EA insists I see mortgage adviser before I can make an offer....

g_attrill

evoke wrote: »

In that case, show the mortgage offer to the EA/MA and get on with it. With the sheer number of sales falling through, EAs are being told by sellers to qualify buyers.

Your seller simply needs to know that you are able to buy his/her property. It's a real hassle when a deal fall through.

I don't think this is a case of the EA/MA trying to flog you a mortgage. I think it's the vendor and the EA simply trying to find a way to confirm that you are able to raise the funds required for the purchase.

The problem is that the EAs are refusing to even let the buyer see more details about a property, let alone make an offer before demanding information. I wouldn't have a problem showing an EA proof of funds or a mortage offer, but only AFTER an offer has been accepted. The AIP or deposit will often be evidence that the buyer can afford more, so handing it over is not really something I would want to do.

It doesn't usually take much effort to agree on a price, so it's not like either side will have weeks of work or a lot of money invested.

I accept that after if has been shown the seller could gazump and go for more, but it would be harder to go back on a price agreed.

evoke

Seriously, I think it's jsut the EA being more careful at the request of the seller. The seller has probably insisted that he/she will only accept an offer if the EA has qualified the buyer making the offer. This is exactly my current position too. I have instructed my EA that I will not accept any offer unless the EA can show me some evidence that the buyer has ability to raise the funds to buy my property. The usual way for EAs to do this is to get you to speak to their mortgage advisor. They're not going to try to sell you a mortgage, merely to see that you are likely to actually receive the funds from your bank or building society.

Remember that a mortgage in principle doesn't mean a great deal. The MA is likely to evaluate the likelihood of the funds being made available to you.

Surely it's not a hardship if you really want the property to have a chat with the MA? It'll also show that you are serious about buying the property. It'll take 5-10 minutes of your time over the phone. You won't have to sign or commit to anything.

googler

Quenastoise wrote: »

The reality is the EA company is making more money out of arranging a mortgage than from the actual sale. Another nice little earner is to get the buyer to go with the conveyancing company they have an agreement with - Kerrching again, there goes another commission !

I do see the PP's point of view, but EAs are not in the business of looking after their customers, they are in the business of looking after themselves :mad:

How does this differ from any other business where profits have to be made to pay the principals and employees within the business, and possibly also to generate profit/dividends for shareholders and investors?

To paraphrase;

"Coke aren't in the business of making soft drinks, they're in the business of making money"

???

retepetsir

This is an interesting topic....I'm watching it closely.

We went in to a local EA asking about a property we were interested, and he quickly 'recommended' that we book in to see their MA asap.

We're FTB and its all new to us, so we said 'yes' after he was very pushy about it. Obviously the MA is tied in to the EA.

I now have an appointment for 11am tomorrow, but also managed to book in with a financial advisor at HSBC just before this meeting, at 9am tomorrpw, which is the bank we're hoping to deal with for the mortgage.

Would it be worth me canceling the EA's mortgage adviser appointment for another day, until we have some form of letter stating the mortgage we're looking to apply for (relative to the current 'asking price' of the property rather than the max we can afford)?

Then we can go ahead and submit an offer before seeing their MA?

Reading some of the replies I'm now dubious about this 'useful meeting' that I have booked .

Its difficult knowing what order to do things in....but interesting to read about them seeing the state of our finances and using this to their advantage.

DVardysShadow

evoke wrote: »

Seriously, I think it's jsut the EA being more careful at the request of the seller. The seller has probably insisted that he/she will only accept an offer if the EA has qualified the buyer making the offer. This is exactly my current position too. I have instructed my EA that I will not accept any offer unless the EA can show me some evidence that the buyer has ability to raise the funds to buy my property. The usual way for EAs to do this is to get you to speak to their mortgage advisor. They're not going to try to sell you a mortgage, merely to see that you are likely to actually receive the funds from your bank or building society.

Remember that a mortgage in principle doesn't mean a great deal. The MA is likely to evaluate the likelihood of the funds being made available to you.

Surely it's not a hardship if you really want the property to have a chat with the MA? It'll also show that you are serious about buying the property. It'll take 5-10 minutes of your time over the phone. You won't have to sign or commit to anything.

Probably the seller has been suckered into insisting that the EA needs to qualify the offer by means of a MA interview.

Really, as seller, would you yourself expect to have sight of the buyer's financial position to the extent that you could tell to the £1 how much they could afford? Because if the buyer shows this info to the Agent, it is as good as. The Agent only works for you as seller - he is not a broker in any sense.

So the net effect is that, while you will successfully shoo away time wasters, your agent will also discard those buyers who have some self respect and who will not be bullied.

Don't be fooled, this is not about saving you from timewasters, it is about the agent selling mortgages and deterring buyers who won't take a mortgage from them in favour of those who will.

LilacPixie

evoke wrote: »

Seriously, I think it's jsut the EA being more careful at the request of the seller. The seller has probably insisted that he/she will only accept an offer if the EA has qualified the buyer making the offer. This is exactly my current position too. I have instructed my EA that I will not accept any offer unless the EA can show me some evidence that the buyer has ability to raise the funds to buy my property. The usual way for EAs to do this is to get you to speak to their mortgage advisor. They're not going to try to sell you a mortgage, merely to see that you are likely to actually receive the funds from your bank or building society.

Remember that a mortgage in principle doesn't mean a great deal. The MA is likely to evaluate the likelihood of the funds being made available to you.

Surely it's not a hardship if you really want the property to have a chat with the MA? It'll also show that you are serious about buying the property. It'll take 5-10 minutes of your time over the phone. You won't have to sign or commit to anything.

Interesting that you seem to have the opposite opinion to me :rotfl:that probably doesn't sound right but you as a seller feel its a good thing, on the other hand I, as a seller, feel that the EA time to assess a potential buyer is before viewings, after all who wants to spend time with multiple viewings on your current home with timewasters. IMO that causes alot more wasted time than a buyer wanting to offer and being told no, not until you speak to our MA.

Not to mention a MA is no more likely to confirm a bank will lend you money than an AIP will. All you would be doing IMO is telling the MA/EA that you earn x amount and have Y deposit and giving them information for any proposed negotiations.

As I said before I would be very very wary about making my financial situation known to what is 'the other side' after all the EA works for the vendor and it is in their interest to get as much for the property as possible.

Retepetsir - personally i do not like the conflict of interest aspect. By all means speak to a MA and see what they could do for you as well as your HSBC appointment but I would be wary about using the one tied to the EA that you could possibly be making an offer through.

retepetsir

LilacPixie wrote: »

Interesting that you seem to have the opposite opinion to me :rotfl:that probably doesn't sound right but you as a seller feel its a good thing, on the other hand I, as a seller, feel that the EA time to assess a potential buyer is before viewings, after all who wants to spend time with multiple viewings on your current home with timewasters. IMO that causes alot more wasted time than a buyer wanting to offer and being told no, not until you speak to our MA.

Not to mention a MA is no more likely to confirm a bank will lend you money than an AIP will. All you would be doing IMO is telling the MA/EA that you earn x amount and have Y deposit and giving them information for any proposed negotiations.

As I said before I would be very very wary about making my financial situation known to what is 'the other side' after all the EA works for the vendor and it is in their interest to get as much for the property as possible.

Retepetsir - personally i do not like the conflict of interest aspect. By all means speak to a MA and see what they could do for you as well as your HSBC appointment but I would be wary about using the one tied to the EA that you could possibly be making an offer through.

I've decided to cancel the MA appointment until I've had the meeting with HSBC. I've used the internet to find the best deal, and am happy with the choice of HSBC.

Think I'll meet with HSBC to confirm my financial security, then put in a formal offer to the EA, I guess via a letter, to pass on to the vendor? After which I can meet with their MA if they want me to, but as you say it sounds like a conflict of interest.

Voyager2002

Lots of people are suggesting that the offer to purchase should be made in writing. In my opinion, not a good idea. Unless your offer letter is carefully worded by a lawyer (or someone who understands the law better than I do) you are likely to be committing yourself to buy, no mattter what the survey turns up. Personally, I would send the vendor a note making her/him aware that I was seeking to make an offer through the EA.

TrickyDicky101

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Lots of people are suggesting that the offer to purchase should be made in writing. In my opinion, not a good idea. Unless your offer letter is carefully worded by a lawyer (or someone who understands the law better than I do) you are likely to be committing yourself to buy, no mattter what the survey turns up. Personally, I would send the vendor a note making her/him aware that I was seeking to make an offer through the EA.

I do not believe this to be correct. No Exchange has taken place and thus no contract (for property) is in existence. The same would apply with a verbal offer otherwise. The situation may differ in jurisdictions other than England.

Hoof_Hearted

Going back to the original question and adding some detail, we found somewhere at £250k and will offer £225-£230k initially. We have up to £50K deposit and a joint income of £55+. We will have no problems getting a mortgage (no debts or bad credit) for more than £250k.

I can see why this information could be useful to the EA/seller as we could obviously afford the asking price. Is the MA bound to keep the information confidential from the EA under data protection? Just wondered.