First Time Discrimination?

Lesmix

In a nutshell:

• We are first time buyers and had an offer on a property accepted in writing last week and were explicitly told that the wheels of the purchase were in motion. Bear in mind it's a repossessed property and subject to a 28 day turnaround so time is tight.
• we arranged our own mortgage based on the offer and we're instantly accepted
• we then cancelled an unnecessary meeting with the Estate Agent's Mortgage "adviser" because we already had a mortgage (and didn't need an extra £300 bill for his services)
• a couple of days passed and we were then told the original offer HADN'T been accepted and we would have to provide a "DIP" from our mortgage lender.
• I provided everything the lender had sent us clearly stating we had sufficient funds to purchase and they were "delighted" to offer us a mortgage.
• The Estate Agent claimed what my very reputable lender had sent us did not constitute a DIP.
• I contacted my lender and she stated that this is the only occasion in her long career the documentation had been refused by an Estate Agent.
• The estate agent has also criticised our choice of conveyancer claiming she's slow and ineffective making us worry that the deal will fall through and claiming their in-house conveyancer would have it all tied up in minutes (at £300 more than our solicitor's quote)

I'm green as grass when it comes to property but I get the feeling I'm being leant on by a firm who wants me to keep everything in house at great expense. It's quite telling that all these obstacles start appearing after I declined their offer of mortgage "advice".
Sound familiar to anyone?
Cheers.

king100

Lesmix wrote: »

In a nutshell:

• We are first time buyers and had an offer on a property accepted in writing last week and were explicitly told that the wheels of the purchase were in motion. Bear in mind it's a repossessed property and subject to a 28 day turnaround so time is tight.
• we arranged our own mortgage based on the offer and we're instantly accepted
• we then cancelled an unnecessary meeting with the Estate Agent's Mortgage "adviser" because we already had a mortgage (and didn't need an extra £300 bill for his services)
• a couple of days passed and we were then told the original offer HADN'T been accepted and we would have to provide a "DIP" from our mortgage lender.
• I provided everything the lender had sent us clearly stating we had sufficient funds to purchase and they were "delighted" to offer us a mortgage.
• The Estate Agent claimed what my very reputable lender had sent us did not constitute a DIP.
• I contacted my lender and she stated that this is the only occasion in her long career the documentation had been refused by an Estate Agent.
• The estate agent has also criticised our choice of conveyancer claiming she's slow and ineffective making us worry that the deal will fall through and claiming their in-house conveyancer would have it all tied up in minutes (at £300 more than our solicitor's quote)

I'm green as grass when it comes to property but I get the feeling I'm being leant on by a firm who wants me to keep everything in house at great expense. It's quite telling that all these obstacles start appearing after I declined their offer of mortgage "advice".
Sound familiar to anyone?
Cheers.

When I bought my 1st house I didnt use inhouse sols. They get a heafty commission if you do, plus also heavy one for mortgage as well.

They cant really stop you from using your own mortgage company and sols but they can make life a pain.

DVardysShadow

Sounds familiar? Oh yes. In these circumstances, about all you can do is drop a note around to the vendor or speak with them and make it plain in the nicest way that you are looking to get your survey done and on with the sale but their agent is coercing you into using their financial and legal services. If you are happy with the mortgage you have, it is your business alone. And if you want your legal services independent of the vendor, it is absolutely intolerable that the vendor should [albeit unknowingly] make your choice for you.

Some vendors will swallow the agent's tale hook line and sinker - and believe that the agent is providing a service in making sure that you are not timewasters. But it is only a fool of a vendor who will attempt to insist that you use the agent's services.

Other options include having the mortgage meeting under protest, but stand up with your back to the mortgage advisor. I am only half joking - and no joke, do not answer any question which reveals what your top limit might be. Or just pulling out by letter to the vendor, not the agent.

Good luck and don't be bullied.

betmunch

Sound familiar?

Oh yeah, I reckon I could name the EA group! My guess is its part of the Connells group of EA's. Please let me know if this is right!

To know if your offer is accepted you need to check your memorandum of sale. Have you recieved it? If you havent then it is likely that your offer is not proceeding. What EXACTLY have you got stating your offer is accepted?

It is posible that your offer was accepted, but then another offer came in at a higher amount which would mean that you are now not accepted, but this is not how your OP reads, it could have been badly comunicated to you. However, you should really have been given the opportunity to match the higher offer.

poppysarah

Sounds like they really want you to waste £300.

I'd organise solicitor quotes and pick one. Offer the EA the name along with the offer and RECORD the conversation ... Report them for being &rses to their association.

Lesmix

betmunch wrote: »

Sound familiar?

Oh yeah, I reckon I could name the EA group! My guess is its part of the Connells group of EA's. Please let me know if this is right!

To know if your offer is accepted you need to check your memorandum of sale. Have you recieved it? If you havent then it is likely that your offer is not proceeding. What EXACTLY have you got stating your offer is accepted?

It is posible that your offer was accepted, but then another offer came in at a higher amount which would mean that you are now not accepted, but this is not how your OP reads, it could have been badly comunicated to you. However, you should really have been given the opportunity to match the higher offer.

I received a signed letter from the EA stating that the offer was accepted.
It also stated "The buyer has been qualified as regards his financial ability to proceed" How they knew this baffles me as it was before the arranged meeting with the EA's mortgage adviser and we were verbally assured that the offer had been accepted and that being a reposessed property the exchange was to take place 28 days from the acceptance of the offer.

These assurances seemed to evaporate shortly after we cancelled our meeting with the adviser and all sorts of conditions appeared out of nowhere with the rueful reminder that it all would have been oh so easily sorted out if we'd used their adviser. I spoke to that adviser that day and he mentioned nothing about us needing further documentation etc. The final straw was when they wouldn't accept our DIP - a document our lender has issued thousands of times without hitch - Suddenly our lender is getting it all wrong too?

Lesmix

poppysarah wrote: »

Sounds like they really want you to waste £300.

I'd organise solicitor quotes and pick one. Offer the EA the name along with the offer and RECORD the conversation ... Report them for being &rses to their association.

Yes, we're sticking with the solicitor our EA was respectfully slagging off. I mentioned what they'd said about her in an email and she assured me she'd bring the deal round in the allotted time. Somehow I believe her over the EA.

Lesmix

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Sounds familiar? Oh yes. In these circumstances, about all you can do is drop a note around to the vendor or speak with them and make it plain in the nicest way that you are looking to get your survey done and on with the sale but their agent is coercing you into using their financial and legal services. If you are happy with the mortgage you have, it is your business alone. And if you want your legal services independent of the vendor, it is absolutely intolerable that the vendor should [albeit unknowingly] make your choice for you.

Some vendors will swallow the agent's tale hook line and sinker - and believe that the agent is providing a service in making sure that you are not timewasters. But it is only a fool of a vendor who will attempt to insist that you use the agent's services.

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Unfortunately this property is a repossession owned by an asset management company who our EA claims do not want to deal directly with buyers so they won't pass on their details.
I'd gladly cut out the EA!
Is it legal to bar us from contacting the vendor directly?

Lesmix

After a day of stressful and increasingly heated phone calls our EA finally accepts that our lender knows what a DIP is and are accepting it.
We have been assured that we'll have the Memorandum of Sale tomorrow and the 28 day clock will start ticking from that point.
Hopefully things are on track again.

poppysarah

If you know who the vendor is then speak to them

DVardysShadow

Lesmix wrote: »

Unfortunately this property is a repossession owned by an asset management company who our EA claims do not want to deal directly with buyers so they won't pass on their details.
I'd gladly cut out the EA!
Is it legal to bar us from contacting the vendor directly?

OK, if it is a repo, it is more difficult. You will not necessarily know who the vendor is until quite late on, which makes it difficult to contact them. If you know who the vendor is, you can contact them regardless of what the agent says - the 'is it legal' question does not arise. If they bar you and you go ahead, all they can do is have a hissy fit.

Glad you are essentially sorted now -with the news that it is a repo, I would have suggested writing to the Agent detailing that your offer was accepted and that <person> insisted that you use their solicitor and mortgage and ask them to confirm that this was their intent. This would put the cat among the pigeons.

Repos are supposed to be dealt with in a way which is mindful of the need to minimise the losses to the former owner. Once you have completed, you could write to the repo owner whose address you will have discovered along the way and tell them what the agent has been doing in their name. They may or may not be interested.

As for the repo'd former owner, I do think that they should send in a mystery buyer to see how the sale of their former property is being handled. Things like a compulsory mortgage advisor interview and agent's conveyancer should be noted as things which may reduce the value ultimately achieved on the house.