikely to say "bloggs can only offer £290k, i want £350k, but because they can't afford to pay what i want, i will accept less money". maybe people do operate like that, but my own personal experience is that people i have come across do not. further, it may not really be helpful to tell an EA that you can't afford to pay a penny more, because that indicates you are right on the edge and may not actually be able to afford what you are offering.

if you think that it would help to appear not to be able to pay e.g. asking price, then you should go and see the mortgage advisor and lie about your finances so that they think you can only pay less than you can really afford; that way you will be more likely to achieve a discount on your logic!

the reality is that this is just a waste of time, rather than there being some kind of EA conspiracy to make you pay more for a property. the EA will be far more interested in the kickback from the mortgage company than they will be in the small additional fee they would get from you paying more.

poppysarah

chewmylegoff wrote: »

well, each to their own. my opinion is that a seller is rather unlikely to say "bloggs can only offer £290k, i want £350k, but because they can't afford to pay what i want, i will accept less money".

If it was the only offer you had in six months you might start to consider it.